ZK Results – Attorney John W. Zotter Successfully Raises Pennsylvania’s “Hills and Ridges” Doctrine as a Defense
In a lawsuit arising out of an alleged slip and fall in the parking lot of a shopping plaza, Plaintiff alleged that she slipped and fell on ice that had accumulated in the parking lot, and that there had been a significant accumulation of snow and ice over the 24 hours prior to the incident. Plaintiff claimed that she sustained a closed head injury as well as knee injury that required a total knee replacement. Under Pennsylvania law, a property owner is not liable for generally slippery conditions unless there was an accumulation of hills and ridges of snow and ice. A Motion for Summary Judgment was filed on behalf of the Zimmer Kunz client who owned the shopping plaza where the alleged fall occurred because the Plaintiff could not testify that she fell as a result of an accumulation of hills and ridges of snow and ice. Summary judgment was granted by the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.
