Court Opinion

ID: 9648066
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 14:00:52.752289+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:11:55.573559
License: Public Domain

JOYCE, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully disagree with the majority regarding the application of the “no-duty” rule. The lower court determined that Appellants assumed the risk of personal injury and granted Appellee’s motion for summary judgment. Citing to our Supreme Court’s decision in Jones v. Three Rivers Management Corp., 483 Pa. 75, 394 A.2d 546 (1978), the lower court reasoned that the “no duty” rule should apply under the circumstances. The majority reversed in an opinion which discusses the historic overview of the application of the “no-duty” rule and concludes that the case at bar is more akin to a spectator being struck by a baseball bat, which does not warrant granting summary judgment, than a spectator being struck by a fly-ball, which would warrant summary judgment. We cannot agree with this conclusion. The no-duty rule applies to situations which are common, frequent and expected. Most importantly, the Courts have found Appellant is required to introduce evidence that the amusement facility in which he was injured deviated in some relevant respect from the established custom in order for the case to go to the jury. Pestalozzi v. Philadelphia Flyers Ltd., 394 Pa.Super. 420, 576 A.2d 72, 74 (Pa.Super.1990). Appellants failed in this respect.
Our review of the record indicated that Appellants had previously attended professional football games at Three Rivers Stadium. (Deposition of William Telega, 4/6/95, at 12). They sat in the same seats for approximately two (2) years and witnessed the fans’ *378upheaval when a football entered the stands after clearing the catch net on many prior occasions. Id. at 12-13. In fact, they had voiced concern over this behavior previously. Id. at 18-19. Specifically, Appellants expressed concern for the welfare of the patrons when such events erupted. Id. at 81. The risk faced in the case at bar was quite common and customary to the football game and reasonably foreseeable based on past experience. Appellants assumed the risk of being injured by displaced fans pursuing a souvenir football. Under these circumstances, I would not disturb the findings of the trial court.