Lorenzo, J. v. Kochersperger, R.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 17, 2024
Docket676 EDA 2023
StatusUnpublished

This text of Lorenzo, J. v. Kochersperger, R. (Lorenzo, J. v. Kochersperger, R.) 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
Lorenzo, J. v. Kochersperger, R., (Pa. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

J-A28028-23

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

JOHN LORENZO : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA Appellant : : : v. : : : RONALD R. KOCHERSPERGER AND : No. 676 EDA 2023 NANCY R. KOCHERSPERGER, : BRADFORD J. QUINBY AND CARROLL : R. QUINBY, AND WILLIAM P. : CROSSLAND AND SONS, INC., D/B/A : NORBILL DISPOSAL SERVICE :

Appeal from the Order Entered February 10, 2023 In the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County Civil Division at No: 2019-08875

BEFORE: OLSON, J., STABILE, J., and COLINS, J.*

MEMORANDUM BY STABILE, J.: FILED DECEMBER 17, 2024

Appellant John Lorenzo (“Appellant”) appeals from the February 10,

2023, order granting summary judgment in favor of Appellees Ronald R.

Kochersperger and Nancy R. Kochersperger (“Appellees”) that dismissed his

complaint with prejudice.1 Appellant contends that the trial court erred in

determining that the discovery rule did not toll the statute of limitations on

____________________________________________

* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.

1 By stipulation, William P. Crossland and Sons, Inc., d/b/a Norbill Disposal

Service (“Norbill”) was dismissed as a party on March 1, 2022. On January 27, 2023, the court granted summary judgment in favor of Bradford J. Quinby and Carroll R. Quinby (“the Quinbys”). Appellant does not appeal this order. J-A28028-23

his claims. Upon review, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for

proceedings consistent with this memorandum.

Appellant owns a vacant parcel of land consisting of 0.4 acres located at

313 Old Dublin Pike and Swamp Road (State Road 313) in Bucks County,

Pennsylvania. There is no structure on the property. It lies adjacent to a

small residential property owned by Appellees and a gun shop owned by

Bradford J. Quinby and Carroll R. Quinby (“the Quinbys”).

In 2016, Appellant became suspicious that either Appellees or the

Quinbys installed an illegal septic system and/or drainfield on his property

which caused sewage effluent to flow onto his property. At various times,

Appellant noticed “a big, bubbly . . . soup in front of [Appellees’] house.”

Motion for Summary Judgment, 6/30/22, Exhibit C, Deposition of John

Lorenzo, at 69. Additionally, Appellant “noticed this black slurry of effluent

that smelled acrid” with “swarms of flies around it all through the ditch in front

of [his] property.” Id. The black slurry was sometimes present on the

property, and other times it was not. Id. at 70.

One day in 2016, Appellant approached Department of Environmental

Protection (“DEP”) employees parked in their vehicles. Id. at 87. He

explained his suspicions to them and asked them to drive to his property to

look, which they did. Id. The DEP workers said it did not look like sewage

but agreed to pass along Appellant’s complaint. Id. at 88. Thereafter,

Appellant filed a complaint with the Bucks County Department of Health

(“DOH”) on August 10, 2016. The complaint named Appellees as the

-2- J-A28028-23

responsible parties and stated that an “illegal cesspool and drain field [was]

installed on my property without my permission!” 2 Motion for Summary

Judgment, 7/1/22, Exhibit C, Environmental Complaint.

Appellant informed DOH that a pipe ran from Appellees’ property to a

ditch in front of Appellant’s property, which he claimed carried discharge from

Appellees’ washing machine. Id., Field Contact Report 8/23/16; R.R. at 161a.

Appellant dug test holes approximately 30 to 48 inches deep on his property

and discovered a terra cotta line and groundwater. Id. After conducting its

own investigation, the DOH believed that Appellees’ septic tank was located

between the driveway and house under the arborvitaes planted near the road.

