The common law has traditionally imposed on property owners the duty to maintain the sidewalks abutting their properties. However, pedestrians should be wary of a gap in coverage created by the Pennsylvania Legislature that could leave an injured pedestrian with no liable party to recover from if the injury occurred on a sidewalk that is adjacent to a street owned by a governmental entity.
In Reid v. City of Philadelphia , the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently overruled the Commonwealth Court’s decision in Sherman v. City of Philadelphia that “rewrote” an exception to governmental immunity that imposes liability for torts arising out of the care, custody or control of real property to include sidewalks that adjoin real property owned by the municipality.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
