Price v. Leibfried

34 A.3d 1277
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 22, 2011
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 34 A.3d 1277 (Price v. Leibfried) 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
Price v. Leibfried, 34 A.3d 1277 (Pa. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION BY

LAZARUS, J.:

Sherri and David Price, husband and wife, (the Prices) appeal from the February 7, 2011 order entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County granting defendant Lawrence Leibfried’s (Leib-fried) motion for summary judgment.1 We affirm.

This negligence action arises out of a two-vehicle crash that occurred on January 12, 2006. That night, at approximately 10:45 p.m., Sherri Price (Price) was a passenger in her 1999 Chrysler Sebring. Le-ibfried, who was driving the Sebring, rear-ended a tractor-trailer. Price was injured in the accident.

Just prior to the accident, Price and Leibfried had been drinking alcohol at Defendant Riviera Tavern. Leibfried’s blood [1278]*1278alcohol content was between 0.21% and 0.217% within an hour after the crash.

In their complaint, the Prices alleged negligence and sought damages for Sherri’s injuries and for loss of consortium. The complaint also alleged negligence against Riviera Tavern, claiming it served alcohol to Leibfried when he was visibly intoxicated, in violation of the Dram Shop Act. See 47 P.S. § 4-493(a).

At the close of discovery, Leibfried filed a motion for summary judgment. In his motion, Leibfried averred that Price was vicariously liable for her own injuries, citing to 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1574 (Permitting unauthorized person to drive).2 Both the Prices and Riviera Tavern filed responses to the motion for summary judgment. On April 11, 2008, the Honorable Jeannine Turgeon granted summary judgment with respect to Leibfried only. The Prices appealed, and this Court quashed the appeal because the court did not properly certify the order as final pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 341(c).3 See Price v. Leibfried and Riviera Tavern Corp., 914 MDA 2008 (filed March 24, 2009) (unpublished memorandum).

The Prices filed a motion for reconsideration with the trial court. The court reaffirmed its prior order and made the following findings: “(1) the record establishes as an undisputed material fact that Plaintiff Sherri Price knowingly permitted Defendant Leibfried, an unauthorized/unlicensed driver, to operate her vehicle, ... and, (2) as a matter of law, Plaintiff Sherri Price is therefore vicariously liable for Defendant Leibfried’s negligence in the operation of her vehicle pursuant to 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1574(b), as interpreted under Terwilliger v. Kitchen, 781 A.2d 1201, 1206 (Pa.Super.2001).” Trial Court Order, 2/7/2011. The court determined that the Prices were precluded from recovering damages from Leibfried and thus granted his motion for summary judgment. The court further directed “that the issue of defendant Leib-fried’s negligence will remain an issue for a jury to determine in apportioning liability and that the jury will not be instructed that Leibfried’s liability is imputed to plaintiff Sherri Price pursuant to 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1574.”

On appeal, the Prices raise the following claims:

(1) Is a defendant entitled to summary judgment based solely on his own testimony, when the plaintiffs testimony differs as to material facts regarding whether plaintiff authorized or permitted defendant to operate her vehicle on the night in question?
(2) Is 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1574 applicable where the circumstances of the case [1279]*1279and the testimony of the vehicle owner do not establish that the owner authorized or permitted the unlicensed driver to operate her vehicle?
(3) Pursuant to 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1574, is an injured passenger vicariously liable to herself for the negligence of the driver of the vehicle and thus per se barred from pursuing a claim against the driver when the injured passenger owned the vehicle and “authorized or permitted” the driver to operate the vehicle knowing that he did not have a valid driver’s license?
(4) Should defendant Leibfried’s negligence remain an issue for a jury to determine, for the purpose of apportioning liability only, with the jury not being instructed that Leibfried’s liability is imputed to plaintiff Sherri Price pursuant to 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1574.

When reviewing a grant of summary judgment by a trial court our standard of review is as follows:

Summary judgment is properly granted where ‘the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.’ Pa.R.C.P. 1035(b). ‘The record must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, and all doubts as to the existence of a genuine issue of material fact must be resolved against the moving party.’ Marks v. Tasman, 527 Pa. 132, 135, 589 A.2d 205, 206 (1991). Summary judgment may be entered only in those cases where the right is clear and free from doubt. Musser v. Vilsmeier Auction Co., Inc., 522 Pa. 367, 369, 562 A.2d 279, 280. (1989).

Pennsylvania State University v. County of Centre, 532 Pa. 142, 615 A.2d 303, 304 (1992). A reviewing court may disturb the order of the trial court only where that court committed an error of law or abused its discretion. Keystone Freight Corp. v. Stricker, 31 A.3d 967, 2011 PA Super 216 (2011). As with all questions of law, our review is plenary. Phillips v. A-Best Products Co., 542 Pa. 124, 665 A.2d 1167, 1170 (1995).

The Prices argue that there is a genuine issue of material fact with regard to whether Price “authorized or permitted” Leibfried to drive her car, and, therefore, the entry of summary judgment was improper. Contrary to the wording of their first issue and the argument presented, Leibfried’s summary judgment motion was not granted “solely on his own testimony.” See Nanty-Glo v. American Surety Co., 309 Pa. 236, 163 A. 523 (1932); Peluso v. Walter, 334 Pa.Super. 609, 483 A.2d 905 (1984). Price’s own deposition testimony establishes that she permitted Leibfried to drive her car, knowing he was unlicensed.

Price stated in her deposition that she knew, prior to the accident, Leibfried did not have a valid driver’s license on the night of the accident, and she knew that he had been drinking beer and “hard liquor” on the night of the accident. Sherri Price Deposition, 9/6/2007, at 39. In her deposition, Price recounted that she and Leib-fried had been drinking at three bars that evening, the Riviera Tavern being the last, and that she had driven to the Riviera Tavern. She stated that she had felt “impaired” driving to the Riviera Tavern, and that “[ajfter leaving the [Riviera Tavern], the next thing I remember is looking over at Larry [Leibfried] driving my car.” Id. at 54, 57. Price’s deposition testimony continued as follows:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
34 A.3d 1277, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/price-v-leibfried-pasuperct-2011.