Chiricos v. Forest Lakes Council Boy Scouts of America

571 A.2d 474, 391 Pa. Super. 491, 1990 Pa. Super. LEXIS 648
CourtSupreme Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedMarch 20, 1990
Docket1152 and 1245
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 571 A.2d 474 (Chiricos v. Forest Lakes Council Boy Scouts of America) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chiricos v. Forest Lakes Council Boy Scouts of America, 571 A.2d 474, 391 Pa. Super. 491, 1990 Pa. Super. LEXIS 648 (Pa. 1990).

Opinions

POPOVICH, Judge:

This case involves cross-appeals from the April 5, 1989, order of the Court of Common Pleas of Wayne County entering summary judgment against the plaintiff/appellant Paul J. Chiricos, but denying the cross-claim of the co-defendants/appellants William S., Robert H. and Shirley S. DeLong against the co-defendant/appellee Forest Lakes Council, Boy Scouts of America. We affirm.

In determining whether the order issued is to be affirmed, we are required under Pa.R.Civ.P. 1035(b) to examine the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, to ascertain whether the record shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material facts and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.

Under such a standard, the record discloses that on February 25, 1984, the 13-year-old William S. DeLong informed one of hjs parents that he was going for a ride on his Suzuki 185 all-terrain vehicle (ATV). Accompanying William was his 12-year-old friend Jeffrey John Rowen; he would be riding a motorcycle.

The terrain over which the boys had decided to travel was to consist of the Lake Wallenpaupack Estates, which is adjacent to the 560-acre Forest Lakes Council Boy Scouts of America reserve. Dissecting the reserve is Legislative Route 951, and it had to be crossed to reach a site on the reserve known to the youth as “Goose Pond”. This was a location where the boys had ridden in the past. They did so even though they were aware that the site was private property and had some “no trespassing” signs posted throughout the campgrounds. In fact, William’s father [494]*494(Robert) admitted to informing his son not to enter Goose Pond since it was known that the Boy Scouts did not want people riding on their property.

Even though it was not uncommon to see kids engaging in “hill climbs” on “Pump Station Hill”, William was “specifically told Goose Pond was off limits” by his father.

On the date in question, William and Jeffrey first drove over a series of trails in Lake Wallenpaupack Estates. Thereafter, the two boys crossed Route 951 and this placed them in the Boy Scouts’ camp; it was “just someplace also to go”.

As William was in the lead, with Jeffrey following, he was in the process of traversing a grade in the dirt path leading off the property and onto Route 951 when he saw a scoutmaster (the plaintiff Chiricos) “running” toward him waving his hands. It seems that Chiricos, once he heard the sounds of the ATV and motorcycle, left his position on a nearby hill to pursue the riders some one hundred feet away.

Chiricos stationed himself in the path of William’s ATV and was struck. The contact resulted in Chiricos being struck on his right leg by the left, rear tire of the ATV, and it flung him into the air. His body landed half on Route 951 and the remainder came to rest on Boy Scout property. William continued to drive from the scene with Jeffrey following.

Efforts on the part of the plaintiff to have the Boy Scouts commence criminal charges against William were to no avail. Consequently, aside from having William placed on two years probation for his conduct against the plaintiff, a writ of summons was issued against Forest Lakes Council Boy Scouts of America. In turn, a rule was entered on the plaintiff to file a complaint, which claimed in Count I that William was a trespasser on Forest Lakes’ property and. negligently caused the plaintiff to be injured when he was struck by William’s ATV:

[495]*495The Plaintiff stood on the berm of the road and waved his hands and shouted “Hey”, continuously in order to warn the Defendant, DeLong, that he was a trespasser on private property and endangering the safety of the campers at Goose Pond Scout Reservation____ Paragraph 10.

Count II alleged that William’s parents were liable for his negligence. In Count III, Forest Lakes was charged with negligence in failing to secure the campgrounds and to enforce the “no trespassing” prohibition despite numerous prior incidents of trespassers and vandals on the premises. All of which was claimed to be, on the part of the DeLongs and Forest Lakes, the direct and proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries.

The DeLongs filed an answer which denied, inter alia, that the son was a trespasser. And, as to striking the plaintiff, it was averred that the “Plaintiff attempted to grab the arms of the said William S. DeLong, which attempt caused him to come in contact with the vehicle being operated by ... William____” Paragraph 10. It was also alleged that “it was solely through the actions of the Plaintiff that the Defendant’s vehicle struck him” and not through any negligence and carelessness of William. Paragraphs 11 & 12.

