Brindley v. Woodland Village Restaurant, Inc.

652 A.2d 865, 438 Pa. Super. 385, 1995 Pa. Super. LEXIS 29
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 13, 1995
StatusPublished
Cited by50 cases

This text of 652 A.2d 865 (Brindley v. Woodland Village Restaurant, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brindley v. Woodland Village Restaurant, Inc., 652 A.2d 865, 438 Pa. Super. 385, 1995 Pa. Super. LEXIS 29 (Pa. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinions

CIRILLO, Judge:

Woodland Village Restaurant, Inc., K.B. Boukidis, a/k/a Konstantinos Boukidis, and Vasilios Pavlantis (hereinafter “Woodland”) appeal from a judgment entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. We vacate and remand for a new trial.

On May 18, 1990, appellee Charles Brindley and a few friends were in the Woodland Village Restaurant for breakfast. Upon entering the restaurant’s bathroom, Brindley slipped and fell, sustaining head and back injuries as a result. Brindley stated that he had taken about two steps into the bathroom and slipped on something slimy; there was about a [388]*388quarter inch of water on the floor, along with ashes and cigarette butts. Brindley described the area of water on the floor as being about five to six feet in circumference. It appeared to him as if the water had been there for quite a while because it was starting to “cake up” around the perimeters. Brindley said he noticed the. water after he fell to the ground.

Konstantinos Boukidis testified, along with two other witnesses, that the bathroom floor was clean immediately after the fall and before the fall. Following a bench trial before the Honorable Alfred J. DiBona, Jr., a verdict was entered in favor of Brindley and against all appellants in the amount of $8,800.00. Post-verdict motions were filed and denied. This appeal followed.

Woodland presents the following issues for our consideration:

(1) Was the decision against the weight of the evidence? 1
(2) Did Brindley’s counsel engage in misconduct?
(3) Did the verdict improperly pierce the corporate veil?
(4) Were Brindley’s medical damages improperly established by defendant’s failure to respond or object to request for admissions?
(5) Was defendant’s negligence and Brindley’s lack of negligence improperly established by defendant’s failure to respond or object to request for admissions?

Woodland argues that Brindley’s counsel engaged in misconduct when he advised the trial judge that one of Woodland’s witnesses had solicited both Brindley and Brindley’s counsel for money and that the witness was a drug addict. Woodland claims that this was a deliberate attempt to prejudice the court. Woodland’s allegations of misconduct, however, were not raised in post-verdict motions. Accordingly, we shall not address this issue. Post-trial relief may not be granted unless the grounds therefor are specified in the [389]*389motion; grounds not specified are deemed waived. See Pa. R.C.P. 227.1(b); Puleo v. Thomas, 425 Pa.Super. 285, 624 A.2d 1075 (1993). Additionally, Woodland has not set forth any authority in support of its argument; rather, it simply concludes that counsel was attempting to prejudice the trial court. See Pa.R.A.P. 2119 (the argument shall be followed by such discussion and authorities as are deemed pertinent). We find this issue to be waived.

Boukidis and Pavlantis next claim that, as owners/employees of their corporation, the corporate form shields them from personal liability and, accordingly, “piercing the corporate veil” and entering a verdict against all defendants was improper. We must determine whether it was proper to hold Boukidis and Pavlantis jointly and severally liable for the alleged negligence at issue.2

Boukidis and Pavlantis primarily rely upon Burton v. Boland, 339 Pa.Super. 444, 489 A.2d 243 (1985) for the proposition that the corporate entity will be disregarded only when it is used to defeat public convenience, justify wrong, perpetrate fraud, or defend crime. Id. Boukidis and Pavlantis conclude that, because no fraud or illegality has been alleged here, Woodland’s corporate form shields them from personal liability. Although Boukidis and Pavlantis set forth a correct statement of the law, as evidenced by the following summary of relevant case law, this is not the end of the analysis.

In Wicks v. Milzoco Builders, Inc., 503 Pa. 614, 470 A.2d 86 (1983), the appellants, a group of homeowners, filed a complaint against Milzoco Builders, Inc., Carroll Builders, Inc., and Chester Miller, Eugene Cook, and Wesley Zollers, individually.3 The only issue was whether this court erred in affirming the dismissal of the actions in trespass against appellees on the ground that the homeowners failed to plead facts on [390]*390which Miller, Cook, and Zollers could be held personally liable for the alleged tortious actions and omissions of Milzoco Builders and Carroll Builders.4 The Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed this court and concluded that the facts generally averred in the homeowners’ complaint stated a cause of action in tort against Miller, Cook, and Zollers.

In reaching its conclusion, the Court stated that the “Superior Court ... incorrectly held that fraud, criminality or unauthorized acts must be present to find corporate agents liable.” Id. at 619, 470 A.2d at 88.5 The Court explained that,

[i]n the instant case, ... appellants have not challenged the legitimacy of Milzoco Builders or Carroll Builders nor have they alleged that appellees have used the corporate form merely as a vehicle by which they seek to engage in illegal or improper acts with impunity. Instead, appellants seek to hold Miller, Cook and Zollers liable on the theory that they personally participated in the alleged tortious acts committed on behalf of the corporations.

Id. at 621, 470 at 89.

In recognizing this difference, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court distinguished the theory of “piercing the corporate veil” from the “participation theory.” .

[391]*391There is a distinction between liability for individual participation in a wrongful act and an individual’s responsibility for any liability-creating act performed behind the veil of a sham corporation. Where the court pierces the corporate veil, the owner is liable because the corporation is not a bona fide independent entity; therefore, its acts are truly his. Under the participation theory, the court imposes liability on the individual as an actor rather than as an owner. Such liability is not predicated on a finding that the corporation is a sham and a mere alter ego of the individual corporate officer. Instead, liability attaches where the record establishes the individual’s participation in the tortious activity.

Id. at 621, 470 A.2d at 89-90 (footnote omitted); accord Village at Camelback v. Carr, 371 Pa.Super. 452, 462, 538 A.2d 528, 533 (1988), affd, 524 Pa. 330, 572 A.2d 1 (1990); see also Loeffler v. McShane, 372 Pa.Super. 442, 445-46, 539 A.2d 876, 878 (1988). Wicks expressly confirmed that Pennsylvania law recognizes the participation theory as a basis of liability6

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

KINCAID v. DOLLAR TREE, INC.
W.D. Pennsylvania, 2025
Dalin Funding v. Biz as Usual, LLC
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2025
Dalin Funding v. Gardiner, A.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2025
Jones v. WALMART STORES EAST LP
E.D. Pennsylvania, 2025
Boddie v. Hennys Sports Bar
E.D. Pennsylvania, 2025
HILL v. STADIUM CASINO RE LLC
E.D. Pennsylvania, 2024
Andrien, L. v. Gerber, H.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2022
Valley National Bank v. Engle Eyewear, Inc.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019
M.B. v. Schuylkill Cnty.
375 F. Supp. 3d 574 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 2019)
Aldorasi v. Crossroads Hospitality & Mgmt. Co.
344 F. Supp. 3d 814 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 2018)
B&R Resources, LLC and R.F. Campola v. DEP
180 A.3d 812 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2018)
E.B. Endres, Inc. v. Shwemmlein, C. & R.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2018
Lebanon Valley Insurance Co. v. Flaxman, B.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017
Ramos v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
202 F. Supp. 3d 457 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
652 A.2d 865, 438 Pa. Super. 385, 1995 Pa. Super. LEXIS 29, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brindley-v-woodland-village-restaurant-inc-pasuperct-1995.