Rodriquez ex rel. Rodriquez v. SCG Mortgage Corp.

865 A.2d 987, 2005 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 13
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 7, 2005
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 865 A.2d 987 (Rodriquez ex rel. Rodriquez v. SCG Mortgage Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rodriquez ex rel. Rodriquez v. SCG Mortgage Corp., 865 A.2d 987, 2005 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 13 (Pa. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

OPINION BY Senior

Judge FLAHERTY.

This appeal comes to us on remand from the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania which granted the petition for allowance of appeal of Emalcom Rodriquez (Rodriquez), a minor by and through his mother and natural guardian, Madeline Rodriquez and vacated the March 6, 2001 order of our Court and remanded to us for consideration of the City of Philadelphia’s (City) alternative claimed basis for summary judgment.

Rodriquez appealed from the order of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County (trial court) which granted summary judgment in favor of the City of Philadelphia.

On September 27, 1995, a five-year-old Rodriquez was riding his'bicycle on the sidewalk in the 3200 block of Aramingo Avenue. Aramingo Avenue is a state highway, designated Legislative Route 67047, and was taken over by the Commonwealth in 1941. During his ride, Rodriquez’ bicycle fell into a completely missing section of the sidewalk in front of 3226 Aramingo Avenue, throwing him over the handlebars and causing him to land on his head and chin. The accident caused Rodriquez to suffer serious injuries, including a permanent seizure condition. Rodriquez averred that the sidewalk had been in a state of disrepair for a long period of time prior to the accident.

The property adjacent to the sidewalk, 3226 Aramingo Avenue, had been owned by Joseph and Kim Majka. However, six weeks before the accident, the property was sold to SCG Mortgage (SCG) and Suncoast Savings and Loan (Suncoast) at a Sheriffs Sale. SCG was a subsidiary of Suncoast, BankUnited, and/or Barnett Bank. After the Sheriffs Sale, SCG hired Safeguard Properties (Safeguard) to inspect and maintain the property.

Rodriquez filed a complaint against SCG, Suncoast, BankUnited, Safeguard and Joseph and Kim Majka, along with the City. A settlement was ultimately worked out between Rodriquez and SCG, Sun-coast, BankUnited and Safeguard.

The City subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that it was immune from liability because Aramingo Avenue was a state highway and, therefore, the sidewalk exception to governmental immunity, Section 8542(b)(7) of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 8542(b)(7), did not apply. The trial court granted the motion and entered judgment in favor of [989]*989the City. The trial court also dismissed the action against the Majkas without prejudice providing that, “[t]he plaintiff reserves the right to reinstate the claims against Joseph Majka and Kim Majka in the event that the PA Supreme Court overrules the Commonwealth Court’s decision in Sherman v. City of Philadelphia, 745 A.2d 95 ([Pa.Cmwlth.] 2000).” Trial Court Order, April 26, 2000. In that same order, Barnett Bank was dismissed with prejudice. Rodriquez appealed to our Court.

Before our Court, Rodriquez contended that the trial court erred in finding that the City was immune from suit under Section 8542(b)(7) of the Judicial Code. Rodriquez also stated that in the event our Court would find in favor of him on the immunity issue, that his settlement agreement with certain other defendants does not bar his recovery against the City.

The City raised a procedural argument stating that Rodriquez’ appeal should be quashed because the Majkas were dismissed from the case without prejudice, rendering the order granting the City summary judgment interlocutory, not final, under Pa. R.A.P. 341.

Our Court found that the appealed order was a final order and then addressed the merits of the case. Our Court cited Sherman and Bruce v. Godson, 127 Pa.Cmwlth. 159, 561 A.2d 74 (1989), in determining that the City was immune from suit, as the owners of 3226 Aramingo Avenue would be primarily hable for Rodriquez’ injuries and the City would not be liable at all. Rodriquez appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court granted Rodriquez’ petition for allowance of appeal and vacated our Court’s order. The Supreme Court cited Walker v. Eleby, 577 Pa. 104, 842 A.2d 389 (2004), which held that a city was not immune from suit with regard to the lack of repair of a sidewalk adjacent to a state highway. Further, the Supreme Court remanded the matter back to our Court for consideration of the City’s alternative claimed basis for summary judgment.

In the alternative, the City contends that the claim against the City for secondary liability concerning a sidewalk fall-down involving private property is extinguished by the court-approved settlement of the claims against the parties who acquired the property at Sheriffs sale. The trial court found that the City was secondarily hable but did not make a finding on the issue of whether Rodriquez’ claim was extinguished.

Rodriquez contends that the City was not entitled to summary judgment based upon its contention that Rodriquez had settled his case with all of the primarily responsible tortfeasors, when a genuine issue of fact still exists as to whether or not the released parties were, in fact, all of the primarily responsible tortfeasors.

Summary judgment may be granted in whole or in part, “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....” Pa. R.C.P. No. 1035.2(1). The grant of summary judgment is proper where viewing all the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and resolving all doubts as to the existence of material fact against the moving party, the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Mayflower Square Condominium Ass’n v. KMALM, Inc., 724 A.2d 389 (Pa. Cmwlth.1999). Summary judgment may be granted, only where the moving party’s right is clear and free from doubt. Allen v. Mellinger, 156 Pa.Cmwlth. 113, 625 A.2d [990]*9901326 (1993), appeal denied, 537 Pa. 653, 644 A.2d 738 (1994).1

What is commonly called the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act (Act), 42 Pa. C.S. § 8542(b)(7), provides in pertinent part as follows:

When a local agency is liable for damages under this paragraph by reason of its power and authority to require installation and repair of sidewalks under the care, custody and control of other persons, the local agency shall be secondarily liable only and such other persons shall be primarily liable.

42 Pa.C.S. § 8542(b)(7).

In Mamalis v. Atlas Van Lines, Inc., 522 Pa. 214, 560 A.2d 1380 (1989), our Supreme Court found that where there is a primarily responsible tortfeasor and a secondarily hable tortfeasor, release of the primary tortfeasor also acts as a release of the secondary tortfeasor. Our Court in Burns v. Crossman, 740 A.2d 773 (Pa.Cmwlth.1999), found that where a plaintiff had settled a sidewalk liability claim with the property owner, he had released the owner from any liability and thereby extinguished the claim against the secondary tortfeasor as well.

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In re Gonzalez
550 B.R. 711 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 2016)
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95 A.3d 377 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2014)

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Bluebook (online)
865 A.2d 987, 2005 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 13, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rodriquez-ex-rel-rodriquez-v-scg-mortgage-corp-pacommwct-2005.