Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout98-00035 ~ "/ 'Iii "io:.i.' ';!~: .::~~.:~. dh. :~({~1~' ,~'!t ;,:.r:. ~')f 'fl."~ "i,\ ;'...."'. ....f-'. ;,. ~ " :) ~ ~ ~ i . 't "" ~ U ~ ,/ ( ~ N ...... . . .':) - U \0 ") r' " ( ...., JOHN and BARBARA LENDA, as Parents and Natural Guardians of BRITTANY LENDA, and JOHN and BARBARA LENDA, In their own right, Plaintiffs : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : CIVIL ACTION - LAW v, : NO, 1'1- 3.5 {I-A-tfcC VELMA WEAVER, Defendant : Jury Trial Demanded To: Prothonotary Please Issue a Writ of Summons on behalf of the Plaintiffs against the Defendant in the above-captioned action. Date: 1/2/98 ( 4" .... "\, ~ ..." ~ lt1 ,-, M ::)....1": r C)...... J U~: 0 ::l: ~ if CL. ~)~ C' tn ..tf) C'.: ''J''" I ." #.. "'- a:z n:L~ 7- tUw "''' alU. F: --. :;: ~ a:l :::J a' 0 ',. . . .....oy ~ ~ ( ." INSTRUCTIONS TO SHERIFF Please serve, by deputized service. the Defendant. Velma Weaver, at her residence located at Box 165. R.D, # 1, Waterford, Erie County, Pennsylvania, by leaving a copy of the enclosed Writ with the person in charge at the time. / By Ca!:"fyn . squire Morney I.D. # 636 319 Market reet P.O, Bo 177 Harrisburg, PA 17108 (717) 238-2000 Attorneys for Plaintiffs Date: 1/2/98 ~ .... >0 1"'- ~ c::; tr. ~ ~ c.r: ..- '&, !c) r4~ ::'o<C N - 0"7 ..- U~ ~ k-, u_~, 0.. 0;::; ~2 t.n ;;';0- ~ ~ l.l. I ...1'- ry., ;;..J - u.::.... o:W :a I.~ltb I'.. "'--.., r-: -, rQO- ~ "<") ;t l!5 CO ~, .1......... -'" ' (,1\ {3 ~ l'-- \c) ~ r'\ Q ~ ~ I ~ ~ ~. ~~ -,. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania County of Cumberland John and Barbara Lenda as Parents and Natural Guardians of Brittany Lenda and John and Barbara Lenda, in their own right Velma Weaver Box 165. R.D. #1 East Waterford, Juniata County, No, Court oC Conunoll Pleas 98-35 Civil Term 19____ ... Civil Action - Law Pennsy J!Qania--- - ---- - - -- -------- --- - - ----------------- Velma Weaver: 'fo _________,___________________________________ You are hereby noti!ied that John and Barbara Lenda as Parents &. Natural GJ,! ~u;:~ti..one __Qt.._ ~J:lltAOY__ I...ewla.fand_ ..Jaho_.iJ nd_.EaJ:b.ar.a_ 1..e wla..._.i.e_ _t h.eiJ: _~II'Il right S C' '1 A t' . . '. ummons - J.VJ. C J.on - Law the PlamnC!s have commenced an aCllon m ________________________________________________________ against you which you are required to defend or a deCau\t judgment may be entered against you, (SEAL) January 5, 98 Ilate ______________________________ 19____ By _____________________________________________ Ileputy ~ ~~ ~~ 0'-' 3 --w ~ ~ .~ 3 ~ JO}I 'ii + ~ j ... ~I ~I .rll u, ~I Ul C III C H Ul 'rl .e .rl Ill'tl 0 Ql I-l..,.e . III .... III ::l'tl 'tltllCC C Ill'... QlM ...:I en .. .. I-lllllll Ill::l'tl'tl H.j.JCC III III Ql Ql .. .oZ..:l..:l Ii' H III 'tl >. III 1Il C C H 1ll1ll1ll.j.J 'tl .....o.e CUl....I-101 1ll.j.J.rl Ill'rl Cl-llllH C Ql 1Il .e I-l 'tl C o Ill..... C ~ ..,P.OIllO C o 'rl .... o <t: .-l 'rl > 'rl U i ~ j E ~~ ~. ~ ~ alO .... i~~p, t. .El 19 I rn ~ III ..:l a l~ 1< I I I , I I , I I I I I I I H Ql > III <ll ~ III e .-l <ll > ~ JOHN and BARBARA LENDA, as Parents and Natural Guardians of BRITTANY LENDA. and JOHN and BARBARA LENDA, In their own right. Plaintiffs : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 'I .~ }J : CIVIL ACTION - LAW v, : NO, 98-35 VELMA WEAVER, " Defendant : Jury Trial Demanded PRACEIPE TO AMEND AND RE-ISSUE WRIT OF SUMMONS , To: Prothonotary Please amend and re-issue the Writ of Summons on behalf of the Plaintiffs against the Defendant in the above-captioned action. to reflect that the Defendant's correct address is Box 165. R.D, # 1, East Waterford. Juniata County. Pennsylvania. , I HANDLER & WIENER By (~/ CaroIY9--f0? Anner, Esquire Attorneyl.D, # 62636 319 Market Street P,O, Box 1177 Harrisburg, PA 17108 (717) 238-2000 Attorneys for Plaintiffs j Date: 1/27/98 f.I: <:'.1 (.: j::; tr.