Teresa Hlad and Steven Hlad v. Yoel Hirsch, Sarah Hirsch, Airbnb, Inc., John Doe 1-10 and ABC Co. 1-10, XYZ Corporations 1-10

CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 31, 2025
Docket3:23-cv-00785
StatusUnknown

This text of Teresa Hlad and Steven Hlad v. Yoel Hirsch, Sarah Hirsch, Airbnb, Inc., John Doe 1-10 and ABC Co. 1-10, XYZ Corporations 1-10 (Teresa Hlad and Steven Hlad v. Yoel Hirsch, Sarah Hirsch, Airbnb, Inc., John Doe 1-10 and ABC Co. 1-10, XYZ Corporations 1-10) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Teresa Hlad and Steven Hlad v. Yoel Hirsch, Sarah Hirsch, Airbnb, Inc., John Doe 1-10 and ABC Co. 1-10, XYZ Corporations 1-10, (M.D. Pa. 2025).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA TERESA HLAD and STEVEN HLAD,

Plaintiffs, CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:23-CV-00785

v. (MEHALCHICK, J.) YOEL HIRSCH, SARAH HIRSCH, AIRBNB, INC., JOHN DOE 1-10 and ABC CO. 1-10, XYZ CORPORATIONS 1- 10,

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM Plaintiffs Teresa Hlad and Steven Hlad initiated this action by filing a complaint against Defendants Sarah Hirsch, Yoel Hirsch, and Airbnb, Inc. (“Airbnb”) (together “Defendants”) on April 13, 2023. (Doc. 35-3). Before the Court is a motion for summary judgment filed by Sarah and Yoel Hirsch and a motion for summary judgment filed by Airbnb. (Doc. 35; Doc. 39). For the following reasons, Defendants’ motions for summary judgment will be GRANTED. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY The following background is taken from Defendants’ statements of material facts and exhibits.1 Teresa and Steven Hlad were visiting Lackawaxen, PA to spend Christmas with

1 Teresa and Steven Hlad have not filed a response to Defendants' statements of material facts, as required by Local Rule 56.1. Accordingly, “[a]ll material facts set forth in the statement[s] required to be served by the moving part[ies] will be deemed to be admitted.” M.D. Pa. L.R. 56.1; see Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e)(2); United States v. Alberto, No. 3:18-CV-1014, 2020 WL 730316, at *2 (M.D. Pa. Feb. 13, 2020) (concluding that the “[f]ailure to file this their family and friends from December 22, 2022 to December 28, 2022. (Doc. 37, ¶ 2). Nicole Gignac, a friend of the Hlads’ daughter, rented the subject property (the “Property”) on Airbnb’s platform. (Doc. 37, ¶ 3). Sarah and Yoel Hirsch own the Property and listed it for rent on Airbnb. (Doc. 37, ¶ 4). Airbnb did not operate, own, control, offer, manage, inspect

or even have the right to access the Property. (Doc. 41, ¶ 7-8). On the morning of December 25, 2022, Teresa Hlad and her son decided to go for a walk and take pictures. (Doc. 37, ¶ 5). Teresa Hlad exited out the back door of the house on the Property and saw a bridge in the woods in the distance. (Doc. 37, ¶ 7). Assuming a trail was near the bridge, she started walking towards the bridge. (Doc. 37, ¶ 7). However, as Teresa Hlad entered the woods, she knew she was not walking on a trail and appreciated that the ground was “uneven” and had “leaves, snow, logs, and. . . was hilly.” (Doc. 37, ¶ 8, 9). Before walking over the bridge, Teresa Hlad noticed that there was no trail and that the ground was uneven, choppy, and leafy. (Doc. 37 ¶¶ 10-11). Teresa Hlad testified that she walked carefully in the woods because “it was pretty lumpy out there,” but the lighting was

sufficient, and nothing was obstructing her ability to see where she was walking. (Doc. 37. ¶¶ 12-14). Teresa Hlad testified that she crossed the bridge and decided to turn around when she realized there was no trail over the bridge. (Doc. 35-4, at 17). When she turned around, she was on a “little bit of a hill” and her left foot “kind of went into the ground” causing her to fall. (Doc. 35-4, at 9). Teresa Hlad testified that the hill was “dingy” and the “dirt was all uneven,” which caused her to fall. (Doc. 35-4, at 18). The fall happened between 11:15 and

