Earlier this year, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld a denial of a motion for summary judgment filed by the Pittsburgh School District’s Board of Public Education (“PBE”).  Geier v. Bd. of Pub. Educ. of the Sch. Dist. of Pittsburgh, 153 A.3d 1189 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2017). 

The PBE argued, among other things, that it was immune from this suit wherein plaintiffs alleged personal injuries and other damages as a result of exposure to asbestos dust at the school where plaintiff-wife was employed by the PBE as a math teacher from the fall of 1958 through the summer of 1959.  In summary, the Court held the evidence of record was sufficient to defeat summary judgment and, in particular, the claims made and supporting evidence fell within the enumerated exceptions to governmental immunity.

Of importance, the appellate court also concluded that the notice issue raised at the appellate level was not fairly developed before the trial court and therefore not addressed with this limited interlocutory appeal by permission.