> ~:,':: U.lQ N ::J ...:': I (.);c:..; C;, ; '. ::.. FF:r- ii: - -' '-... -) 9-(': c:' t; l. :'1"_:.: '" :,l~ ~(l_ >: u:L!~ .-.'- , !~:J ...\.. J~. -- .' . ' ' ...<~ II- ~':l ::> 0 a, U '\ SHERIFF'S RETURN - OUT OF COUNTY CASE NOI 1998-00035 P CO"KONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA I COUNTY OF CU"BERLAND ( LENDA JOHN ET AL VS. WEAVER VELKA R. Thema. K~in. . Sheri~~, who being duly .worn accDrding ~e law, .ays, ~ha~ he made a diligent search and inquiry for the within named d.~.nd.nt, tD witl WEAVER VELKA , bu~ was unab~e tD locate d.pu~ized ~he sheriff o~ ~o serve the wi~hin WRIT OF Her in his bailiwick. He ~her.fore County, Pennsylvania. JUNIATA SUKKONS On , Karch 17~h. 1998 ~he at~ach.d return from ,I , I . ~hi8 office was in rectpip~ of Pennsy 1 vania. JUNIATA County, Sheriff's CostSI Dock.~ing Out o~ County Surcharg. Junia~a County S~~ ~....? ~ .' oma. ne, er %.% 18.00 9.00 2.00 34.40 ~b3.4~ HANDLER AND WIENER 03/17/1998 Sworn and subscribed ~o before me t.his ) ?!& day of 71v,. AA/ 19 q( A.D. Cfrl ~ ~J~<-' ~ ro ono Bry ".( " ~~~~~, . In The Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania . '.'I! \. " " John & Barbara Lenda et al VS, Velma Weaver No, 9B-35 Civil Term 19_ tl'OIV, Jan. 29. Jun~ata 199~9-, I SHERIFF OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PA do hereby depullzethe SherlfTof County to e~ecule this Writ, this deputation being mode althe request and risk of the Plaintiff, r~~'<? Sheriff of Cumberland CounlY. Po. Affidavit of Sen'ice Now, wltbin February 27, 1998 Reissued Writ of Summons Velma WEaver 19 . at 12:16 o'clock A i\1. served the upon at the Juniata County Sheriff's office, 225 Bridge Street, Miff1intown, Pennsylvania bv bondlna to Velma Weaver . " attested copy of the original Reissued Writ of Sununons her the contents thereof. a true and and made known to , ..' "50 answers, .. " ", ",' . .. , '. . .., ":0I!;f/Jma,, ~ 0f,O/9P ", n Sheriff of Juniata County. Pa, ,.' H'. 'Thomas Lyter ,':; ~ . I '. ,,' " "": '.".', COSTS SERVICE MILEAGE AFFIDA V1T S 18.00 14.40 2.0D \1 \ s 34,40 Refund $40.60 ;r) 1- c w > iii . h1 a: . .' . _ ,4 ( . 0":' w i101^t;l;l~ Q;lJ.cj~~.l.i.V , JOI-IN IInd BARBARA LENDA liS PlIrenls IInd NlIturlll GUlIrdillns ofBRIITANY LENDA. IInd JOI-IN IInd BARBARA LENl>A. in their own right, PllIinlifTs : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : CIVIL ACTION - LAW v. : NO. 98-35 Civil Term VELMA WEAVER. Defendants : JURY TRIAL DEMANDED PRAECIPE TO ENTER APPEARANCE To the Prothonotary: Please enter our appearance on behalf of the Defendant, Velma Weaver. in the above- referenced matter. Respectfully submitted, HARTMAN & MILLER, P,C. B,JM /J/'~ Ja k M, Hartman, Esquire Supreme Court I.D, No. 21902 Drew p, Gannon, Esquire Supreme Court I.D, No. 74680 126 - 128 Walnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 (717) 232-3046 Attorneys for Defendant, Velma Weaver Dated: 1.(- ~4-'1'6 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that 1 am this day serving u copy of the foregoing document upon the person and in the manner indicuted below, which service sutisfies the requirements ofthe Pennsylvaniu Code, by depositing a copy of lhe sume in the United Stutes mail. ut Harrisburg, Pennsylvaniu, with first-class postage, prepaid, as follows: Carolyn M. Anner, Esquire Handler & Wiener 319 Market Street Harrisburg,PA 17101 HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. By: -4A4w A ~~ Jack M. Hartman, squire Supreme Court 1.0. No, 21902 Drew P. Gannon, Esquire Supreme Court 1.0. No, 74680 126 -128 Walnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 (717) 232-3046 Attorneys for Defendant, Velma Weaver Dated: Lf-()'I..LJ1 ~'; ~ (; ~ .. z ~~ -::t :::>,q: 1:1~ :.: U::r .