[responsive statement of material facts] results in admission of the moving party's statement of facts”). 2 11:30 a.m., and the weather was clear and sunny. (Doc. 37, at ¶ 6). Teresa Hlad was unable to provide the location of her fall, stating that if she marked the location, it would be a guess. (Doc. 35-4, at 20). Teresa Hlad’s daughter, testified that there was a trail opening near the rear of the

house on the Property with signs indicating where the trail was. (Doc. 37, ¶ 16). Teresa Hlad never asked her daughter where the trails were on the Property, and she failed to follow the signs which clearly indicated where the trail was. (Doc. 37, ¶ 17). Teresa Hlad never contacted her Airbnb host to ask where the trail was located. (Doc. 37, ¶ 18). Airbnb is an online marketplace that provides an opportunity for individuals who wish to offer accommodations to connect with individuals seeking to book accommodations. (Doc. 41, ¶ 2). Airbnb is not a party to or a participant in the agreements for booking entered between hosts and guests. (Doc. 41, ¶ 4). Hosts are solely responsible for listing their accommodations and determining on what material terms they will offer for their accommodations. (Doc. 41, ¶ 5). Airbnb had no notice of any prior incidents involving a fall at the subject property. (Doc.

41, ¶ 11). Regardless, Airbnb does not “guarantee. . . the existence, quality, safety, sustainability, or legality of any Listings or Host Services.” (Doc. 41, ¶ 10). Teresa and Steven Hlad initiated this lawsuit by filing a complaint in the Pike County Court of Common Pleas on April 13, 2023. Therein Teresa Hlad alleged Count I – Negligence against Defendants, and Steven Hlad alleged Count II – Loss of Consortium against Defendants. (Doc. 35-5, at 7-9). On May 11, 2023, Sarah and Yoel Hirsch removed the matter to this Court. (Doc. 1). On April 1, 2025, Sarah and Yoel Hirsch filed a motion for summary judgment, brief in support, and statement of facts. (Doc. 35; Doc. 36; Doc. 37). On April 2, 2025, Airbnb filed a motion for summary judgment, brief in support, and statement of the 3 facts. (Doc. 39; Doc. 40; Doc. 41). On May 19, 2025, Teresa and Steven Hlad filed their brief in opposition. (Doc. 43). On June 2, 2025, Defendants filed their respective reply briefs. (Doc 45; Doc. 46). Accordingly, the motions for summary judgment are ripe for disposition. II. LEGAL STANDARDS A. MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD Summary judgment should be granted only if “there is no genuine dispute as to any

material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). A fact is “material” only if it might affect the outcome of the case. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). A dispute of material fact is “genuine” if the evidence “is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248. In deciding a summary judgment motion, all inferences “should be drawn in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, and where the non-moving party’s evidence contradicts the movant’s, then the non-movant’s must be taken as true.” Pastore v. Bell Tel. Co. of Pa., 24 F.3d 508, 512 (3d Cir. 1994). However, a party opposing a summary judgment motion must comply with Local Rule 56.1, which specifically directs the oppositional party

to submit a “statement of the material facts, responding to the numbered paragraphs set forth in the statement required [to be filed by the movant], as to which it is contended that there exists a genuine issue to be tried”; if the nonmovant fails to do so, “[a]ll material facts set forth in the statement required to be served by the moving party will be deemed to be admitted.” M.D. Pa. L.R. 56.1. A federal court should grant summary judgment “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a 4 judgment as a matter of law.” Farrell v. Planters Lifesavers Co., 206 F.3d 271, 278 (3d Cir. 2000). In deciding a motion for summary judgment, the court’s function is not to make credibility determinations, weigh evidence, or draw inferences from the facts.

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