Orwig, H. v. Discount Pool & Spa

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 20, 2024
Docket1061 MDA 2023
StatusUnpublished

This text of Orwig, H. v. Discount Pool & Spa (Orwig, H. v. Discount Pool & Spa) 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
Orwig, H. v. Discount Pool & Spa, (Pa. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

J-A02020-24

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

HEAVEN G. ORWIG, INDIVIDUALLY : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF AND AS ADMINSTRATRIX OF THE : PENNSYLVANIA ESTATE OF ASHER KENNETH GEE; : AND RICHARD S. GEE : : Appellants : : v. : : PATRICK A. SHINN; LAURA J. FLORI; : DISCOUNT POOL AND SPA WORLD; : LOUIS F. BARZONA; JAMES H. : BECHDEL, SR.; AND LAUBSCHER : POOLS, INC., : : v. : : PAUL W. TONER; JENNIFER L. : TONER; CHANDRA L. GEE; AND : RICHARD K. GEE : No. 1061 MDA 2023

Appeal from the Order Entered July 10, 2023 In the Court of Common Pleas of Clinton County Civil Division at No(s): 126-18

BEFORE: NICHOLS, J., KING, J., and SULLIVAN, J.

MEMORANDUM BY KING, J.: FILED JUNE 20, 2024

Appellants, Heaven G. Orwig, individually and as administratrix of the

estate of Asher Kenneth Gee, and Richard S. Gee, appeal from the order

entered in the Clinton County Court of Common Pleas, which granted

summary judgment in favor of Appellees, Discount Pool and Spa World, Louis

F. Barzona, and Laubscher Pools, Inc. We affirm.

The trial court opinion set forth the relevant factual history of this appeal

as follows: J-A02020-24

[Appellants] and Additional Defendants Paul W. Toner and Jennifer L. Toner (the Toners) were neighbors residing in Bald Eagle Township, Clinton County, Pennsylvania. On May 24, 2017, [Appellants’] child, Asher Gee [(“Decedent”)], three (3) years of age, left the residence of [Appellants] and walked without supervision several hundred yards to the property of the Toners. On the Toners’ property was located an above ground pool and the child entered onto the Toners’ property and was later found floating and unconscious in the swimming pool, partially submerged. The child subsequently was pronounced dead. The cause of death was drowning. Defendant Patrick A. Shinn, and his then wife, Laura J. Flori, owned the property prior to the Toners. Defendants Shinn and Flori installed the above ground swimming pool on or about June 2009. The seller and installer of the pool and accessories was [Appellee] Louis Barzona, who was doing business as Discount Pool and Spa World [(collectively, “Discount and Barzona”)]. The make and model of the commercially manufactured pool was a “Swim N Play-Aria.” [Discount and Barzona] delivered and erected the pool, but did not complete any maintenance on the pool.

Defendant Shinn, the previous owner, finished the pool area with decking and related accessories. The decking and related accessories were designed and built by Defendant Shinn. The property was transferred to the Toners by Deed dated July 24, 2014 and thus the Toners were the owners of the property on May 24, 2017, the date of the incident.

[Appellee] Laubscher Pools, Inc. was contracted by the Toners to perform pool services and replaced the pool pump and filter equipment that was located along or near the exterior area of the pool on or about April 14, 2015 through April 17, 2015.

(Opinion and Order Granting Summary Judgment, filed 7/1/21, at 2-3).

On January 31, 2018, Appellants filed a praecipe for writ of summons

against Mr. Shinn and Ms. Flori only. On March 26, 2018, Appellants filed a

complaint that included a wrongful death claim and survival action. Mr. Shinn

-2- J-A02020-24

and Ms. Flori did not respond to the complaint. On May 3, 2018, Appellants

filed a praecipe to enter default judgment against Ms. Flori. On June 4, 2018,

Appellants filed a praecipe to enter default judgment against Mr. Shinn.

Ms. Flori filed a petition to open and/or strike the default judgment on

September 13, 2018. While Ms. Flori’s petition was pending, Appellants filed

a motion for leave to file an amended complaint joining new party defendants.

By order dated December 13, 2018, the court granted Appellants’ motion for

leave to file an amended complaint. That same day, Appellants filed their

amended complaint, which included Discount and Barzona as defendants.1 By

order entered December 18, 2018, the court opened the default judgment

against Ms. Flori. Ms. Flori filed preliminary objections on January 3, 2019.

Ultimately, the court sustained Ms. Flori’s preliminary objections and

dismissed the case against her.

On February 15, 2019, Discount and Barzona filed a praecipe for writ of

____________________________________________

1 The amended complaint also included James H. Bechdel, Sr. as a defendant.

Mr. Bechdel had excavated the area surrounding the swimming pool prior to Appellee Barzona’s installation of the pool. (See Amended Complaint, filed 12/13/18, at 4). On January 28, 2019, Appellants filed a praecipe to enter default judgment against Mr. Bechdel. Thereafter, Mr. Bechdel filed for bankruptcy. The bankruptcy court imposed an automatic stay on Appellants’ claims against Mr. Bechdel. (See Appellants’ Motion to Sever Claims against Mr. Bechdel, filed 8/19/19, at 2). By order entered November 1, 2019, the trial court permitted Appellants to petition the bankruptcy court to have the stay lifted for purposes of discovery in the instant case. Thereafter, the bankruptcy court issued a discharge order on November 22, 2019. In light of the discharge order, the trial court dismissed the case against Mr. Bechdel on July 10, 2023.

-3- J-A02020-24

summons to join the Toners as additional defendants. That same day,

Discount and Barzona filed a motion for an extension of time to join additional

defendants. Discount and Barzona sought the extension “depending upon

what might be learned through further discovery.” (Motion, filed 2/15/19, at

¶5). The court granted the extension motion on February 20, 2019. On March

8, 2019, Discount and Barzona filed a joinder complaint naming the Toners as

additional defendants.2, 3

On May 2, 2019, Appellants filed a motion for leave to amend their

complaint. The court granted the motion, and Appellants filed their second

amended complaint on May 15, 2019. Significantly, the second amended

complaint added Laubscher Pools as a defendant. The parties subsequently

filed responsive pleadings, and the matter proceeded to discovery. On April

15, 2021, Discount and Barzona filed a motion for summary judgment. That

same day, Laubscher Pools filed a summary judgment motion. In their

respective motions, Appellees argued that Appellants failed to establish a

2 The Toners filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings on November 15,

2021, which the court granted.

3 On May 2, 2019, Discount and Barzona filed a praecipe for writ of summons

to join Chandra and Richard Gee as additional defendants. On March 10, 2020, Discount and Barzona filed a joinder complaint naming the Gees as additional defendants. In the joinder complaint, Discount and Barzona alleged that: 1) the Gees owned the house where Decedent was living at the time of the accident; 2) the Gees had custody of Decedent at the time of the accident; and 3) the Gees’ inadequate supervision of Decedent contributed to the accident.

-4- J-A02020-24

causal connection between Appellees’ conduct and Decedent’s entry into the

pool. (See Discount and Barzona’s Motion for Summary Judgment, filed

4/15/21, at ¶6; Laubscher’s Motion for Summary Judgment, filed 4/15/21, at

¶20). In their responses to the summary judgment motions, Appellants

argued that their experts’ reports and the deposition testimony established a

prima facie case of negligence and demonstrated that Appellees’ actions were

the proximate cause of Decedent’s death. (See Appellants’ Response to

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