Wickard v. Lebo

38 Pa. D. & C.3d 339, 1984 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 85
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Cumberland County
DecidedJune 20, 1984
Docketno. 2824 Civil 1982
StatusPublished

This text of 38 Pa. D. & C.3d 339 (Wickard v. Lebo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Cumberland County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wickard v. Lebo, 38 Pa. D. & C.3d 339, 1984 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 85 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1984).

Opinion

BAYLÉY, J.,

Plaintiff has entered suit against' various defendants for damages resulting from injuries incurred in an automobile acci-' dent in the Borough of Carlisle on September 26, 1980. Plaintiff alleges that he was traveling in a southerly direction on South Hanover Street toward its intersection with Noble Boulevard. Defendant Lebo is alleged to have been traveling in a northerly direction on South Hanover Street and to have made a left turn into Noble Boulevard in front of the oncoming vehicle of plaintiff. A collision occurred in the intersection.

The Borough of Carlisle is alleged to have been negligent in allowing the traffic light at the intersection to remain in disrepair and in failing to. provide a suitable means of traffic control at the intersection. Paragraph 37 of the complaint avers:

“37. Plaintiff is informed and believes and therefor avers that at the above-mentioned time and place the above-described traffic lights at said inter[340]*340section failed to function properly in that they si-' multaneously displayed a green arrow to defendant Lebo’s direction of travel (Northbound) indicating that a left turn could be made, and a green light to plaintiffs direction of travel (Southbound), and plaintiff, thus, guided by the said green light proceeded to cross the said intersection; or that said traffic lights otherwise failed to display timely and reasonably the proper signals for the safe guidance of motorists using said South Hanover Street.” Plaintiff has also sued defendant Crouse Hinds Company, the manufacturer of the traffic signal, and defendant R. W. Lutz Electrical Contractors, Inc., the original installers of the traffic signal.

The Borough of Carlisle has raised the defense of governmental immunity under the Judicial Code. The applicable section, 42 Pa.C.S. §8542, provides as follows:

“§8542 Exceptions to governmental immunity

“(a) Liability imposed. A local agency shall be liable for damages on account of an injury to a person or property . . . if. . . the injury occurs as a result of one of the acts set forth in subsection (b). . . .

“(b) Acts which may impose liability. The following acts by a local agency . . . may result in the imposition of liability on a local agency:

“(4) Trees, traffic controls and street lighting. — A dangerous condition of. . . traffic signs, lights or other traffic controls . . . under the care, custody or control of the local agency, except that the claimant to recover must establish that the dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of the kind of injury which was incurred and that the local agency had actual notice or could reasonably be charged with notice under the circumstances of the dangerous condition at a sufficient time prior to [341]*341the event to have taken measures to protect against the dangerous condition.'” (Emphasis added.)

The borough has moved for a summary judgment pursuant to Pa.R.C.P. 1035 claiming that the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions on file and affidavits show that there is no genuine issue of fact on whether or not they had actual notice or could reasonably be charged with notice under the circumstances of any dangerous condition involving the subject traffic light at a sufficient time prior to the accident to have taken measures to protect against such a dangerous condition, if it in fact existed.

A summary judgment may be granted if the moving party shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, and the record, viewed most favorably to the nonmoving parties, reveals that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Dowlin v. Coatesville Area School District, 22 Pa. Commw. 433, 350 A.2d 190 (1975).

This record reflects that the lights were erected pursuant to a permit granted by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The display time for the various lights on the traffic signals was set within PennDot’s guidelines. In the summer of 1980, the lights were struck by lightning and after the fuses were replaced, the lights went into a flashing mode. The mechanical controller was repaired and in place with the lights functioning in their normal fashion by September 8, 1980.

The Borough of Carlisle denies that they had any notice of any kind that the lights were malfunctioning after September 8, 1980, and before the subject accident on September 26, Í980. Interrogatories were submitted by the borough to the parties in order to determine what information they, had to support such an allegation. The only affirmative re[342]*342sponse on the issue of whether the lights had not been functioning properly prior to the accident, and after September 8„' 1980, and on whether the Borough of Carlisle had or should have had any type of notice of such a condition, if it existed, was made by defendant R. W. Lutz Electrical - Contractors, Inc. Lutz answered as follows:

. . The overtime report of the Department of Public Works dated September 12, 1980 provided as an attachment with defendant'Borough of Carlisle’s Answers to Interrogatories of defendant, R. W. Lutz, indicates that on Thursday, September 11, 1980, the Police Department requested a borough employee go to the Noble and Hanover intersection because the traffic light at that timé was stuck on red.”

Subsequently, a deposition was taken of thé borough’s assistant street superintendent John Morris, who made the notation referred to in the Lutz answer. Mr. Morris indicated that while there was a complaint, it was based on a misunderstanding of how the lights functioned and that the light was functioning properly, as designed. Additionally, the deposition of the street superintendent of the Borough of Carlisle, Mason Staub, indicates that the borough had no knowledge of the subject light and green arrow ever being simultaneously displayed as green: He further testified:

“Q. What about confusion with regard to the left turn signal operation? Any complaints on that?

“A. I think subsequent to the accident there was a complaint from Dale Shughart, I believe. The police told me that light changed rather rapidly while he was proceeding through the light or whatever. And we checked it out and couldn’t find anything wrong with it. You know, it may have been — there may have been a couple of things that — maybe he didn’t [343]*343understand how the light works or maybe if he spent a little more time. I’m not certain.”

Mr. Staiib was also asked whether there were any other complaints that he was aware of. He answered as follows:

“A. There may have been a couple of others that I’m not too specific about. But I believe I’m safe in saying that in each instance when we received complaints about the signal not working properly because it did something, and people didn’t think it was working properly; when we went out to check it, there wasn’t anything wrong with the way the signal itself functioned. And at no time did I ever discover a conflict occurring between opposing signals.”

Plaintiff Wickard and defendant Lutz' have opposed the Borough of Carlisle’s motion for a summary judgment. They argue that the allegations in plaintiff’s complaint, together with the information provided by Mr. Morris and Mr.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Brown v. Jones
172 A.2d 831 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1961)
Dowlin v. Coatesville Area School District
350 A.2d 190 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1975)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
38 Pa. D. & C.3d 339, 1984 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 85, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wickard-v-lebo-pactcomplcumber-1984.