Burnatoski v. Butler Ambulance Service Co.
| Decision Date | 26 December 1989 |
| Citation | 130 Pa.Cmwlth. 264,567 A.2d 1121 |
| Parties | Tina Marie BURNATOSKI, Administratrix of the Estate of Thomas P. Burnatoski, Jr., Deceased, on behalf of the Estate of Thomas P. Burnatoski, Jr., Deceased and Tina Marie Burnatoski, Administratrix of the Estate of Thomas P. Burnatoski, Jr., Deceased, on behalf of the next of kin of Thomas P. Burnatoski, Jr., Deceased, Appellant, v. BUTLER AMBULANCE SERVICE COMPANY et al., Appellees. Peggy L. FREED, Administratrix of the Estate of Richard Freed, Deceased, on behalf of the Estate and next of kin of Richard Freed, Deceased, and Peggy L. Freed in her own right v. BUTLER AMBULANCE SERVICE COMPANY, City of Butler, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation, Carlos Seger, Cecil R. Gold, Armco Steel Corporation, Ford Motor Company and American Coaches, Inc. Appeal of FORD MOTOR COMPANY, Peggy L. FREED, Administratrix of the Estate of Richard Freed, Deceased, on behalf of the Estate and next of kin of Richard Freed, Deceased, and Peggy L. Freed in her own right, Appellant, v. BUTLER AMBULANCE SERVICE COMPANY, City of Butler, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation, Carlos Seger, Cecil R. Gold, Armco Steel Corporation, Ford Motor Company and American Coaches, Inc., Appellees. Tina Marie BURNATOSKI, Administratrix of the Estate of Thomas P. Burnatoski, Jr., Deceased, on behalf of the Estate of Thomas P. Burnatoski, Jr., Deceased and Tina Marie Burnatoski, Administratrix of the Estate of Thomas P. Burnatoski, Jr., Deceased, on behalf of the next of kin of Thomas P. Burnatoski, Jr., Deceased, v. BUTLER AMBULANCE SERVICE COMPANY et al. Appeal of FORD MOTOR COMPANY, a corporation. 154 C.D. 1989 155 C.D. 1989 156 C.D. 1989 183 C.D. 1989 |
| Court | Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court |
Irving M. Portnoy, with him, Charles E. Evans, Evans, Rosen, Portnoy, Quinn & Donohue, Pittsburgh, for Burnatoski and Freed.
Nancy R. Winschel, with her, John Edward Wall and Alyson J. Kirleis, Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, Pittsburgh, for appellant/appellee, Ford Motor Co.
Donald D. Graham, with him, Thomas W. King, III, Dillon, McCandless & King, Butler, for appellee, City of Butler.
Before DOYLE, PALLADINO and SMITH, JJ.
Tina Marie Burnatoski, Peggy L. Freed and Ford Motor Company (Appellants) appeal from orders of the Court of Common Pleas of Butler County sustaining the motions for summary judgment filed by the City of Butler (City). 1 The trial court's orders are affirmed.
These cases arise out of an accident which occurred on July 17, 1983 in which an ambulance operated by Cecil R. Gold crossed over into oncoming traffic and collided with a vehicle driven by Carlos L. Seger. Thomas P. Burnatoski, Jr. and Richard Freed, passengers in the ambulance, both died as a result of injuries suffered in the accident. Negligence actions were filed by Tina Marie Burnatoski and Peggy L. Freed in their capacities as Administratrices of their husbands' estates (and by Peggy L. Freed in her own right) against the City, Butler Ambulance Service Company (Butler Ambulance), the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Carlos Seger and Cecil R. Gold. Ford Motor Company and American Coaches, Inc. were subsequently joined as additional defendants on products liability theories. 2 Upon motions filed by the City, the trial court granted summary judgment on the premise that no liability could be imposed under Section 8542(b)(1) of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 8542(b)(1) because the City was not in possession or control of the ambulance at any time.
The issue presented on appeal is whether the trial court improperly granted summary judgment because a material issue of fact exists as to whether the City had possession or control of the ambulance thus subjecting it to liability under Section 8542(b)(1). Appellants further contend that a question of fact exists as to whether or not Butler Ambulance was an agent of the City and that the jury should have been allowed to resolve both of these disputed issues. 3
Summary judgment is only appropriate in cases where no material facts are in dispute. "[C]ourts must not try disputed issues of fact but must determine whether such issues, in fact, exist." Kozura v. A. & J. Quality Shoppe, Inc., 117 Pa.Commonwealth Ct. 9, 12, 542 A.2d 637, 638 (1988). Any doubts as to the existence of a genuine issue of fact must be resolved against the moving party and the court must examine the record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Simpson v. Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, 81 Pa.Commonwealth Ct. 432, 473 A.2d 753 (1984).
Local governments are immune from tort liability except for those certain exceptions enumerated in Section 8542(b) of the Judicial Code. One of those exceptions applies to motor vehicles and provides that liability may result from "the operation of any motor vehicle in the possession or control of the local agency." Section 8542(b)(1). Exceptions to governmental immunity are to be narrowly interpreted "given the expressed legislative intent to insulate political subdivisions from tort liability." Mascaro v. Youth Study Center, 514 Pa. 351, 361, 523 A.2d 1118, 1123 (1987).
In July of 1980, the City filed an Application for Highway Safety Project Grant with the federal government to obtain funds necessary to purchase the ambulance involved in this accident. In this application, executed by the Mayor and Finance Director, the City agreed:
That all services and equipment under this project will be acquired and maintained for purposes of Highway Safety, and that the project will be conducted in accordance with applicable Commonwealth and Federal Laws.
On June 10, 1981, the City entered into an agreement with Butler Ambulance in which the parties agreed that the City would act as an applicant agency for Butler Ambulance for the purpose of obtaining the funds to purchase the ambulance and that, pursuant to the requirements of the Federal Highway Safety Program Act of 1966, title to the motor vehicle would remain in the City. It was agreed that the City would apply the $10,000 it anticipated from the federal government toward the purchase price and that Butler Ambulance was to be responsible for any balance. Upon delivery of the ambulance, possession was to be immediately turned over to Butler Ambulance who was responsible for housing the vehicle as well as its mechanical maintenance, operating costs,...
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