State’s top court allows fall case

Huntingdon resident broke ankle outside housing complex

A Huntingdon County resident who was injured nearly eight years ago in a fall in the parking lot of the county's Chestnut Terrace housing complex will finally get her day in court as the result of a decision Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Sharon Wise, who resided in the Chestnut Terrace complex owned by the Huntingdon County Housing Authority, was walking with her sister on the night of May 9, 2013, when she "rolled her ankle" on the edge of the sidewalk.

Wise broke her ankle, which, according to her attorney, Nathan M. Murawsky of Landsdale, was a severe injury that still gives her problems to this day.

She sued the authority because of inadequate lighting in the area of her fall, and that led to the lengthy court battle.

Huntingdon County Judge George N. Zanic dismissed the lawsuit, ruling the authority, a governmental agency, was immune from lawsuits -- except for a few exceptions.

The case went to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, which upheld Zanic's ruling, rejecting Murawsky's contention that the lack of proper lighting in the parking lot created a dangerous condition that was not covered by immunity.

The Commonwealth Court, in an opinion written by Judge Anne E. Covey, ruled the fall did not occur due to a defect in a light pole or a tree that allegedly blocked the light, but was essentially caused by nighttime darkness -- a state that resulted from the Earth's rotation around the sun.

She wrote, "Given the Earth's natural rotation from light to darkness, the alleged dangerous condition -- darkness -- did not derive, originate from or have as its source (in the governmental property)."

The case was appealed in 2019 to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which on Wednesday reversed the Commonwealth Court and has now sent Wise's civil lawsuit back to Huntingdon County for disposition.

In a 22-page opinion written by Justice Max Baer, the court unanimously ruled in Wise's favor.

The majority opinion, joined by Justices Thomas Saylor, Debra Todd and Sallie Updyke Mundy, reviewed a plethora of past cases involving the issue of governmental immunity.

Two of the cases concerned inadequate lighting in Philadelphia housing complexes. Other cases involved PennDOT.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision Wednesday made it clear that a real estate exception to immunity, as in the Wise situation, is created only if the dangerous condition results from "a defect in the property or in its construction, maintenance, repair or design."

Wise, the state's highest court explained, contends there was insufficient artificial lighting at Chestnut Terrace complex because a tree blocked the light in the area where the accident occurred.

The Supreme Court indicated, "Wise alleges that insufficient artificial lighting existed ... because of the arrangement of the sidewalk, pole light and tree, which are part of the real property."

The opinion went on to explain when an agency installs lighting (indoors or outdoors) as part of its real estate, "sovereign immunity is waived if the agency's negligent installation and design creates a dangerous condition."

Whether, as contended in the Wise lawsuit, a dangerous condition existed in the Chestnut Terrace housing complex in May 2013, is a question for a jury, the Supreme Court ruled.

In addressing the "nighttime darkness" issue causing the fall -- as related by the Commonwealth Court -- the state Supreme Court ruled natural darkness is not fatal to Wise's claim, and stated, "nor is it at all relevant that (the Housing Authority) obviously did not cause the existing natural darkness."

Murawsky explained that the Wise civil case will now go back to Huntingdon County, noting the case was only in its initial stages when the lengthy court battle began.

The Supreme Court decision, he said, has finally provided badly-needed guidance to Pennsylvania lawyers on the issue of immunity when it comes to government property.

He said he believes the Supreme Court felt the Commonwealth Court decision that blamed the Earth's rotation and nighttime darkness for Wise's injuries indicated the need for higher-court guidance on the immunity issue.

He concluded, "The most important thing is that Sharon Wise will get her day in court."

The Pennsylvania Association for Justice and the Pennsylvania Attorney General submitted friend-of-the-court briefs in the case -- The Pennsylvania Association for Justice for Wise, and the Attorney General for the Huntingdon County Housing Authority.

Justices David N. Wecht and Kevin M. Dougherty wrote concurring opinions.

When asked about the length of time it took to get the case back to square one, Murawsky explained that the appellate process takes time.