The Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County addressed whether punitive damages are applicable in a case where the alleged tortfeasor was texting while driving. The Court stuck plaintiffs’ claims for punitive damages in Manning v. Barber, No. 17-7915 Civil (CP. Cumb. Co. June 21, 2018).
In Manning, the defendant was texting while driving and rear-ended a middle vehicle that was pushed into Plaintiffs’ car. The Complaint included allegations of recklessness and sought punitive damages because the defendant was inattentive due to texting while driving. Defendant filed preliminary objections arguing that the allegation of cell phone use alone, without other indicia of recklessness, was not sufficient to support an award of punitive damages.
The Court acknowledged that there remains “a lack of Pennsylvania appellate case law in the context of distracted driving cases where the tortfeasor is distracted by the use of a cellular phone at the time of the accident”. However, Judge Masland noted the allegations by the plaintiff were boilerplate and stated that defendant was inattentive and going too fast, etc. The Court held that the allegations in the Complaint only supported claims of negligence. Therefore, the claim for punitive damages was stricken. The Court also rejected plaintiffs’ argument of a policy-based theory that texting while driving should constitute per se recklessness.
Questions can be directed to Paul Gambone, Esquire.