~: C. r.')::': (") ..,'>=! r-, "'~ u: :5 ~t.... N . - ff:!:!:.! c:: I:Z:Z 11.1[jJ t:.: 0... rue.. oct :So IJ.. ro B. 0 en '. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that I am this day serving a copy of the foregoing document upon the person and in the manner indicated below, which service satisfies the requirements of the Pennsylvania Code. by depositing a copy of the same in the Uniled States mail, at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with first-class postage, prepaid, as follows: Carolyn M. Anner, Esquire Handler & Wiener 319 Market Street Harrisburg,PA 17101 HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. By: 4A-" fJ Ii~ Jack M. Hartman, Esquire Supreme Court 1.0. No. 21902 Drew P. Gannon, Esquire Supreme Court 1.0. No. 74680 126 - 128 Walnut Street Harrisburg,PA 17101 (717) 232-3046 Attorneys for Defendant, Velma Weaver Dated: If'-J,lI-1~ . - - ~ . . . ---- - .~_.- JOHN and BARBARA LENDA as Parcnts and Natural Guardians of BRITI ANY LENDA. and JOHN and BARBARA LENDA. in thcir own right, Plaintiffs : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : CIVIL ACTION - LAW v. : NO, 98-35 Civil Term VELMA WEAVER, Dcfendants : JURY TRIAL DEMANDED RULE TO FILE COMPLAINT TO: John and Barbara Lenda and their attorney Carolyn M. Anner. Esquire Handler and Wiener 319 Market Street Harrisburg. PA 17101 A Rule is hereby issued upon Plaintiffs, John and Barbara Lenda as Parents and Natural Guardians of Brit'.any Lenda, and John and Barbara Lenda, in their own right, to file a Complaint within twenty (20) days after service hereof or suffer J1QI1jlli!S ~~, Dated:j}'1\f. J-7' rrC;O \-/lL.;J /J~ f Proilio~ ' (; ~{f >- ~ fiE ,-- .. -"""'3-- UJQ _'1 0::; ~o r. O~ ~ ?-: CI.. ',j~ ~n r-- ~V) ll:; , r.:.: N f5~ a:U' ~ LJ. lu iE CI.. COQ,. c>: ~ u.. CC ::l 0 en U , . . . -..... ,. \( JOliN and B/\RB/\RA LEND/\, ao PaL'ento and Natural Guardians of BRITTIINY I,END/\. and JOliN and B/\RB/\RA LEND/\, in the il' own right, IN TilE COURT 01' COMMON PLE/\S 01' CUMBERLIIND COUNTY, PENNSYLVIINI/\ NO. 98.35 PIa int if fo ( /! v CIVIL /\CTION . L/\W VELM/\ WE/\VER, JURY TRI/\L DEMANDED Defendant NOTICE '" YOU HAVE BEEN SUED IN COURT, If you wioh to defend against the claim set forth in the following pageo, you must take action within twenty (20) days after this Complaint and Notice io served, by entering a written appearance personally or by attorney and filing in writing with the Court your defense or objections to the claim set forth against you, You are warned that if you fail to do so the case may proceed without you and judgement may be entered against you by the Court without further notice for any money claimed in the Complaint or for any other claim or relief requested by the Plaintiff. You may lose money or property or other rights important to you. l YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYER AT ONCE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAWYER OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP. NOTICIA ) \ 1 Le han demandado a usted en la corte. Si usted quiere defenderse de estas demandas expuestas en las paginas signuientes, usted tiene vienta (20) dias de plazo al partir de al fecha de la demanda y la notificacion. Usted debe presentar una apariencia escrita 0 en persona a pOl' abogado y archival' en la corte en forma escrita sus de fens as 0 sus objectiones alas demandas en contra de su persona. Sea avisado que si usted no se fefiende, la corte tomara medidas y puede una orden contra usted sin previo aviso 0 notificacion y pOl' cualquier queja 0 akuvui que es pedido en Ia peticion de demanda. UsteJ puedo parder dinero 0 sus propiedades 0 otros derechos importantes para usted. J LLEVE ESTA DEMANDA A UN ABODAGO IMMEDIATAMENTE, SI NO TIENE ABOGADO 0 SI NO TIENE EL DIMERO SUI'ICIENTE DE pAGAR TAL SERVICIO, VAYA EN PERSONA 0 LLAME pOR TELEpONO A LA OFICINA CUY/\ DIRECCION SE EMCUENTRA ESCRITA ABAJO PARA AVERIGUAR DONDE SE pUEDE CONSSGUIA ASISTENCIA LEGAL. COURT ADMINISTRATOR 4th Floor, Cumberland County Courthouse Carlisle, pA 17013 / Telephone: (717) 2~~-:~ HANDLER AN~:::R By .y '7 Caro 'n M ~ er, Esquire 1. O. N . 