Leone v. Department of Transportation

In Leone v. Department of Transportation, 780 A.2d 754 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2001), PennDot notified the City that a plumber's ditch had been left in an unsafe condition; a City employee attempted to repair the ditch but could not due to weather; the employee reported to the City that he made a partial repair, but the City's records indicated that the ditch had been made safe. Leone was injured and sued the City and the Commonwealth under 42 Pa. C.S. 8542(b)(6). The Court stated: "A review of the record reveals that Appellants failed to present any evidence that the Commonwealth had contracted with the City for the maintenance and repair of Torresdale Avenue, a state highway. Further, the correspondence between PennDot and the City does not represent a contractual relationship regarding road maintenance as required to invoke the street exception. Thus, the trial court was correct in determining that Appellants cannot invoke the streets exception to the Act." Id., 780 A.2d at 758.