Court Opinion

ID: 9747207
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 15:03:22.25502+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:21.257263
License: Public Domain

MUSMANNO, J.,
dissenting:
¶ 1 I respectfully disagree with the majority’s holding that Conrail’s property falls within the scope of the Recreational Use of Land and Water Act (“RULWA”), see 68 P.S. §§ 477-1 to 477-8, and that Conrail is therefore immune from liability in the present ease.
¶ 2 The RULWA is “designed to encourage the opening up of large private land holdings for outdoor recreational use.” Rivera v. Philadelphia Theological Seminary, 510 Pa. 1, 16, 507 A.2d 1, 8 (1986). The types of land areas that are protected by the RULWA, and by similar legislation in other jurisdictions, are those that are natural, unimproved, and undeveloped. See Redinger v. Clapper’s Tree Service, Inc., 419 Pa.Super. 487, 615 A.2d 743, 749 (1992) (citation omitted). Such land, however, may lose its immunity status if the land is substantially improved and such improvement causes injury. Id.; see also Mills v. Commonwealth, 534 Pa. 519, 633 A.2d 1115 (1993) (stating that the beneficiaries of the RULWA include landowners of large unimproved tracts of land, which are amenable, without alteration, to the enumerated recreational purposes of the RULWA); Brezinski v. County of Allegheny, 694 A.2d 388 (Pa.Cmwlth.1997) (stating that only owners of unimproved land are protected from liability under the RUL-WA). In my opinion, a railroad trestle that is seventeen feet high, and is constructed of wooden planks, steel beams, and large concrete blocks, is clearly a substantial improvement to the land. My honorable colleagues in the majority agree. See Majority Opinion, at 283. .
¶ 3 A tract of land may be partially developed in one segment and unimproved in another section. See Redinger, 615 A.2d at 750. In those circumstances, the owner of the land would not be liable, under the RULWA, for injuries that occurred on the unimproved part of the land, but would be liable for injuries occurring on the developed portion. See id. In the present case, the land on which the trestle is located is the site of two former railroad lines and two trestles, including the one at issue. Thus, the portion of the land on which the trestle stands is developed, or improved, land. Consequently, that portion of the land is not covered by the RULWA and, accordingly, the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in Conrad’s favor.
¶ 4 Therefore, I would reverse the trial court’s Order granting summary judgment *285and remand the case for further proceedings.