Rodriguez, J. v. Keystone Qlty Transport Co.
Rodriguez, J. v. Keystone Qlty Transport Co.
Opinion
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA EASTERN DISTRICT
JOANN RODRIGUEZ, : No. 440 EAL 2021 : Petitioner : : Petition for Allowance of Appeal : from the Unpublished v. : Memorandum and Order of the : Superior Court at No. 2287 EDA : 2019 entered on July 23, 2021, KEYSTONE QUALITY TRANSPORT CO., : vacating and remanding the Order : of the Philadelphia County Court of Respondent : Common Pleas at No. December : Term, 2017, No. 00517 entered on June 13, 2019
ORDER
PER CURIAM
AND NOW, this 12th day of April, 2022, the Petition for Allowance of Appeal is
GRANTED in part. The order of the Superior Court is VACATED, and the case is
REMANDED for application of the harmless error standard articulated in Grove v. Port
Authority of Allegheny County, 218 A.3d 877, 889-90 (Pa. 2019), in light of the closing
argument of the respondent’s counsel as follows:
You heard Mr. Lundberg say that he felt the vehicle slip on the trolley tracks, which may excuse the driver’s actions. Quite frankly, I am not sure it excuses the driver’s actions sufficiently for you to find this vehicle was not driven negligently. So on question 1: Do you find the defendant negligent? Yes or No? I don’t think you’re going to spend a lot of time on that question, quite frankly. I think you’re good jurors. You paid attention to the evidence. I think you’re going to find that the driver was negligent. N.T., 1/31/2019, at 20, 21-22.
Reference
- Status
- Published