Case Title: Sprague v. Kaplan

Citation: 392 Pa. Super. 257, 572 A.2d 789

Docket Number: 

State: pennsylvania

Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Date: 1990-04-10T00:00:00Z

Document:
392 Pa. Superior Ct. 257 (1990) 572 A.2d 789 Linda A. SPRAGUE and C. Bartlett Sprague v. Dale I. KAPLAN. Appeal of C. Bartlett SPRAGUE. Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Argued March 6, 1990. Filed April 10, 1990. *258 William H. Andring, Harrisburg, for appellant. Jefferson J. Shipman, Harrisburg, for appellee. Before WIEAND, TAMILIA and POPOVICH, JJ. TAMILIA, Judge: On December 31, 1987, Linda Sprague fell on ice and snow while on the property of appellee's business establishment, Capen Careful Cleaners, where she was picking up a bridesmaid's dress for her wedding that evening. Despite the fall, the wedding was held as planned, however Linda and her husband eventually brought suit for her injuries and his loss of consortium. The trial court dismissed appellant husband's claim for loss of consortium because the parties were not husband and wife at the time of the accident. Appellant argues he is entitled to his claim since the injury occurred subsequent to the issuance of a marriage license but prior to completion of the ceremony and his loss is just as real as if the accident occurred an hour after the ceremony instead of several hours before. The court's decision reflects the current state of the law in Pennsylvania. Several Pennsylvania trial courts have addressed this issue and resolved it unfavorably to appellant's position but the appellate courts, thus far, have been silent on this issue, making this case one of first impression for this Court. We agree with the line of cases issued by the trial courts and hold that a cause of action for loss of consortium is not available to a party who was not married to the injured party at the time of the injury. Loss of consortium has been recognized in this Commonwealth as a right evolving out of the marriage relationship and is grounded on the loss of a spouse's service after injury. Burns v. Pepsi-Cola Metropolitan Bottling, 353 Pa.Super. 571, 510 A.2d 810 (1986). In Comstock v. Kleckner, 49 D. & C.3d 465 (1988), husband pursued a claim for loss of consortium due to an injury to his wife 17 months prior to their marriage. In response to a motion for summary *259 judgment by defendants, husband alleged he was married to his wife at the time of the accident under common law and the marriage ceremony was a reaffirmation of their common law marriage. The trial court granted the motion for summary judgment after finding the claim for loss of consortium must be based on an actual marriage.[1] Id. at 468-69. Other trial courts have held to this same "bright line" test. (See Leibensperger v. Key, 39 D. & C.3d 532 (1986), and Saternow v. Byknish, 31 D. & C.3d 9 (1983).) In fact, most jurisdictions do not allow recovery for loss of consortium for injuries arising prior to marriage due to the difficulty of determining an actual relationship and the need to draw the line at some point without engaging in a case-by-case analysis. (See Gillespie-Linton v. Miles, 58 Md.App. 484, 473 A.2d 947 (1984); Angelet v. Shivar, Ky.App., 602 S.W.2d 185 (1980); Sostock v. Reiss, 92 Ill. App.3d 200, 47 Ill.Dec. 781, 415 N.E.2d 1094 (1980).) *261 For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the Order of the trial court. Order affirmed. [1] We note that a common law marriage in Pennsylvania is an "actual" marriage and a formal marriage ceremony is not necessary. The trial court in Comstock, however, did not give a factual analysis as to the validity of the husband's assertion a common law marriage did exist and this question may have been pursued had an appeal been taken. We cite to Comstock for the principles contained therein as they pertain to couples not married according to Pennsylvania law.