Bowers v. Huffy Corp.

741 F. Supp. 1187, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8084, 1990 WL 91784
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 29, 1990
DocketCiv. A. No. 88-5172
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 741 F. Supp. 1187 (Bowers v. Huffy Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bowers v. Huffy Corp., 741 F. Supp. 1187, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8084, 1990 WL 91784 (E.D. Pa. 1990).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

VAN ANTWERPEN, District Judge.

This diversity case comes before us by way of the motion of the third-party defendant City of Pottsville for summary judgment. The City claims that suit may not be brought against it because of governmental immunity under the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act, 42 Pa.Cons.Stat.Ann. § 8541 et seq. (Purdon 1982). The standards for granting summary judgment are well-known.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c) instructs a court to enter summary judgment when the record reveals that “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” This rule provides the court with a useful tool when the critical facts are undisputed, facilitating the resolution of a pending controversy without the expense and delay of conducting a trial made unnecessary by the absence of factual dispute. Peterson v. Lehigh Valley Dist. Council, 676 F.2d 81, 84 (3d Cir.1982); Goodman v. Mead Johnson & Co., 534 F.2d 566, 573 (3d Cir.1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1038, 97 S.Ct. 732, 50 L.Ed.2d 748 (1977). Summary judgment is inappropriate, however, where the evidence before the court reveals a genuine factual disagreement requiring submission to a jury. An issue is “genuine” only if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could find for the non-moving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). At the summary judgment stage, “the judge’s function is not himself to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the mat[1189]*1189ter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial.” Id., 106 S.Ct at 2511. However, if the evidence is merely “colorable” or is “not significantly probative”, summary judgment may be granted. Id.

In a summary judgment action, the moving party bears the initial burden of identifying for the court those portions of the record which it believes demonstrate the absence of a material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Following such a showing in a case where the non-moving party is the plaintiff and therefore bears the burden of proof, it must, by affidavits or by the depositions and admissions on file, “make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of [every] element essential to that party’s case.” Id., 106 S.Ct. at 2552-53; Anderson, 106 S.Ct. at 2514; Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). In making its ruling on a summary judgment motion, the court must view all inferences in a light most favorable to the non-moving party, United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 994, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962); Continental Ins. Co. v. Bodie, 682 F.2d 436, 438 (3d Cir.1982), must resolve all doubts against the moving party, Gans v. Mundy, 762 F.2d 338, 341 (3d Cir.1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1010, 106 S.Ct. 537, 88 L.Ed.2d 467 (1985), and must take as true all allegations of the non-moving party that conflict with those of the movant, Anderson, 106 S.Ct. at 2513.

With the foregoing rules in mind, we summarize the facts as follows. On or about July 1, 1986, Marie Bowers was operating a ten-speed Huffy bicycle and was allegedly departing from a parking lot of defendant Aetna Warehousing Company which is located adjacent to Peacock Street in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. It was approximately 9:00 p.m. and, as she exited the parking lot, she was struck by a vehicle traveling west on Peacock Street being driven by defendant Lee S. Miller.

According to the plaintiffs’ brief,1 at the time of this collision, several witnesses observed the condition, climate and lighting that surrounded the area of the parking lot exit and have testified, by way of deposition, regarding these conditions. In particular, witnesses testified that the location where this accident occurred was dark and that there were very few lights that existed upon the roadway in the area of this accident scene. According to plaintiffs’ brief, one witness testified that immediately upon hearing a loud noise outside her window, she ran to the window and looked outside and observed that it was dark. She also testified that she was unable specifically to state whether the person on the ground was a male or female or something else, but she realized that there had been some type of collision. The defendant driver, Lee Miller, testified that he never saw Marie Bowers’ bicycle or Marie Bowers until she was right in front of his vehicle. According to the plaintiffs’ brief, there is also evidence that the City of Pottsville received complaints from persons in the area of this accident complaining about speeding vehicles, the conditions of the roadway on Peacock Street, numerous accidents, and the fact that the roadway has been used as a by-pass to get from Potts-ville to other locations.

Plaintiffs filed a products liability action claiming that the bicycle ridden by Marie Bowers at the time of the accident was defective. It is alleged that the bicycle was purchased by the plaintiffs at defendant Hills Department Store and manufactured and sold by defendant Huffy Corporation. Y.L.C. Enterprises, Inc., the designer of the bicycle, was joined as a third-party defendant by Hills Department Store and Huffy Corporation. Huffy Corporation and Y.L.C. Enterprises, Inc. then filed a Third-Party Complaint joining Kosta Real[1190]*1190ty, Inc., Aetna Warehousing Company,2 City of Pottsville and the driver, Lee S. Miller, as Third-Party Defendants. Plaintiffs have made no direct claim against the City of Pottsville in this action. The only specific acts of negligence against the City of Pottsville are found in Paragraph 2(b) of the Third-Party Complaint against the City, which reads as follows:

The vicinity where the minor plaintiffs accident occurred was in the City of Pottsville which failed in its duty to keep the street in proper condition, to provide adequate lighting and signs, and to require the owners of adjacent properties to keep their premises in good repair and clear of obstructions.

Oral depositions were taken to support defendant’s motion for summary judgment.

When federal courts sit in diversity cases, they must apply the substantive law of the states where they sit. Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S.

Related

Gravine v. Misko
14 Pa. D. & C.4th 388 (Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas, 1991)

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Bluebook (online)
741 F. Supp. 1187, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8084, 1990 WL 91784, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bowers-v-huffy-corp-paed-1990.