Plummer v. Dansky

16 Pa. D. & C.3d 734, 1980 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 239
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Mercer County
DecidedOctober 27, 1980
Docketno. 159 C.D. 1980
StatusPublished

This text of 16 Pa. D. & C.3d 734 (Plummer v. Dansky) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Mercer County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Plummer v. Dansky, 16 Pa. D. & C.3d 734, 1980 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 239 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1980).

Opinion

STRANAHAN, P.J.,

The above captioned case is an action in trespass brought by Mr. and Mrs. Samuel J. Plummer, Jr., against Myron Dansky for damages they sustained as a result of a motor vehicle accident involving Mr. Plummer and Mr. Dansky.

The accident occurred on the morning of May 5, 1978. At approximately 6:40 that morning Mr. Plummer parked his marked state police car on the north berm of Interstate 80 West, behind a tractor-trailer. While Mr. Plummer was still seated in the driver’s seat of his car, a car driven by Mr. Dansky, for some undetermined reason, veered off the roadway and struck the rear of his car. The force of the impact pushed Plummer’s car under the tractor-trailer. Mr. Plummer was injured in the accident.

[736]*736When the accident occurred, Mr. Plummer was on duty as a Pennsylvania State Policeman.

On April 17,1980 the Plummers filed a complaint against Mr. Dansky for the damages they sustained as a result of this accident. Their complaint contained two counts. Count I is a request by Mr. Plummer that he be compensated for his past and future medical expenses and his pain and suffering. In addition, Mr. Plummer seeks an award of punitive damages. Count II of the complaint is a request by Mrs. Plummer that she be compensated for her loss of consortium, companionship and services.

Defendant has filed a variety of preliminary objections to the complaint.

Initially, defendant demurs to each count by alleging that neither states a cause of action under the common law or the Pennsylvania No-fault Motor Vehicle Insurance Act of July 19, 1974, PL. 489, sec. 101 et seq., 40 P.S. §1009.101 et seq. (hereinafter called No-fault)

In the alternative, defendant asks the court to strike various sections of the complaint. Defendant asks the court to strike paragraph (10) on the basis that plaintiff is not permitted to specifically plead his medical expenses to prove they exceed the threshold limitation for suing for noneconomic detriment under 40 P.S. § 1009.301(a)(5)(B); paragraph (11) on the basis that plaintiff must plead that his medical expenses “have” exceeded the threshold limitation, not “will” exceed it, to sue for noneconomic detriment under 40 P.S. § 1009.301(a)(5)(B); paragraph (13) on the basis that this lawsuit is governed by the No-fault Act; and paragraphs (14) and (15) and the allegation of “reckless and/or willful and wanton misconduct” contained in paragraphs (7) and (8) on the basis [737]*737that plaintiff must plead intentional conduct on the part of defendant to recover punitive damages under No-fault.

In the alternative, he asks the court to order plaintiff to plead paragraphs (4), (6), and (13) more specifically.

Finally, in the alternative, he asks the court to order plaintiff to plead his claim for punitive damages in a separate count.

While a number of issues are raised by these prehminary objections, the overriding issue presented to this court is whether or not the provisions of the No-fault Act are applicable to this suit. That determination will provide the court with the necessary framework to properly evaluate defendant’s prehminary objections.

Plaintiff pleads and argues that the No-fault Act is not applicable to this suit. The essence of his argument is as follows. The no-fault statute was enacted to provide an exclusive system of compensation for injuries sustained as a result of motor vehicle accidents in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Under section 204(a)(1) of the No-fault Act, 40 P.S. § 1009.204(a)(1), an employe is entitled to no-fault benefits from his employer when he is injured while riding in a car owned by his employer. However, the Superior Court in Turner v. SEPTA, 256 Pa. Superior Ct. 43, 389 A. 2d 591 (1978), and Wagner v. National Indemnity Co., 266 Pa. Superior Ct. 110, 403 A. 2d 118 (1979), held that the exclusive remedy of an employe, as against his employer, for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident while on the job is provided by The Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compensation Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 736, as amended, 77 P.S. §1, not no-fault. Mr. Plummer, therefore, is not entitled to receive no-fault benefits from his employer, the Common[738]*738wealth of Pennsylvania, for his injuries. Since Mr. Plummer is not entitled to receive no-fault benefits from his employer, plaintiff argues that the accident did not occur in accordance with the provisions of the no-fault statute. Hence, the provisions of that statute are not applicable to this suit.

The error in plaintiff’s argument is the importance he gives the decisions in Turner and Wagner. Those two cases dealt with a situation where there existed a statutory mechanism for providing compensation to injured parties prior to the enactment of the no-fault statute. In each instance, the court was faced with the question of whether the partial abolition of the tort liability contained in section 301(a) of the No-fault Act applied to a preexisting, exclusive statutory remedy. In each case, the court concluded that the partial abolition of tort liability did not apply to an employe’s remedy under the Workmen’s Compensation Act.

In neither case did the court deal with the question of whether or not the provisions of the No-fault Act apply to a suit between an employe and a third party tortfeasor.

Only one appellate court case even touches on that queston: Brunelli v. Farelly Brothers, 266 Pa. Superior Ct. 23, 402 A. 2d 1058 (1979). In dicta contained in footnote 6 of that case, the court stated: “The Workmen’s Compensation Act does not affect an employee’s cause of action against a third party tortfeasor. . . . No-fault applies to an action between the employee and the third party.”

While only dicta, we find that comment persuasive. Unlike the situation between an employe and employer, there was no preexisting statutory mechanism for providing compensation for injured employes from third party tortfeasors. As against [739]*739the third party tortfeasor, the only remedy available to the injured employe was to sue in tort. That is the exact situation which the No-fault Act was designed to cover: 40 P.S. § 1009.102. Hence, we hold that this suit by the Plummers against Mr. Dansky is governed by the various provisions of the No-fault Act.

To state a cause of action under the provisions of the No-fault Act, a plaintiff must plead facts sufficient to show that his case fits into one of the six exceptions to No-fault’s partial abolition of tort liability for motor vehicle accidents contained in 40 P.S. § 1009.301(a).

Paragraph (11) in count I of plaintiff’s complaint contains the following allegation:

“. . . it is reasonably certain that in the future the reasonable value of reasonable and necessary medical and dental services, including prosthetic devices and necessary ambulance, hospital, and professional nursing expenses incurred in the diagnosis, care and recovery of the victim, exclusive of diagnostic x-ray costs and rehabilitation costs in excess of $100.00, will exceed $750.00.”

The court finds that that is a sufficient allegation of fact by plaintiff to make out a cause of action for noneconomic detriment under 40 P.S. § 1009.301(a)(5)(B).

The court does not accept defendant’s argument that a plaintiff must plead that his medical expenses “have exceeded,” not “will exceed,” the threshold limitations of 40 P.S. § 1009.301(a)(5)(B).

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Related

Brunelli v. Farelly Bros.
402 A.2d 1058 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1979)
Zagari v. Gralka
399 A.2d 755 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1979)
Wagner v. National Indemnity Co.
403 A.2d 118 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1979)
Turner v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
389 A.2d 591 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1978)
General State Authority v. Sutter Corp.
356 A.2d 377 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1976)

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Bluebook (online)
16 Pa. D. & C.3d 734, 1980 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 239, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/plummer-v-dansky-pactcomplmercer-1980.