Haupt v. Haddox

7 Pa. D. & C.4th 432, 1990 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 217
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Erie County
DecidedAugust 7, 1990
Docketno. 3980-A-1987
StatusPublished

This text of 7 Pa. D. & C.4th 432 (Haupt v. Haddox) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Erie County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Haupt v. Haddox, 7 Pa. D. & C.4th 432, 1990 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 217 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1990).

Opinion

LEVIN, J.,

Before this court is the motion of defendant, Carriage Hill of Erie Co., requesting that this court grant summary judgment in their favor based on the Recreational Use of Land and Water Act, 68 P.S. §477-1, et seq.

The case arises from a bicycle accident which occurred on October 9, 1985. On that date, plaintiff Michael Haupt was the guest of the Shaunessy family, tenants in the Carriage Hill apartment complex. That evening, plaintiff was shown around the Carriage Hill complex by the Shaunessys. Plaintiff rode a bike while the Shaunessys walked. While riding the bike on Georgetown Drive, the Carriage Hill roadway, the front wheel of plaintiff’s bike lodged in a storm sewer grate, causing him to be thrown from the bicycle. Plaintiff alleges injuries as a result of this fall.

Defendants have moved for summary judgment on the basis that the Recreational Use of Land and Water Act, 68 P.S. §477-1 et seq., gives them [433]*433immunity from liability for injuries incurred in this roadway. The basis for their argument is that people other than tenants are allowed to use this area for biking and play, and thus the area is recreational and protected by this statute. The immunity section of the act provides as follows:

“§477-3. Duty to keep premises safe; warning

“Except as specifically recognized or provided in section 6 of this act, an owner of land owes no duty of care to keep the premises safe to entry or use by others for recreational purposes, or to give any warning of a dangerous condition, use, structure, or activity on such premises to persons entering for such purposes.

“§477-4. Assurance of safe purposes; duty of care; responsibility, liability

“Except as specifically recognized by or provided in section 6 of this act, an owner of land who either directly or indirectly invites or permits without charge any person to use such property for recreational purposes does not thereby:

“(1) Extend any assurance that the premises are safe for any purpose;

“(2) Confer upon such person the legal status of an invitee or licensee to whom a duty of care is owed;

“(3) Assume responsibility for or incur liability for any injury to the persons or property caused by an act or omission Of such person.” 68 P.S. §§477-3, 477-4.

Since this case involves a motion for summary judgment against plaintiff, the court must resolve all factual disputes in favor of the plaintiff. Trenco Inc. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation, 126 Pa. Commw. 501, 560 A.2d 285 (1989). Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1035(b) provides that summary judgment “shall be [434]*434rendered if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” It is not the court’s function to decide issues of fact, but solely to determine whether there is an issue of fact to be tried. Thorsen v. Iron & Glass Bank, 328 Pa. Super. 135, 475 A.2d 928 (1984).

Inasmuch as the controlling issue on the motion for summary judgment is not one of fact but one of law, the issue is ripe for summary judgment determination. The legal issue, simply put, is whether the immunity provided under the Recreational Use of Land and Water Act is applicable to the situation and exempts the defendant from liability for accidents occurring on the property.

The essence of the statute in question is that it protects landowners from liability for injuries incurred on their property by. uninvited licensees using the land for recreational purposes. The act has been construed to apply to municipal parks, Kniaz v. Benton Borough, 112 Pa. Commw. 416, 535 A.2d 308 (1988); Jones v. Cheltenham Township, 48 D.&C. 3d 425 (1987); to owners of a stream crossing real estate, Smith v. Mosier, 27 D.&C. 3d 660 (1984); to owners of a lake created by damming, Livingston v. Pennsylvania Power and Light Company, 609 F.Supp. 643 (E.D. Pa. 1985); to a baseball field owned by a utility company, Lowman v. Indiana Area School District, 96 Pa. Commw. 389, 507 A.2d 1270 (1986); Heintzelman v. Brushtown Athletic Association, 2 D.&C. 4th 222 (1989); to a state forest, Commonwealth Department of Environmental Resources v. Auresto, 511 Pa. 73, 511 A.2d 815 (1986); to a bicycle accident on a playground, [435]*435DiMino v. Borough of Pottstown, 129 Pa. Commw. 154, 564 A.2d 1329 (1989); to an inner-city playground, Walsh v. City of Philadelphia, 126 Pa. Commw. 127, 558 A.2d 192 (1989), allocator granted, 565 A.2d 1169; and to snowmobiling on a private tract of land, Gallo v. Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA, 363 Pa. Super. 308, 526 A.2d 359 (1987).

It is Carriage Hills’ argument that this paved area in which plaintiff rode the bike is the type of recreational area that the statute is intended to protect. Defendant relies on the fact that the area is frequented by skaters and bikers from the general public using the premises for play without charge. In construing this statute and its applicability to the case at bar, the court must look at the status of the person using the area, before looking at the type of recreational facility. The cases interpreting the statute which are relied upon by the defendant involve members of the general public entering the various properties uninvited and without charge. These persons would be licensees, to whom an owner of land traditionally owed no duty except to refrain from willful or wanton failure to guard or warn against dangerous conditions. Mathews v. Spiegel, 386 Pa. 203, 122 A.2d 696 (1956). Thus the application of the statute to those circumstances is basically a codification of the common-law duty owned by a landowner to a licensee. The facts of this case, however, warrant a different result.

By contrast, plaintiff herein was more properly categorized as an invitee. Invitees under common law were originally defined as those persons from whom the landowner expected to derive an economic benefit. Wiegand v. Mars National Bank, 308 Pa. Super. 218, 454 A.2d 99 (1982). At common law [436]*436a landowner was under a duty to exercise reasonable care to make premises safe for invitees. Plaintiff was an invitee because at the time of the accident he was the guest of one of defendant’s tenants.

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Related

Gallo v. Yamaha Motor Corp., USA
526 A.2d 359 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1987)
Thorsen v. Iron and Glass Bank
476 A.2d 928 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1984)
DiMino v. Borough of Pottstown
564 A.2d 1329 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1989)
Livingston by Livingston v. Pa. Power & Light Co.
609 F. Supp. 643 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1985)
Speer v. Barry
503 A.2d 409 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1985)
Trenco, Inc. v. Dept. of Transp.
560 A.2d 285 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1989)
Kniaz Et Vir v. Benton Boro.
535 A.2d 308 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1988)
Pierce v. Philadelphia Housing Authority
486 A.2d 1004 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1985)
Ernest Sunday Chrysler Plymouth, Inc. v. Commonwealth
558 A.2d 921 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1989)
Walsh v. City of Philadelphia
558 A.2d 192 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1989)
Matthews v. Spiegel
122 A.2d 696 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1956)
Wiegand by Wiegand v. Mars Nat. Bank
454 A.2d 99 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1982)
Lowman v. Indiana Area School District
507 A.2d 1270 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1986)
Carr v. Carr O'Brien Co.
125 A.2d 607 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1956)
Commonwealth, Department of Environmental Resources v. Auresto
511 A.2d 815 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1986)
Portee v. Kronzek
166 A.2d 328 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1960)
Boyle Land & Fuel Co. v. Commonwealth
475 A.2d 928 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1984)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
7 Pa. D. & C.4th 432, 1990 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 217, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/haupt-v-haddox-pactcomplerie-1990.