6'2636 3~9 M et St., POBox 1177 Harr sburg pA 17108,1177 (717) 238,2000 Attorneys for Plaintiff(s) JOHN and BARBARA LENDA, as Parents and Natural Guardians of BRITTANY LENDA, and JOHN AND BARBARA LENDA, in their own right, IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA i I I ,. II{!, , " NO. 98-35 ~, Plaintiffs CIVIL ACTION - LAW v. VELMA WEAVER, Defendant JURY TRIAL DEMANDED COMPLAINT ." AND NOW, come Plaintiffs, by and through their attorneys, HANDLER & WIENER, and make the within Complaint against Defendant as follows: , 1, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, is a minor individual born october 22, 1989 and currently residing with her mother, Barbara Lenda, at 149 Ashford Drive, Enola, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, 2. Plaintiff, John Lenda, is parent and natural guardian of Brittany Lenda and is an adult individual currently residing at 42 stephen Road, Apt 6F, Camp Hill, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, 3, Plaintiff, Barbara Lenda, is an adult individual currently residing at 149 Ashford Drive, Enola, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, 4. Defendant, Velma Weaver (hereinafter referred to as "Defendant") is an adult individual currently residing at Box 165, R, D. #1, East Water ford, Juniata County, Pennsylvania, 5. At all times mentioned herein Plaintiffs believe and therefore aver, Defendant was in exclusive ownership, management, 1 1':1 and control of the premises at 2 Reynolds stroot, Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. 6. At all times mentioned herein Plaintiffs believe and therefore aver, Defendant was in control of a Siberian < I Huskey/Labrador Retriever mix type dog that attacked and injured I. Plaintiff Brittany Lenda. " 7. Prior to January 29, 1993, the Defendant was aware that , the dog, part Huskey, could demonstrate vicious propensities towards little children, , B, Subsequent to January 29, 1993, Plaintiffs believe and therefore aver the Defendant was aware that the dog snapped at, attacked, bit and/or otherwise demonstrated vicious propensities towards the baby of Jeffrey and Diana Weaver. 9, The dog was subsequently placed in the pound. 10, At the time of the accident, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, .1 , I was on Defendant's property with her parents, Plaintiffs John and 1 Barbara Lenda, to decide whether to take the dog home with them, Plaintiffs were lawfully upon the premises as an invitee of the Defendant. 11, On or about January 29, 1993, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda was petting the dog when suddenly and without warning, the dog lunged and attacked Plaintiff Brittany Lenda, biting her on her ~ face. 12, The Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, sustained and suffered severe lacerations under her left eye, on her left eyelid and a 2 '~ ".,,,,,.,, injury to the Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, and anyone else who might enter the premises. r ~ f {( c. In failing to secure the dog in an area where anyone entering the premises would not be harmed or affected by its actions, when the Defendant knew or should have known of the dog's dangerous nature and vicious propensities. d. In failing to provide premises that were free from unnecessarily dangerous conditions that would have prevented injury to Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, and anyone else who might enter the premises, 18, As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, has sustained severe injuries to her face, more specifically to her left eye, requiring surgery, 19. