Court Opinion

ID: 9626938
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 08:28:28.392621+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:18:48.613290
License: Public Domain

CIRILLO, President Judge Emeritus,
dissenting:
Because I believe that Podgurski’s amended complaint “fails to set forth with specificity the allegations of wrongdoing under the Whistleblower Law,” I must respectfully dissent.
It is well established that when considering an appeal of a decision granting preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer:
A demurrer can only be sustained where the complaint is clearly insufficient to establish the pleader’s right to relief. For the purpose of testing the legal sufficiency of the challenged pleading a preliminary objection in the nature of a demurrer admits as true all well-pleaded, material, relevant facts, and every inference fairly de-dueible from those facts.
MacGregor v. Mediq, Inc., et al., 395 Pa.Super. 221, 576 A.2d 1123, 1125 (Pa.Super.1990). Moreover, the decision of whether or not to allow the amendment of a pleading is within the sound discretion of the trial judge; that decision will not be disturbed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion. Connor v. Allegheny General Hosp., 501 Pa. 306, 461 A.2d 600 (1983). “Where the initial pleading reveals that the complaint’s defects are so substantial that amendment is not likely to cure them, and that the prima facie elements of the claim or claims asserted will not be established, the right to amend is properly withheld.” Feingold v. Hill, 360 Pa.Super. 539, 521 A.2d 33, 39 (Pa.Super.1987).
In the present case Podgurski was given two opportunities to file a complaint setting forth “with specificity” allegations of wrongdoing committed by her co-workers at PSU; to this end she has completely failed to allege facts sufficient to state a cause of action for “wrongdoing” under the Act. “Wrongdoing” is defined, under the Act, as “[a] violation which is not of a merely technical or minimal nature of a Federal or State statute or regulation, of a political subdivision ordinance or regulation or of a code of conduct or ethics designed to protect the interest of the public or the employer.” Riggio v. Burns, 711 A.2d 497 (Pa.Super.1998) (en banc); 43 P.S. § 1422. See Gray v. Hafer, 168 Pa. Commw. 613, 651 A.2d 221, affirmed, 542 Pa. 607, 669 A.2d 335 (1995) (in order to fall within the definition of “wrongdoing” under the Whis-tleblower Law, a violation reported by a public employee must be a violation of a statute or regulation of the type that an employer is charged to enforce for the good of the public or one dealing with internal administration of the employer).
Podgurski cites no facts which would entitle her to relief under the Whistleblower Law; the vague information contained within the amended complaint fails to allege specific wrongdoing which would amount to a violation of a statute or regulation that PSU was charged to enforce. Contrary to the majority’s conclusion that relies upon a non-binding Commonwealth Court case, I find that Pod-gurski’s complaint amounts to nothing more than a self-portrayal of a dedicated and frustrated employee who is surrounded by lazy and incompetent co-workers. Because the amended complaint is clearly insufficient to establish the right to relief, I would sustain the demurrer. MacGregor, supra. Further amendment of Podgurski’s amended complaint would not likely have cured the substantial defects in pleading. Feingold, supra.