Opinion ID: 603521
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Was Defendant Guilty of Wanton Misconduct?

Text: 30 For purposes of this appeal, plaintiff concedes in his brief that defendant did not engage in wilful misconduct. Accordingly, we focus on whether defendant was guilty of wanton misconduct. In a recent decision, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania stated: 31 Wanton misconduct ... means that an actor has intentionally done an act of an unreasonable character, in disregard of a risk known to him or so obvious that he must be taken to have been aware of it, and so great as to make it highly probable that harm would follow. It usually is accompanied by a conscious indifference to the consequences, and not a desire to bring them about; as such, actual prior knowledge of the particular injured person's peril is not required. It is enough that the actor realizes, or at least has knowledge of sufficient facts that would cause a reasonable man to realize, that a peril exists, for a sufficient time beforehand to give the actor a reasonable opportunity to take means to avoid the injured person's accident; the actor is wanton for recklessly disregarding the danger presented. 32 Ott v. Unclaimed Freight Co., 395 Pa.Super. 483, 577 A.2d 894, 897 (1990) (quoting Graham v. Sky Haven Coal, Inc., 386 Pa.Super. 598, 563 A.2d 891, 899 (1989) (Brosky, J., concurring), allocatur granted, 525 Pa. 600, 603, 575 A.2d 566, 568 (1990), appeal discontinued, June 27, 1990). 33 The question thus becomes: Could a reasonable jury conclude that by not filling the pool to its full depth, and not posting warning signs or taking other precautionary measures, defendant's conduct was of an unreasonable character, in disregard of a risk known to it or so obvious that defendant must be taken to have been aware of it and so great as to make it highly probable that harm would follow?We shall assume on this record that defendant was aware that trespassers were using the pool. On such assumption, plaintiff argues that this record was sufficient to create a jury issue as to whether defendant was guilty of wanton negligence in not taking steps to avoid injury to trespassers who might dive into the pool. 34 As set forth in his brief, plaintiff relies on four facts: 35
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39 Before we can address the facts relied upon by plaintiff, we must determine whether a jury could reasonably charge defendant with actual awareness of the risk or with constructive awareness of it because it was obvious. 40 We do not believe that defendant could reasonably be charged with knowledge, in either sense, that a trespasser might dive in the middle of the unlighted pool at night without checking the water level. We so conclude because, in our view, the particular risk here was not known or obvious to defendant within those requirements of Pennsylvania law. It follows, furthermore, that a jury could not reasonably conclude that the risk arising from the partially filled pool was so great that it was highly probable that this particular injury to plaintiff would eventuate. Thus, because defendant cannot be charged with actual or constructive knowledge of the risk under Pennsylvania law, the defendant's failures that are relied upon by the plaintiff are irrelevant. Thus, plaintiff did not make a showing that negated defendant's right to summary judgment. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-28, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-55, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).