Adams v. Copper Beach Townhome Communities
| Decision Date | 23 January 2003 |
| Parties | Daniel ADAMS, Thomas Allison, James Anderchin, Brian Anderson, James Anderson, Lawrence Anderson, Connie Ashurst, Kelly Atherton, Sr., Clark Baird, Brain Baker, Jason Ball, Joseph Barnosky, Thomas Bartlebaugh, Terry Bearer, Thomas Bearer, Bernice Berkey, Harry Berkey, Todd Berry, Christopher M. Bernard, Ricky Bertolino, Christopher Betsinger, Timothy Betts, Gerald Bills, Jason Bingaman, Daniel Bliss, Jeramie Blose, Kenneth Blystone, Andrew Bodnar, Kenneth Bogle, Christopher Bopp, Daniel Bopp, Kerry Boring, Thomas Bork, Justin Bowman, Bernard Boyer, Scott Bracken, Gary Branan, Joseph Briljart, III, Richard Bukoskey, Wayne Burkett, George Cable, Jill Carnahan, David Carrick, John Cernic, William Cessna, Donald Chambers, Jr., Ronald Clark, Thomas Conti, Keith Cook, Thomas Coon, Ronald Corradini, Richard Cramer, Jason Creighton, Matthew Curry, Mike Curry, Stephen Czerniec, Jr., William Dailey Jr., J. Davis, Art Deckard, Jr., Charles Demorest, Matthew Dex, Daniel Deyarmin, David Deyarmin, Tony Elkin, Raymond Everett, Linda Fabin, Peter Fedoruk, Jr., Justin Feracioly, Kenneth Fishel, Rodney Fishel, Brian Fleming, Leroy Flick, Jr., Scott Forrester, Jason Frederick, Kenneth Freidhof, Patrick Friedhof, Arthur Fry, Jr., Greg Gabborini, Victor Gabborini, Dale Gandolfi, William Gongloff, Matthew Gress, Jeffrey Griffith, Michael Grimes, Michael Gunter, Kenneth Gwizdak, Thomas Gwizdak, Kelly Haight, Ronald Hansen, Timothy Harasty, Andrew Helman, Gary Henderson, Brad Hershman, Nicholas Hilty, David Himes, Randy Hockenberry, William Hollins, Stephen Holupka, Steven Howard, Todd Huey, Raymond Huff, Ralph Hutton, Tommie Ishman, Scott Jeffries, Myron Jones, Sr., Timothy Jones, Jeffrey Kamler, Tom Kamler, J. Keeler, Leslie Keener, Scott Keith, Chad Kellar, Larry Kelly, David Kelly, Adam Kenley, Etta Mae Keirn, Leroy Kinnan, Edward Kirsch, Michael Kline, David Knepshield, Sr., Delmort Kolasa, Sr., David Kotzur, Kenneth Kralik, Jr., Robert Kunkle, Robert Kunselman, John Kuntzman, Charles Lamb, Joshua Lamison, Keith Lantzy, Steven Lawrence, John Lawson, Daniel Leamer, Stephen Lentz, Anthony Ligas, Thomas Ligas, Erig Ligas, Donald Liscsak, Frank Liscsak, Keith Lobodinsky, Blair Long, Evelyn Long, Heath Lutz, Gary Mandrick, Donald Marsh, Jr., John Martin, Paul Martino, James Matthews, William Mattei, Scott McAdoo, James McCachren, Jr., Theodore McCombs, Herman McConnell, Brian McCracken, James McCullough, Kerry McCullough, Edward McEntire, James McGeary, Leo McMackin, Gerald McManamy, Daniel Meyer, Aaron Miller, Jeremy Miller, Michael Miller, Nathan Miller, Richard Miller, Ronald Moehler, Donald Montgomery, Paula Monza, Bryan Mumau, George Murphy, Eric Nagle, Greg Nealen, Todd Nixon, James Noble, Robert Noble, Robert Noel, Michael Novella, Christopher Olp, Todd Ortman, Nathan Palko, Timothy Pantall, Matthew Paterchak, Gilbert Patterson, Thomas Patterson, Richard Peace, Casey Pennington, Howard Peterman, David Poole, Jeremiah Poole, Dennis Powell, Sr., Barry Prugh, Jason Prugh, Lois Jean Putt, Kenneth Rearick, John Reed, Keith Reed, John Reesman, Richard Reifendifer, Kenneth Repak, Thomas Repak, Paul Repak, Jeffrey Rick, Joshua Rietscha, Kelly Robertson, Ruel Root, James Rummell, John Rummell, Mitchell Sabella, Douglas Serbin, Jeffrey Shaffer, Charles Shaffer, Jr., John Shields, Todd Shultz, Christine Shusko-Heasley, Charles Sickles, Gerald Silvis, Brian Sisitky, Douglas Skunda, Marvin Slee, Bradley Smith, Elaine Smith, Michelle Smith, Robert Smyers, Mark Snyder, Ronald Snyder, Jerry Snyder, Jr., Matthew Solecki, James Solley, Richard Solnosky, Jesse Spade, Richard Spencer, Timothy Stadtmiller, Dale Steffey, Cathy Steffey, Bradley Stiles, Robert Strellec, Jr., Kenneth Stroupe, Jonathan Stumph, Carl Sunderland, Jeremy Thomas, Richard Thomas, Gary Thompson, Roger Tinkey, Mike Tones, Rick Townsend, Scott Trabert, Kenneth Travis, Jr., David Turner, Scott Walker, Terry Walker, David Wells, Jr., Jeffrey White, Francis Williams, Harold Willman, Benjamin Wilshire, Jr., Chris Wilson, James Wilson, Jason Wise, Brian Wolfe, Paul Yarko, Michael Yeckley, Todd Yesho, Michael Zeiler, and John Zimmerman, Brian Fleming, Appellants v. COPPER BEACH TOWNHOME COMMUNITIES, L.P., Heritage Oaks, II, L.P., Regency Indiana Enterprises, L.P., and Ray Winters and Sons, Appellees |
| Court | Pennsylvania Superior Court |
Scott R. Leah, Pittsburgh, for appellants.
