Sellers v. Twp. of Abington
| Decision Date | 29 December 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. 97 MAP 2013,97 MAP 2013 |
| Citation | 106 A.3d 679 |
| Court | Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
| Parties | Celeste SELLERS and Richard K. Sellers, Individually and as Administrators of the Estate of Joshua David Sellers, Deceased, Appellants, v. TOWNSHIP OF ABINGTON and Officer Edward Howley, Individually and as an Employee of Township of Abington and Lt. Karl Knott, Individually and as an Employee of Township of Abington, Appellees. |
Laurence M. Kelly, Esq., Kelly Law Offices for Pennsylvania Association for Justice, Amicus Curiae.
Jane Bossard Marton, Esq., Selah Tenet Nancy Wyche, Esq., Kornblau, Kornblau & Solomon, PC, for Celeste Sellers & Richard Sellers, Individually and Administrators of Estate of Joshua Sellers.
Christopher Paul Boyle, Esq., John Jacob Hare, Carol Ann VanderWoude, Esq., Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin, P.C., for Township of Abington; Officer Edward Howley; Lt. Karl Knott.
Scott Everett Coburn, Esq., PA State Association of Township Supervisors, for Co. Commissioners Assoc. of PA, PA Municipal League, PA St. Assoc. of Boroughs, et al.
OPINION
This is an appeal from a Commonwealth Court Opinion which affirmed the trial court's entry of summary judgment and dismissal of Appellants' wrongful death and survival action. The central issue presented is whether a local agency owes a common law or statutory duty of care to a passenger of a fleeing vehicle, whose existence or relationship to the fleeing driver is unknown to the pursuing police officer. We affirm.
On the evening of December 23, 2006, Scott Simons (Simons), Matthew Senger (Senger) and Joshua Sellers (decedent) met at the home of a mutual friend on Jenkintown Road in Abington Township. Simons had been drinking all day prior to this engagement, but testified that he did not drink at the Jenkintown Road residence. Senger, however, testified that all three men drank beer while at the Jenkintown Road residence.1
In the early morning hours of December 24, 2006, Senger and decedent asked Simons for a ride home, and it was agreed that Simons would drive Senger home and decedent would spend the night at Simons' residence. Senger rode in the front passenger seat, while decedent sat in the back rear passenger seat. None of the men fastened their seatbelts. Simons testified that he was, in fact, drunk when he left the party, and admitted that this was not the first time he had driven his friends home drunk.
According to Simons, while driving west on Jenkintown Road at between 40 and 45 mph in a 30 mph zone, he noticed a police car pass him travelling east. Simons testified that the police car made a U-turn and began following Simons with its lights and siren activated. Simons admitted that instead of pulling over, he fled, as he was “scared of getting a DUI.” Deposition of Scott Simons, 9/10/2009 at 18. Senger testified that when Simons initially “floored his car,” he was not aware that police were pursuing the car. Deposition of Matthew Senger, 12/4/2009 at 28. Senger estimated that Simons was driving “well over 100” miles per hour. Id. at 34. Simons then arrived at Senger's home, and as goodbyes were exchanged, Senger noticed reflections of police lights in the windows of nearby homes. Before Senger could exit the vehicle, Simons again floored it and shut off his headlights. Senger testified that both he and decedent then asked Simons to slow down, as they were aware of a dip in the road ahead. Simons, however, continued at a high rate of speed and ultimately hit the dip in the road. The car was sent airborne and crashed into trees and a parked pickup truck. Simons and Senger suffered minor injuries, while decedent was ejected from the vehicle and thrown 20 feet therefrom, suffering a catastrophic brain injury
, along with other injuries.
Officer Edward Howley of the Abington Township Police Department testified that on the night in question he was travelling westbound on Jenkintown Road, when he heard the sound of a loud exhaust, and saw the taillights of a vehicle far in the distance proceeding in the same direction as his patrol car. Officer Howley testified that he attempted to gain ground on the vehicle, and when he himself accelerated to over the posted speed limit of 30 mph, he activated his lights and siren, at which time the in-car camera system automatically began to record.2
The in-car camera recording corroborated Officer Howley's account and established that at approximately 3:49 a.m., Officer Howley first observed a vehicle in the distance, travelling westbound, in the same direction as the officer. Approximately thirty seconds later, Officer Howley activated his overhead lights and siren. The vehicle is then seen turning onto Garfield Avenue, as Officer Howley radioed in that he was pursuing a red Mustang travelling northbound on Garfield.3 This is the last time the Mustang is seen on the video. Officer Howley made the turn onto Garfield and reported that the car had been traveling at a high rate of speed, and he suspected the driver was driving under the influence. Lt. Karl Knott, Officer Howley's supervising officer, ordered Officer Howley to stay with the Mustang. At approximately 3:50 a.m., Officer Howley radioed that he had lost the car. At approximately 3:51 a.m., Officer Howley received a radio call indicating that the Mustang had crashed into a house on Meyer Avenue. Officer Howley arrived at the scene shortly thereafter and immediately radioed for EMS to respond to the scene. The video established that seventy-four seconds passed between the moment Officer Howley activated his lights until he deactivated the lights. Simons' car, however, was only visible on the recording for sixteen seconds.
Celeste and Richard Sellers, parents of decedent (Appellants) filed a wrongful death and survival action against the Township of Abington, Officer Edward Howley, and Lieutenant Karl Knott (Appellees) asserting claims for negligence and punitive damages. Appellants alleged that Appellees caused the death of decedent when Officer Howley negligently, recklessly, and willfully initiated and failed to terminate a high speed pursuit of Simons' vehicle. After the completion of discovery, Appellees moved for summary judgment based upon governmental immunity, citing to the Political Division Tort Claims Act (Tort Claims Act), 42 Pa.C.S. § 8541, which states “[e]xcept as otherwise provided in this subchapter, no local agency shall be liable for any damages on account of any injury to a person or property caused by any act of the local agency or an employee thereof or any person.” 42 Pa.C.S. § 8541.
The trial court granted Appellees' motion, reasoning they enjoyed Section 8541 governmental immunity. The trial court found that Appellees did not fall under any of the enumerated exceptions to immunity set forth in 42 Pa.C.S. § 8542, in which a local agency may still be liable for injuries caused by a local agency or its employees.4 The trial court emphasized that 42 Pa.C.S. § 8542 specifically states that governmental liability may not attach for official negligence occurring while plaintiff was in flight or fleeing apprehension or resisting arrest by police. Additionally, the court concluded, that Officer Howley acted reasonably throughout the entire pursuit.
Appellants appealed the trial court's determination to the Commonwealth Court, which affirmed the trial court's order in a published opinion. The en banc Commonwealth Court panel concluded that, while police owe a duty to innocent third parties, see Jones v. Chieffo, 549 Pa. 46, 700 A.2d 417 (1997), such a duty does not extend to “unknown passengers”5 of a fleeing vehicle. Sellers v. Twp. of Abington, 67 A.3d 863, 871 (Pa.Cmwlth.2013). In reaching this conclusion, the Commonwealth Court applied the factors informing the duty analysis set forth in Althaus ex rel. v. Cohen, 562 Pa. 547, 756 A.2d 1166 (2000), which this Court applied in Lindstrom v. City of Corry, 563 Pa. 579, 763 A.2d 394 (2000) to conclude that police officers do not owe a duty of care to fleeing suspects. These factors include:
The Commonwealth Court applied these factors to the instant case and found that they weighed against imposing a duty of care...
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