Opinion ID: 3021413
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Negligence Per Se Claims

Text: The plaintiffs argue that the District Court erred in granting summary judgment dismissing their claim of negligence per se based on Cabot’s alleged violation of Section 4013.6(c) of the Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act (“PAPCA”), 35 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 4001 et seq. Under the doctrine of negligence per se, a violation of a statute may be grounds for finding that a defendant is per se liable. To assert a claim for negligence per se, the plaintiffs must demonstrate that: 1) the statute or regulation clearly applies to the conduct of the defendant; 2) the defendant violated the statute or regulation; 3) the violation of the statute proximately caused the plaintiff's injuries; and 4) the statute’s purpose is, at least in part, to protect the interest of the plaintiff individually, as opposed to the public. See Wagner v. Anzon, Inc., 684 A.2d 570, 574 (Pa. Super. 1996). We agree with the District Court that the plaintiffs’ claim must fail because the plaintiffs cannot demonstrate that the statute’s purpose is to protect the interest of the plaintiffs in particular as opposed to the general public. In Wagner, the Pennsylvania Superior Court rejected a similar negligence per se claim brought by neighbors against a nearby factory that they alleged had violated the Philadelphia Air Management Code of 1969 (the “Philadelphia Code”). Id. at 573-75. After reviewing the text and legislative history of the Philadelphia Code, the Pennsylvania Superior Court concluded that the statute was “a general environmental protection statute that has the interests of the City community as a whole at the heart of its purpose.” Id. at 575. The court also noted that “a statute governing air quality, by its nature, is directed to the 20 population in general.” Id. at 575 n.4. The court held that, as a general environmental protection statute, the Philadelphia Code’s purpose was to protect the entire community rather than the plaintiffs specifically. Id. at 575. We conclude that, like the Philadelphia Code, the PAPCA is an environmental statute governing air quality with the purpose of protecting the general public rather than the plaintiffs in particular. The text of the PAPCA states that it is intended to protect the “public health, safety and well-being [of Pennsylvania] citizens.” 35 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 4002(a). The plaintiffs note that the statute also states that it is intended to prevent “injury to plant and animal life and to property” and to encourage the “development, attraction and expansion of industry, commerce and agriculture.”9 Id. However, these broad statements do not establish an intent to protect the plaintiffs as dairy farmers specifically rather than the population of Pennsylvania in general. Similarly, in Wagner, references to the “health and welfare” of Philadelphia inhabitants and the protection of “recreation, commerce and individual activity” in the statute did not indicate a specific intention to protect the plaintiffs. Wagner, 684 A.2d at 574-75. Because the plaintiffs cannot demonstrate that the PAPCA was intended to protect them specifically as opposed to the general population, summary judgment dismissing their claim for negligence per se is appropriate.