Id. However, DOH was unable to determine the location of the drainfield and

Appellees were unsure of its location. Id.; R.R. at 162a. The DOH concluded

that “while it may be possible that [Appellees] system is gradually draining

through the subsurface of [Appellant’s] property, there is no conclusive

evidence to indicate such. The burden of proof will be on [Appellant] to show

the [DOH] where any alleged “illegal” drainfield lines are on his property.” Id.

2 Per the DOH, neither blackwater nor graywater can be discharged onto the

surface of the ground or into the waters of the Commonwealth. See Plaintiff’s Answer, 9/1/22, Exhibit A, Deposition of Arthur Carlson, at 25. Blackwater is waste from the toilet. Id. Graywater is waste from a washing machine, kitchen sink, bathroom sink, etc. Id.

-3- J-A28028-23

Thereafter, the DOH conducted dye testing which yielded a negative

result.3 Id. At that time, Appellant stated that he planned to excavate to

determine if there was a septic system and/or drainfield illegally installed on

his property. Id. Appellant obtained an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000 to

excavate.4 Motion for Summary Judgment, 6/30/22, Exhibit C, Deposition of

John Lorenzo, at 110. Around the same time, Appellant was in a car accident

that “messed up [his knees] bad,” and he determined it was too costly to

move forward with the excavation. Id.

In July 2019, Appellant filed a second complaint with the DOH alleging

that Appellees illegally installed a septic system and/or drainfield on his

property. See Third Amended Complaint, 10/23/20, ¶ 20. In August 2019,

Appellant “excavated the area under the row of arborvitaes and found

evidence of the septic system drainage field.” Id., ¶ 21. Thereafter, DOH

investigated and discovered that Appellees’ washing machine discharged into

the ditch in front of Appellant’s property. Motion for Summary Judgment,

7/1/22, Exhibit C, Field Contact Report 8/20/19; R.R. at 169a. Appellees

3 DOH uses dye testing “to discern whether there’s a sewage overflow or whether it’s just a groundwater discharge.” Plaintiff’s Answer, 9/1/22, Deposition of Arthur Carlson, at 18. Dye is placed in the toilets and other fixtures in a house or other structure and then the surrounding area is monitored for the presence of dye. Id. at 19.

4 Appellant did not provide a date which he obtained an estimate. However, there is a notation in the August 23, 2016, field contact report that Appellant advised DOH that he was “in discussion with George Allen Wastewater to dig a trench along his property line.” Motion for Summary Judgment, 7/1/22, Exhibit C, Field Contact Report 8/23/16; R.R. at 162a.

-4- J-A28028-23

remedied the issue and plumbed the washing machine into the main septic

system. Id., Field Contact Report 9/10/19; R.R. at 173a.

The DOH conducted extensive dye testing at both Appellees’ and the

Quinbys’ properties. Arthur E. Carlson, a certified professional soil scientist

and supervisor at the Bucks County DOH, testified that dye was discovered in

the ditch in front of Appellant’s property after the first round of testing. See

Plaintiff’s Answer, 9/1/22, Exhibit A, Deposition of Arthur Carlson, at 10, 51.

However, the dye was “very faint” and did not fluoresce as it should have;

therefore, he said there was a chance that it was not dye from their dye test.5

Id. Carlson explained that it could have been an algal mass, an algal by-

product, antifreeze, or green food dye. Id. at 53-54.

Thereafter, Appellant dug a trench five feet deep along his property line.

Carlson testified that there was definite dye-laced effluent at the bottom of

the trench, and it smelled of sewage. Id.

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

Related

Fine v. Checcio
870 A.2d 850 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2005)
Miller v. Stroud Township
804 A.2d 749 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2002)
CASSEL-HESS v. Hoffer
44 A.3d 80 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2012)
Nicolaou, N., h/w, Aplts. v. J. Martin M.D.
195 A.3d 880 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2018)
Kowalski, B. v. TOA PA V, L.P.
206 A.3d 1148 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019)
Long, E. v. Estate of: McFarland, D.
2020 Pa. Super. 276 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Lorenzo, J. v. Kochersperger, R., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lorenzo-j-v-kochersperger-r-pasuperct-2024.