First and foremost any lawsuit against a city, township, or school district (aka political subdivisions) must be brought within the county where the subdivision is located. For example, you must bring a lawsuit against the City of Easton in Northampton County. Likewise, Likewise, Lehigh County is where you must bring a a lawsuit against the Allentown School District. Now, that assumes you can even bring a claim. Pursuant to the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act, political subdivisions are actually immune from lawsuits except in very specific situations. Accordingly, there are eight categories of exceptions, which are:
- Vehicle liability
- Care, custody or control of personal property
- Real Property (real estate)
- Trees, traffic controls and street lighting
- Utility service facilities
- Streets
- Sidewalks
- Care, custody or control of animals
While it may seem like those categories cover every possible situation, each category has its own additional exclusions and requirements. Also, these laws do not cover lawsuits against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and its agencies such as PennDOT which are subject to a whole other set of exclusions and requirements.
There is also a limitation on damages recoverable against a political subdivision. You can only recover against a political subdivision for pain and suffering in instances of death or in cases of a permanent loss of a bodily function, permanent disfigurement or permanent dismemberment where the medical expenses are in excess of $1,500.
If you have a question regarding a lawsuit against a political subdivision, contact the attorneys at Mobilio Woods today for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.
