Tate v. Commonwealth

84 A.3d 762
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 22, 2014
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 84 A.3d 762 (Tate v. Commonwealth) 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
Tate v. Commonwealth, 84 A.3d 762 (Pa. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION BY

Judge LEAVITT.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation (PennDOT) appeals two orders of the Beaver County Court of Common Pleas (trial court). The first denied PennDOT’s motion for summary judgment, and the second denied its post-trial motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The jury entered a verdict against PennDOT for its negligent failure to install a traffic signal at an intersection of two state roads where numerous motor vehicle accidents had occurred. Accordingly, the jury held PennDOT liable in damages, in part, for a collision of two vehicles that resulted in several deaths. PennDOT argues that the trial court erred. PennDOT contends that because it had transferred responsibility for the installation of traffic control devices to the township where the accident occurred, it could not be held liable for their absence. PennDOT also contends that the excessive speed of one of the vehicles in the accident was a superseding cause of the accident, which relieved PennDOT of liability for whatever unsafe condition existed. We affirm the trial court.

On October 24, 2009, at approximately 11:42 p.m., two vehicles collided at the intersection of State Routes 51 and 168 in South Beaver Township, Beaver County. The first vehicle was a Dodge Neon operated by Louis Young, IV on Route 51 as it entered the intersection; Young’s passengers were Bryan Atkinson and Joshua Tate.1 The second vehicle was a Ford F-150 pickup operated by Daniel DeMarco on Route 168 as it entered the intersection; his wife, Jessica DeMarco, was a passenger. As the Ford pickup crossed Route 51, the Neon hit the passenger side of the truck. Young, Atkinson, Tate, and Jessica DeMarco were all killed in the accident. Daniel DeMarco survived but was seriously injured. It was estimated by Penn-DOT’s expert that the Neon was traveling at 116 m.p.h. when the collision occurred.

Route 51 is a six-lane state road, with one lane in each direction designated as a turning lane. The speed limit on Route 51 is 55 m.p.h.; at the intersection with Route 168 the posted speed limit is 45 m.p.h. Route 168 is a two-lane state road with one lane of travel in each direction. The two roads do not intersect at right angles; rather, Route 168 jogs across Route 51 at a “skewed” angle of 48 to 50 degrees. At the time of the accident, there were stop signs on Route 168, but none on Route 51.

There had been 45 accidents, including several fatalities, in the decade before the accident at issue in this appeal. Because of this history, South Beaver Township officials and local residents had requested PennDOT to conduct a traffic study as the first step to the installation of a traffic signal at the intersection. PennDOT refused to do the study unless South Beaver Township committed to finance the installation of the traffic light.

Daniel DeMarco and the estates of Jessica DeMarco, Tate, Young and Atkinson (Plaintiffs)2 all filed suit against PennDOT alleging that the absence of a traffic signal at the intersection was a substantial factor in causing the accident and that PennDOT had failed to maintain its roads in a safe manner. The trial court consolidated Plaintiffs’ claims into one action, and Penn-DOT joined Young as a defendant. On [765]*765September 26, 2011, PennDOT moved for summary judgment, arguing it had no duty to install a traffic signal and, alternatively, the Neon’s high rate of speed was the superseding cause of the accident. The trial court denied summary judgment. After hearing the evidence, the jury found Young 67% liable for the accident and PennDOT 33% liable. PennDOT filed a motion for post-trial relief, raising 31 issues and seeking judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The trial court denied PennDOT’s motion.

In its appeal to this Court,3 PennDOT raises two issues. First, PennDOT contends that it has adopted a regulation that transferred the duty to install traffic signals on state roads to local municipalities, in this case South Beaver Township. Therefore, it could not be held liable for the absence of a traffic signal at the intersection. Second, PennDOT argues, alternatively, that the Neon’s excessive speed on Route 51 was the superseding cause of the accident.

To sustain a negligence claim, the plaintiff must show: (1) the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff; (2) the defendant breached that duty; (3) the breach caused the injury in question; and (4) the plaintiff incurred actual loss - or damage. Pyeritz v. Commonwealth, 613 Pa. 80, 89, 32 A.3d 687, 692 (2011) (citation omitted). Generally, a Commonwealth agency such as PennDOT enjoys immunity from lawsuits, subject to several exceptions that are narrowly construed. 42 Pa.C.S. § 8522(a). The “real estate exception” to sovereign immunity provides that a Commonwealth agency is liable when there is “[a] dangerous condition of Commonwealth agency real estate and sidewalks, including ... highways under the jurisdiction of a Commonwealth agency.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 8522(b)(4).4

In Bendas v. Township of White Deer, 531 Pa. 180, 611 A.2d 1184 (1992), our Supreme Court addressed PennDOT’s duty of care in a case that is factually similar to the case sub judice. In Bendas, [766]*766a vehicular accident occurred at the intersection of a state highway and a township road. At the time of the accident there were neither traffic control devices nor signs on either road. Both drivers filed suit against PennDOT, claiming that it had either negligently failed to erect traffic control devices at the intersection or failed to otherwise correct a dangerous condition. PennDOT moved for summary judgment, arguing that it did not owe a duty of care to the plaintiffs. The trial court denied the motion, and this Court affirmed.

On appeal, the Supreme Court identified two issues: first, whether PennDOT has a duty to make state roads safe for their intended purpose and, second, whether PennDOT’s failure to satisfy that duty is actionable under an exception to sovereign immunity. Citing Snyder v. Harmon, 522 Pa. 424, 562 A.2d 307 (1989), the Court held that PennDOT owed a duty of care.5 Turning to the relevant immunity exception at 42 Pa.C.S. § 8522(b)(4), the Supreme Court held that the question of what is or is not a “dangerous condition” of a highway is one of fact that “must be answered by the jury.” Bendas, 531 Pa. at 185, 611 A.2d at 1187. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the trial court’s refusal to grant summary judgment to PennDOT.

The Vehicle Code grants authority to both PennDOT and local municipalities to install traffic signals and other traffic control devices on state roads. 75 Pa.C.S. § 6122(a).6 However, a municipality must obtain approval from PennDOT before it installs a traffic control device on a state highway. 75 Pa.C.S. § 6122(a)(1). By contrast, PennDOT does not need authorization from a municipality to install “stop signs, yield signs or other official traffic-control devices.” 75 Pa.C.S. § 6124.

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Under authority of Sections 6122 and 6124, PennDOT has adopted a regulation that makes “local authorities” responsible for the installation of traffic signs.

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Related

S. Hoover v. S.A. Stine, PennDOT and the Borough of Waynesboro
153 A.3d 1145 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
84 A.3d 762, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tate-v-commonwealth-pacommwct-2014.