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433 Pa. 482

Thomas v. Baird

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

Decided April 23, 1969

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · decided 1969-04-23

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“* * * Moreover, Rader has been cited with approval by our Court several times, and its rationale applied to other factual situations. Por example, we granted sovereign immunity to the General State Authority (Roney v. General State Authority, 413 Pa. 218 , 219, 196 A.2d 349 ) ; to the Delaware River Port Authority (Anderson Appeal, 408 Pa. 179 , 187, 182 A.2d 514 ) ; and to the State Highway and Bridge Authority (Eidemiller, Inc. v. State Highway and Bridge Authority, 408 Pa. 195 , 182 A.2d 911 ).”

quoted by 1 later decision, including Harris v. Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission

“that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission [is] an instrumentality of the Commonwealth engaged in a governmental function and therefore is not liable for . . . injuries and damages in a trespass action.”

quoted by 1 later decision, including Biello v. Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board

Relies on Rader v. Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission · Anderson Appeal · Johnson v. EI duPONT deNEMOURS & COMPANY

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1969-04-23

How this case has been cited

Cited by 31 later decisions — most recently January 2004 · most notably BROWN v. Commonwealth (1973), Biello v. Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (1973)

2 federal appellate · 25 state decisions

27019691970198019902000decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1Opinion by

Mr. Chief Justice Bell,

¶2This is an appeal from an Order of the Court of Common Pleas sustaining defendant’s preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer.

¶3The plaintiff alleged that at about 9:30 A.M. on July 26, 1966, the defendant Ronald G. Baird was operating a maintenance truck along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The truck was owned by Baird’s employer, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, and, at the time the accident occurred, Baird was acting within the scope of his employment.

¶4The plaintiff further alleged that Baird brought his truck to a stop in the right, or slow, lane of westbound traffic, disembarked from the truck and was standing on the running board. No precautions were taken to warn traffic coming from the truck’s rear. *484Plaintiff’s decedent was operating a tractor-trailer in a westerly direction on the turnpike and, rounding a curve in the highway to his right, suddenly came upon defendant’s truck. The decedent had no opportunity to stop his vehicle, and was killed in the ensuing collision.

¶5The plaintiff, as administratrix of decedent’s estate, brought this action in trespass to recover for decedent’s death under the Pennsylvania statutes. The defendant Turnpike Commission then filed preliminary objections alleging that the Commission is an instrumentality of the Commonwealth engaged in a governmental function and, as such is immune from liability in trespass for injuries and damages resulting from the torts or negligence of its officers or employees. The lower Court sustained the preliminary objections.

¶6Plaintiff acknowledges that our decision in Rader v. Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, 407 Pa. 609, 182 A. 2d 199, controls the present case and supports the Order of the lower Court, but asks us to reconsider and overrule that decision. The plaintiff in Raderwas injured when his automobile skidded and collided with a guard rail; in his complaint he alleged that the defendant Turnpike Commission allowed ice to accumulate on the turnpike and negligently failed to spread ashes or other abrasive materials thereon or to post a warning of the icy condition. In Raderwe held that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission was an instrumentality of the Commonwealth engaged in a governmental function and hence immune from liability for the negligence of its employees.

¶7The plaintiff in the instant case does not raise any arguments or contentions which were not adequately and fully considered and rejected in Rader. Moreover, Raderhas been cited with approval by our Court several times, and its rationale applied to other factual situations.

¶8*485For example, we granted sovereign immunity to the General State Authority (Roney v. General State Authority, 413 Pa. 218, 219, 196 A. 2d 349); to the Delaware River Port Authority (Anderson Appeal, 408 Pa. 179, 187, 182 A. 2d 514); and to the State Highway and Bridge Authority (Eidemiller, Inc. v. State Highway and Bridge Authority, 408 Pa. 195, 182 A. 2d 911).

¶9Raderis firmly established as the law of Pennsylvania and no convincing reasons have been advanced for overruling it or changing the law.

¶10Order affirmed.

Mr. Justice Eagen took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.
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