Court Opinion

ID: 9640157
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 16:59:03.041244+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:27.445269
License: Public Domain

DEL SOLE, President Judge,
concurring.
¶ 1 I agree with the Majority’s ruling affirming the judgment entered in favor of the Church. However I believe the Majority’s spoliation analysis is unnecessary.
¶ 2 The doctrine of spoliation applies to cases in which the product is damaged or missing. Roselli v. General Electric Co., 410 Pa.Super. 223, 599 A.2d 685 (1991). In this case the product was preserved. The Church brought this action against Appellants based upon the alleged failure of its product, and the Church preserved that product for purposes of litigation. The Church had the obligation to meet its bur*1276den of proof to establish all the elements of a strict liability case by a preponderance of the evidence, including causation. Appellants were free to argue that the product was not defective or that there existed alternative causes for the fire. However, the Church can not be held responsible for maintaining the entire fire scene. The Church, like other fire victims, wished to rebuild. It was ¡entirely reasonable for the Church to take such action. To require fire victims to delay reconstruction until all possible causes are identified, persons are notified and “reasonable time” for inspections expire, places an unnecessary and unreasonable burden on these victims. Such delay would require that the victims secure their premises, postpone reconstruction and endure further disruption in their lives. In my judgment, this is not necessary where the party making the claim has preserved the product it alleges caused the damage.
¶ 3 Contrary to the Majority’s position I do not find instructive this court’s decision in Pia v. Perrotti, 718 A.2d 321 (Pa.Super.1998). There a fire destroyed the apt pellant’s warehouse. The investigators could not determine the origin of the fire, although it was known that it resulted from an electrical malfunction in the southwest corner of the building. Appellant preserved only a metering cabinet, which it claimed housed wires which the appel-lees had inadequately tightened. The trial court gave a spoliation instruction due to the appellant’s failure to preserve the other electrical connections and electrical items located in close proximity to the metering cabinet.
¶ 4 In this case, the investigation led to the baptistry heater. The heater and all items related to the heater were preserved and available for Appellants’ inspection. Appellants’ claim, regarding a lack of access to the entire fire scene, differs significantly from the facts of Pia.
¶ 5 Because the facts of this case did not warrant a spoliation analysis, I concur in the Majority’s decision which finds no error on the part of the trial court.