Court Opinion

ID: 9750022
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 14:13:39.278296+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:26:01.657354
License: Public Domain

PALLADINO, Judge,
dissenting.
I must respectfully dissent to the majority opinion.
The majority concludes that the Department of Transportation (DOT) breached a duty owed to the Robert C. Weller (Weller) which resulted in Weller’s death. I believe that no duty exists. As a result, no cause of action exits.
Section 8522 of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 8522, permits the recovery of damages from a commonwealth agency only if “damages would be recoverable under the common law or statute creating a cause of action ...” and one of the enumerated exceptions is applicable. In the instant case, no common law action is available.
In Huber v. Department of Transportation, 122 Pa.Commonwealth Ct. 82, 551 A.2d 1130 (1988), we held that the duty to remove ice and snow was a duty “on DOT on behalf of the general public ” Id., 122 Pa.Commonwealth Ct. at 90, 551 A.2d at 1133 (emphasis in original), and that no duty ran to any particular party so as to create a cause of action. The majority has erroneously concluded that this lack of duty only applies to natural accumulations of ice and snow, and not all accumulations.
However, even if the duty is so limited, the snow in question was a natural accumulation. In Vitelli v. City of Chester, 119 Pa.Commonwealth Ct. 58, 545 A.2d 1011 (1988) we held that:
“Shovelled snow is a natural incident of the snowfall which cannot be separated from the snowfall itself. The *28fact that snow has been shovelled into the street does not change its character from “natural” to “artificial.”
There is no measurable distinction between shovelling snow and plowing snow. As a result, the snow which was allegedly covering the guardrail was a natural accumulation of snow, which DOT had no duty to remove.
Accordingly, I would reverse the trial court and grant judgment n.o.v. in favor of DOT.