Eric N. Anderson, Pittsburgh, for Heritage Oaks, II, L.P., appellee.
Robert A. Arcovio, Pittsburg, for Regency Indiana Enterprises, L.P. appellee.
Anthony Sunseri, Pittsburgh, for Ray Winters and sons, appellee.
Before MUSMANNO, TODD and KLEIN, JJ.
OPINION BY MUSMANNO, J.:
¶ 1 Appellants (plaintiffs below) appeal from the Order sustaining the Preliminary Objections filed by Copper Beach Townhome Communities, L.P. ("Copper Beach"), Heritage Oaks, II, L.P. ("Heritage Oaks"), Regency Indiana Enterprises, L.P. ("Regency Indiana"), and Ray Winters and Sons (defendants below) (collectively "Appellees"), and dismissing the Complaint. We affirm.
¶ 2 Appellants ("Employees") are approximately 250 employees of Specialty Tires of America ("Specialty Tires"), a tire manufacturing plant located in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. Employees were laid off when Specialty Tires closed for one week to clean and repair certain equipment that had been contaminated due to storm water runoff from a neighboring property.
¶ 3 Copper Beach purchased from Heritage Oaks a portion of the property that adjoined the property of Specialty Tires. Heritage Oaks sold the adjoining property to Copper Beach but retained an easement over a part of the property. Copper Beach began excavating and grading the land in order to prepare it for construction of a townhouse community. Ray Winters and Sons performed the excavation and grading work.
¶ 4 Regency Indiana also owns property adjacent to Specialty Tires. Some or all of the water runoff may have come from that property, not the Copper Beach property. Regency Indiana caused a storm pipe that carried water from the Copper Beach property to be capped. That storm pipe, if used, may have diverted the storm water that damaged Specialty Tires away from Specialty Tires.
¶ 5 On April 20, 2001, Employees filed a Complaint against Appellees. Employees sought to recover the wages and benefits that they lost when Specialty Tires temporarily closed for a period of one week. Appellees filed Preliminary Objections asserting in pertinent part that the Economic Loss Doctrine, which bars recovery in negligence where only economic losses are claimed, applied and barred Employees' claims. Appellees also asserted that there was no private cause of action under the Clean Streams Act ("CSA"), 35 P.S. § 691 et seq.
¶ 6 Employees subsequently filed an Amended Complaint asserting causes of action for public nuisance and for violation of Pennsylvania's Storm Water Management Act ("SWMA"), 32 P.S. § 680 et seq., but withdrew their claims for negligence and their claims under the CSA. Appellees filed Preliminary Objections to the Amended Complaint.
¶ 7 Following a hearing on the Preliminary Objections, and a review of the parties' briefs, the trial court entered an Order applying the Economic Loss Doctrine to bar all claims alleged in the Complaint, and sustaining the Preliminary Objections. This timely appeal followed.
¶ 8 Employees raise the following sole issue for our review: whether the common law Economic Loss Doctrine applied to bar a statutory cause of action under the SWMA.
¶ 9 Preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer should be sustained only in cases that are clear and free from doubt. Pennsylvania AFL-CIO v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 563 Pa. 108, 114, 757 A.2d 917, 920 (2000). In ruling whether preliminary objections were properly sustained, we have previously stated the following:
[a]ll material facts as well as all inferences reasonably deducible therefrom are admitted as true for the purpose of this review. The question presented by the demurrer is whether, on the facts averred, the law says with certainty that no recovery is possible. Where a doubt exists as to whether a demurrer should be sustained, this doubt must be resolved in favor of overruling it.
Romeo v. Pittsburgh Associates, 787 A.2d 1027, 1030 (Pa.Super.2001).
¶ 10 Employees contend that by enacting the SWMA, the Pennsylvania Legislature provided an "unfettered" private cause of action to "any person injured by actions" which violate the SWMA. Brief of Appellants at 10. Because the intent of the Legislature was to protect individuals from damages caused by storm water runoff, Employees argue that to apply the Economic Loss Doctrine (or a narrow definition of the term "injury") would threaten the intent of the SWMA. We disagree.
¶ 11 The Economic Loss Doctrine provides that no cause of action exists for negligence that results solely in economic damages unaccompanied by physical injury or property damage. Spivack v. Berks Ridge Corp., 402 Pa.Super. 73, 586 A.2d 402 (1991); Aikens v. Baltimore & Ohio RR Co., 348 Pa.Super. 17, 501 A.2d 277 (1985).
¶ 12 In this case of first impression, we are asked to interpret the term "injury" as used by the SWMA to determine whether solely economic damages are recoverable under the relevant provisions of the SWMA. Like the trial court, we look to this Court's decision in Aikens, which is factually analogous to this case, and the Third Circuit's decision in Werwinski v. Ford Motor Co., 286 F.3d 661 (3d Cir. 2002), for guidance.
¶ 13 In Aikens, the employees of a manufacturing company brought suit seeking damages for lost wages, alleging that the appellee's negligence caused a train derailment which damaged the plant at which they worked. As a result of the derailment, production at the plant was curtailed and the employees suffered the loss of work and wages. The...
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