In the new matter portion of the DeLongs’ reply, it was averred that through the plaintiff’s own negligence in attempting to grab William, he “assumed the risk that would result from the actions which he took at the time alleged in the Complaint.” Paragraphs 35-38.

The DeLongs also filed a cross-claim contending that the plaintiff’s injuries were “due solely to the negligence” of Forest Lakes and rendered it “solely and individually liable to the Plaintiff or liable jointly with the Defendants or liable over to the plaintiff____” Paragraph 45.

Forest Lakes filed a motion for summary judgment. This was opposed by the plaintiff and co-defendant DeLongs in that they claimed that there were issues of fact to be resolved by a jury. However, the DeLongs argued in the alternative, seeking 1» join in the co-defendant Forest [496]*496Lakes’ motion, that the plaintiff’s assumption of risk should entitle them to the same relief sought by Forest Lakes.

In Forest Lakes’ motion, it propounded in relevant part that:

11. Whether Plaintiff was an invitee or a licensee, the duty imposed upon Defendant, Forest Lake[s] Council, Boy Scouts of America, was to take reasonable precautions to protect and/or warn Plaintiff of possible dangerous conditions.
12. By posting the property and employing a maintenance man to patrol said property, Defendant, Forest Lake[s] Council, Boy Scouts of America, took all reasonable precautions required of it and therefore did not breach its duty towards Plaintiff.
13. Whether Plaintiff was an invitee or licénsee, there was no obligation or duty upon Defendant, Forest Lakes Council, Boy Scouts of America, to protect Plaintiff against dangers of which Plaintiff was aware, or which were so obvious or apparent to Plaintiff that he could be expected to discover them for himself.
14. Because Plaintiff had actual knowledge of the alleged dangerous condition, Defendant, Forest Lake[s] Council, Boy Scouts of America, had no obligation or duty to protect Plaintiff from the danger known to him.
15. Defendants, William S. DeLong, Robert H. DeLong and Shirley S. DeLong, his parents, filed a Crossclaim against Defendant, Forest Lake[s] Council, Boy Scouts of America, alleging that Plaintiff’s injuries were due solely to the negligence of Defendant, Forest Lakes Council, Boy Scouts of America.
16. Defendants, (DeLongs) have not alleged any duty towards Defendant, William DeLong, who was a trespasser upon the Goose Pond Scout Reservation.
17.

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

Related

Blakely v. St. Marguerite's Mutual Beneficial Society
10 Pa. D. & C.5th 248 (Lawrence County Court of Common Pleas, 2009)
Freudenvoll v. Stavros
49 Pa. D. & C.4th 328 (Monroe County Court of Common Pleas, 2000)
Kaplan v. Exxon Corp
Third Circuit, 1997
Kaplan v. Exxon Corp.
926 F. Supp. 59 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1996)
Bang v. Philadelphia Zoo
27 Pa. D. & C.4th 549 (Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, 1994)
Kozinevich v. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co.
201 A.D.2d 462 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1994)
Rogers v. Williams
616 A.2d 1031 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1992)
City of Pittsburgh v. Jodzis
607 A.2d 339 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1992)
Cummings v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.
596 A.2d 1138 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1991)
Kelly-Springfield Tire Co. v. D'AMBRO
596 A.2d 867 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1991)
Beech v. Ragnar Benson, Inc.
587 A.2d 335 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1991)
Strain v. Ferroni
592 A.2d 698 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1991)
Pittsburgh Coal & Coke, Inc. v. Cuteri
590 A.2d 790 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1991)
Consul v. Burke
589 A.2d 246 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1991)
Hunsicker v. Brearman
586 A.2d 1387 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1991)
Dunkle v. Food Service East Inc.
582 A.2d 1342 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1990)
Vargo v. Hunt
581 A.2d 625 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1990)
Pastore v. Anjo Construction Co.
578 A.2d 21 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1990)
Chiricos v. Forest Lakes Council Boy Scouts of America
571 A.2d 474 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
571 A.2d 474, 391 Pa. Super. 491, 1990 Pa. Super. LEXIS 648, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chiricos-v-forest-lakes-council-boy-scouts-of-america-pa-1990.