IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

STATE FARM MUTUAL : 4:09-cv-440

AUTOMOBILE INS. CO., :

:

Plaintiff, : Hon. John E. Jones III

:

v. :

:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, :

:

Defendant. :

MEMORANDUM

January 8, 2010

THE BACKGROUND OF THIS MEMORANDUM IS AS FOLLOWS:

Pending before the Court is Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment

(“the Motion”) (Doc. 21) filed on December 1, 2009. The Motion has been fully

briefed for the parties, and thus is ripe for our review. For the reasons that follow,

the Motion shall be granted.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment is appropriate if the record establishes “that there is no

genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as

a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). Initially, the moving party bears the

burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex

Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986). The movant meets this burden by

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pointing to an absence of evidence supporting an essential element as to which the

non-moving party will bear the burden of proof at trial. Id. at 325. Once the

moving party meets its burden, the burden then shifts to the non-moving party to

show that there is a genuine issue for trial. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e)(2). An issue is

“genuine” only if there is a sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find

for the non-moving party, and a factual dispute is “material” only if it might affect

the outcome of the action under the governing law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby,

Inc, 477 U.S. 242, 248-49 (1986).

In opposing summary judgment, the non-moving party “may not rely merely

on allegations of denials in its own pleadings; rather, its response must ... set out

specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e)(2). The

non-moving party “cannot rely on unsupported allegations, but must go beyond

pleadings and provide some evidence that would show that there exists a genuine

issue for trial.” Jones v. United Parcel Serv., 214 F.3d 402, 407 (3d Cir. 2000). 

Arguments made in briefs “are not evidence and cannot by themselves create a

factual dispute sufficient to defeat a summary judgment motion.” Jersey Cent.

Power & Light Co. v. Twp. of Lacey, 772 F.2d 1103, 1109-10 (3d Cir. 1985). 

However, the facts and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom must be viewed

in the light most favorable to the non- moving party. P.N. v. Clementon Bd. of

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Educ., 442 F.3d 848, 852 (3d Cir. 2006).

Summary judgment should not be granted when there is a disagreement

about the facts or the proper inferences that a factfinder could draw from them. 

Peterson v. Lehigh Valley Dist. Council, 676 F.2d 81, 84 (3d Cir. 1982). Still, “the

mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat

an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; there must be a

genuine issue of material fact to preclude summary judgment.” Anderson, 477

U.S. at 247-48. 

III. PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (“Plaintiff” or

“State Farm”) filed this Federal Tort Claims Action (“FTCA”) against the United

States of America seeking to recover $4,625.83 that it paid to one of its

policyholders for damages to a vehicle involved in a collision with a government

vehicle on the grounds of the United States Penitentiary at Lewisburg,

Pennsylvania (“USP-Lewisburg”) on June 28, 2007.

In support of its Motion, Defendant submitted affidavits of Paul Ruane

(“Ruane”), Safety Specialist at USP-Lewisburg and Lester Yohe (“Yohe”), the

driver of the civilian vehicle involved in the accident that gave rise to this lawsuit. 

On November 13, 2009, Ruane met with Yohe to obtain information concerning

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the accident.

The accident occurred between a civilian vehicle, a 2005 Honda Civic,

owned by Mary Stoshak (State Farm’s policyholder), that, at the time of the

accident, was being driven by Yohe, USP- Lewisburg staff member. The other

vehicle involved in the accident was a government-owned tractor, being driven by

an inmate. (SMF ¶ 4).

Prior to the accident, both the tractor and Yohe’s vehicle were traveling

north on Robert Miller Drive, the entry road to the USP-Lewisburg grounds. 

Yohe’s vehicle was behind the tractor. (SMF ¶¶ 5-6). Yohe attempted to pass the

tractor on the left and the vehicles collided when the tractor turned left onto

Sycamore Drive at the intersection of Sycamore Drive and Robert Miller Drive.

(SMF ¶¶ 7-12).

On December 1, 2009, the United States filed the instant Motion, arguing

that summary judgment should be granted in its favor because Plaintiff has failed

to state a claim of negligence under the FTCA. The United States filed a Statement

of Material Facts and a brief in support of its motion. The Defendant filed a brief

in opposition to the Motion, however, notably, did not file a response to the

Plaintiff’s Statement of Material Facts. Thus, pursuant to Local Rule 56.1, all

material facts set forth by Defendant are deemed admitted. Thereafter, Defendant

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filed a reply brief.

IV. DISCUSSION

When analyzing claims brought under the FTCA, courts apply the

substantive law of the state “where the act or omission occurred.” 28 U.S.C. §

2674. In an FTCA action, the United States may be found liable only to the extent

that a private individual would be liable under the applicable state law. See United

States v. Muniz, 374 U.S. 150 (1963); Rodriguez v. United States, 823 F.2d 735,

739 (3d Cir. 1987). Inasmuch as the accident giving rise to this action occurred in

Pennsylvania, the law of the Commonwealth governs the disposition of this matter. 

Under Pennsylvania law, to establish a prima facie case of negligence, a

Plaintiff must show: (1) the existence of a legal duty from the defendant to the

plaintiff; (2) a negligent breach of that duty; (3) a causal connection between the

defendant’s breach of duty ad the resulting injury or harm; and (4) injury or harm

suffered by the plaintiff. Morena v. South Hills Health System, 462 A.2d 680, 684

n. 5 (Pa. 1983) (citing Prosser, Law of Torts, § 30 at 143 (4th Ed. 1971) and Macina

v. McAdams, 421 A.2d 431, 434 (Pa. 1980)). To establish a causal connection,

Pennsylvania law requires a plaintiff to establish, by a preponderance of the

evidence, that the defendant’s negligence was the proximate cause of his injury. 

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Baum v. United States, 541 F. Supp. 1349, 1351 (M.D. Pa. 1982). Pennsylvania

law defines proximate cause as causation which was a substantial factor in bringing

about the injury. Hamil v. Bashline, 392 A.2d 1280, 1284 (Pa. 1978).

It is evident to the Court that the Plaintiff cannot bear its burden here and

that summary judgment should be granted in this case. It is undisputed that the

vehicles collided when Yohe was attempting to pass the inmate-driven tractor on

the left as the tractor was turning left onto Sycamore Drive from Robert Miller

Drive. It is also undisputed that Yohe, an employee at the prison, had knowledge

of the intersection and was familiar with the roadways involved in the accident

here. (SMF ¶ 20). The Plaintiff has proffered no evidence that there was any

negligence on behalf of the inmate driving the tractor. While Plaintiff is correct

that the tractor was driving at a low rate of speed, there is nothing that the inmate

did to cause Yohe to pass the tractor. While it may have been inconvenient for

Yohe to travel behind the slow-moving tractor, the tractor’s slow rate of speed

certainly does not rise to the level of negligence.

V. CONCLUSION

Thus, based on all of the foregoing, the Defendant’s Motion shall be granted. 

An appropriate Order shall issue.

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