Cruz v. Roberts

70 Pa. D. & C.4th 225, 2005 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 186
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lancaster County
DecidedJanuary 26, 2005
Docketno. CI-04-01947
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 70 Pa. D. & C.4th 225 (Cruz v. Roberts) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lancaster County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cruz v. Roberts, 70 Pa. D. & C.4th 225, 2005 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 186 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005).

Opinion

PEREZOUS, J,

This matter is before the court on preliminary objections filed by the defendants, Dorothy M. Roberts and Harriet A. Herman, individually and t/d/b/a Herman’s Day Care Center, Herman’s Day Care Center and Benuel R Beiler, against the amended complaint of the plaintiffs, Mary Cruz, in her own capacity and on behalf of her minor daughter, Elizabeth Sanchez. Specifically, defendants contend that: (1) Counts IX and X of plaintiffs’ amended complaint, alleging breach of contract, are redundant and should be stricken pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1028(a)(2); (2) Counts XVII and XIX, alleging intentional and negligent inflic[227]*227tion of emotional distress, respectively, should be dismissed pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1028(a)(4) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; (3) Count XX, alleging tortious aiding and abetting, should be dismissed pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1028(a)(4) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; (4) Counts XI, XII, XIII and XIV, alleging intentional and negligent misrepresentation, should be dismissed pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1028(a)(4) because plaintiffs failed to allege the necessary elements for each cause of action; and (5) Count XVI, alleging a violation of the Unfair Trade Prac»tices and Consumer Protection Law, should be dismissed pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1028(a)(4) for being insufficient as a matter of law. For the reasons that follow, this court overrules the first preliminary objection, sustains the third, fourth and fifth preliminary objections, and overrules, in part, and sustains, in part, the second preliminary objection.

This case arises from events that occurred in late August 2002. Plaintiffs allege that the minor-plaintiff was attending Herman’s Day Care Center and was physically and sexually abused by Benuel F. Beiler, who provided janitorial/handyman services at the center. Beiler was eventually convicted of crimes related to this incident. Plaintiffs further allege that defendants, as owners and operators of the center, failed to conduct a reasonable investigation into Beiler’s background. Moreover, plaintiffs claim that defendants knew that Beiler had acted inappropriately towards, and/or previously assaulted, one or more children attending the center, as well as other children in the community. Despite this knowledge, plaintiffs contend, defendants allowed Beiler to remain employed and to have unsupervised access to the children [228]*228at the center. In addition, plaintiffs allege that after defendants discovered Beiler’s assault of the minor-plaintiff, defendants failed to report the assault to the proper authorities, and attempted to coerce the plaintiffs into not reporting information about the incident. As a result of this conduct, it is alleged that plaintiffs suffered physical, psychological and emotional injuries.

Plaintiffs filed their complaint on or about March 1, 2004. After the defendants filed their preliminary objections to the complaint, plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on or about April 14,2004, containing 22 separate counts alleging various causes of action arising out of the incident. In response, defendants filed the instant preliminary objections on or about April 26, 2004.

First, defendants aver that plaintiffs’ breach of contract claims should be stricken pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1028(a)(2). This rule provides that a preliminary objection may be filed to a pleading that fails to conform to law or rule of court or includes scandalous or impertinent matter. Pa.R.C.P. 1028(a)(2). “To be scandalous [or] impertinent, the allegations must be immaterial and inappropriate to the proof of the cause of action.” Common Cause Pennsylvania v. Commonwealth, 710 A.2d 108, 115 (Pa. Commw. 1998).

Here, defendants argue that plaintiffs’ claims for damages arising out of the alleged sexual assault of the minor by Mr. Beiler sound in tort. Relying on Peterman v. Geisinger Medical Center, 8 D.&C.3d 432 (Montour Cty. 1978), defendants contend that such claims should be stricken as redundant. In that medical malpractice action, the plaintiffs sought to recover damages arising out of an unnecessary surgery performed on the plaintiff [229]*229based upon another patient’s x-ray. Id. at 433-34. In the case, the plaintiff conceded that the contract claims essentially duplicated the tort counts and that the case was primarily a tort matter. Id. at 436. The court noted that “[t]he gravamen of plaintiffs’ action [was] in tort, and ... one properly instituted and maintained in trespass.” Id. at 437. Consequently, the court determined that the contract claims were redundant, and struck them from plaintiffs’ complaint.

Nevertheless, other courts have concluded that it is premature to dismiss a contract claim as being redundant to a tort claim at the pleading stage. Lebish v. Whitehall Manor Inc., 57 D.&C.4th 247, 251 (2002); see Zaborowski v. Hospitality Care Center of Hermitage Inc., 60 D.&C.4th 474, 483-84 (Mercer Cty. 2002). In these cases, the defendants contracted to provide care to the plaintiffs. In Zaborowski, the plaintiff alleged that defendant “breached an admissions agreement... to provide her ‘with safe and reasonable care in a safe environment . . . .’ ” Id. at 483. The defendant filed a preliminary objection, in the nature of a demurrer, contending that plaintiff’s claim is one sounding in toil rather than contract. Id. The court refused to sustain the objection. The court reasoned that the plaintiff “has pled the existence of a contract...,” id. at 484, and its “language ... as set forth in the complaint, imposes a duty to provide ‘safe and reasonable care in a safe environment,’ as well as ‘services which would ... maintain the highest practicable, physical, mental and psychosocial [sic] well being.’ ” Id. at 484-85. The court then concluded, “If the complaint is to be believed, [defendant] failed to meet these requirements and therefore breached the contract.” Id. at 485.

[230]*230Similarly, in Lebish, the defendant contended that the case sounded primarily in tort and that Pennsylvania law required an associated contract claim to be dismissed, referring to the contract claim as redundant. Lebish, 57 D.&C.4th at 250. The court stated that “[b]ased upon the averments in the complaint, there are allegations of wrongdoing that may be exclusively contract matters and other allegations that may be exclusively tort matters.” Id. The court recognized that the alleged tortious misconduct was identical to the contractual misconduct. Id. This factor, however, did not prohibit the plaintiffs from proceeding under both theories. Id. The court refused to dismiss the contract count, and allowed discovery to refine the many allegations stated by the plaintiffs against the defendant. Id.

In the present case, the allegations of plaintiffs in Counts IX and X are neither immaterial to their contract claims nor inappropriate for such claims. In these counts, plaintiffs contend that defendants made certain promises relating to the services that were to be rendered by defendants while the minor-plaintiff was present at Herman’s Day Care. Then, plaintiffs claim that defendants breached the promises that were made through several alleged acts and/or omissions. As such, these claims are relevant and set forth facts which sufficiently allege a breach of contract.

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70 Pa. D. & C.4th 225, 2005 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 186, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cruz-v-roberts-pactcompllancas-2005.