Ramos v. Jones

39 Pa. D. & C.5th 32
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Northampton County
DecidedJune 18, 2014
DocketNo. C-48-CV-2012-2141
StatusPublished

This text of 39 Pa. D. & C.5th 32 (Ramos v. Jones) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Northampton County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ramos v. Jones, 39 Pa. D. & C.5th 32 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2014).

Opinion

BARATTA, J.,

ORDER OF COURT

And now, this 18th day of June, 2014, upon consideration of the defendants, Michael Jones and Barbara Jones’s, motion for partial summary judgment, and the plaintiff, Melanie Ramos’s, response thereto, it is hereby ordered that said motion is granted, and the plaintiff is precluded from asserting and recovering any and all non-economic damages due to her selection of the limited tort option.

It is further ordered that any and all claims for non-economic damages are dismissed with prejudice.

STATEMENT OF REASONS

Facts and Procedural History

On March 2, 2012, the plaintiff, Melanie Ramos, filed a praecipe for writ of summons. On March 27, 2012, the defendants, Michael Jones and Barbara Jones, filed a praecipe for rule to file complaint.

On April 9, 2012, the plaintiff filed her complaint, in which she avers that on March 21, 2010, a motor vehicle accident occurred between defendant Michael Jones and the plaintiff at the intersection of Union Boulevard and Airport Road. Defendant Michael Jones was allegedly negligently driving a vehicle with the permission of defendant Barbara Jones. The plaintiff avers in her complaint that she suffered “severe, serious and disabling” injuries, directly and proximately caused by the defendants’ negligence. Specifically, she complains of sprains and strains of her neck and back, as well as injuries to her discs, shoulders, head and right knee. She also asserts that she suffers mental damages that were directly [35]*35and proximately caused by this motor vehicle accident: PTSD, depression, fear, anxiety, and/or other mental and psychic injuries. The plaintiff also complains of economic injuries, including lost wages, the incurrence of large bills due to treatment, and out-of-pocket expenses. Finally, the plaintiff complains that, as a result of the accident, she is unable to pursue her usual occupation.

On April 25, 2012, the defendants filed an answer and new matter. In their answer, the defendants aver that defendant Michael Jones had defendant Donna Jones’s permission to use the vehicle, but he did not use the vehicle to run an errand for her or under her direction. In their new matter, the defendants chiefly contend that the plaintiff’s claim for any non-economic losses is barred pursuant to the Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Act (the “MVRL”), 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 1701, et seq., because the plaintiff selected the limited tort option when applying for the insurance policy in effect at the time of the accident. See answer with new matter at ¶¶ 25-27. Additionally, the defendants contest causation. Id. at ¶ 28. Other affirmative and equitable defenses are also raised in the new matter.

On May 9, 2012, the plaintiff filed her response, asserting that the averments in the defendants’ new matter amounted to conclusions of law. Id. at ¶¶ 29-33. The parties engaged in discovery, which included obtaining medical records and conducting depositions.

The defendants filed a motion for partial summary judgment on February 21, 2014, arguing that they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law because the plaintiff selected the limited tort option in her insurance policy and did not sustain an injury which constitutes a serious impairment of a body function. As such, they argue, she is not entitled to non-economic damages. The defendants filed a memorandum of law supporting their motion on the [36]*36same date.

On March 24, 2014, the plaintiff filed an answer and brief in opposition, in which she argued that this determination is one for the jury because reasonable minds could differ. On April 29, 2014, the defendants filed a reply to plaintiff’s brief in opposition to motion for partial summary judgment. On May 1, 2014, the plaintiff filed reply to defendants’ submission at oral argument.

This matter was placed on the April 25,2014, argument list and argument was heard.

Legal Standard

Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1035.2 states:

After the relevant pleadings are closed, but within such time as not to unreasonably delay trial, any party may move for summary judgment in whole or in part as a matter of law
(1) whenever there is no genuine issue of any material fact as to a necessary element of the cause of action or defense which could be established by additional discovery or expert report, or
(2) if, after the completion of discovery relevant to the motion, including the production of expert reports, an adverse party who will bear the burden of proof at trial has failed to produce evidence of facts essential to the cause of action or defense which in a jury trial would require the issues to be submitted to the jury.

Pa.R.C.P. 1035.2..

Further, under Pa.R.C.P. 1035.3(a), the nonmoving party may not rest upon mere allegations or denials of the pleadings but must file a response within thirty (30) days after service of the motion. In other words, the nonmoving [37]*37party has a clear and affirmative duty to respond to a motion for summary judgment. Harber Phila. Ctr. City Office Ltd. v. LPCI Ltd. P’ship, 764 A.2d 1100, 1104 (Pa. Super. 2000). Also, Pa.R.C.P. 1035.3(d) specifically provides that “[sjummary judgment may be entered against a party who does not respond.” Ld.

Summary judgment may be granted only in the clearest of cases where the record shows that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. P.J.S. v. Pa. State Ethics Comm’n, 723 A.2d 174, 176 (Pa. 1999) (citing Marks v. Tasman, 589 A.2d 205 (Pa. 1991)). Summary judgment is only appropriate in the clearest of cases, because an order favorable to the moving party will prematurely end an action. Scopel v. Donegal Mut. Ins. Co., 698 A.2d 602, 605 (Pa. Super. 1997) (citations omitted). The moving party has the burden of proving the non-existence of any genuine issue of material fact. O’Rourke v. Pa. Dep’t of Corr., 730 A.2d 1039, 1041 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1999) (citing Kee v. Turnpike Comm’n, 722 A.2d 1123 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1998)). “Failure of a non-moving party to adduce sufficient evidence on an issue essential to his case and on which it bears the burden of proof... establishes the entitlement of the moving party to judgment as a matter of law.” Murphy v. Duquesne Univ. of the Holy Ghost, 777 A.2d 418, 429 (Pa. 2001) (quoting Young v. PennDOT, 744 A.2d 1276, 1277 (Pa. 2000)) (omission in original) (internal quotation marks omitted).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
39 Pa. D. & C.5th 32, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ramos-v-jones-pactcomplnortha-2014.