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, has undergone great physical pain and discomfort, and mental anguish, and she will continue to endure the same for an indefinite period of time in the future to her great physical, emotional, and financial detriment and loss. 20. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, has been hindered from attending to her daily activities to her great detriment, loss, humiliation, and embarrassment, 21. As a result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, suffered a loss of lifo's pleasures, and probably 4 will continue to suffer the same in the future to her great detriment and loss. 22. Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, believes and therefore avers that her injuries are permanent in nature, including permanent facial scarring. 23, As a result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, has undergone great physical pain, discomfort, humiliation, embarrassment and mental anguish, and she will continue to endure the same for an indefinite period of time in the 24, As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of future, causing her great physical, emotional, and financial detriment and loss, Defendant, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda's, parents have been compelled, in order to effect a cure for the aforesaid injuries, to expend large sums of money for medicine and medical attention, The 1 Plaintiff continues to receive treatment and incur medical expenses for said injuries, and will continue to do so in the future, to her j and her family's great detriment and loss, 25. As a further result of the negligence of Defendant, i I, I i Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, could incur future lost wages. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, seeks damages from Defendant, Velma Weaver, in an amount in excess of Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000,00), which exceeds the jurisdictional amount requiring compulsory arbitration and demands trial by jury, 5 prevented injury to Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, and anyone else who might enter the premises. 28. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, has sustained severe injuries to her face, more specifically to her left eye, requiring surgery. 29. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, has undergone great physical pain and discomfort, and mental anguish, and she will continue to endure the same for an indefinite period of time in the future to her great physical, emotional, and financial detriment and loss. 30. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiffs, John and Diana Lenda, have been hindered from attending to their usual occupation and daily activities and duties to their great detriment, loss, humiliation, and embarrassment. 31, As a result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiffs, John and Barbara Lenda, suffered a loss of life's pleasures, and probably will continue to suffer the same in the future to their great detriment and loss. 32. Plaintiffs, John and Barbara Lenda, believe and therefore avers that the injuries to Brittany Lenda are permanent in nature, including permanent facial scarring, 33, As a result of the negligence of Defendants, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, has undergone great physical pain, discomfort, humiliation, embarrassment and mental anguish, and she will 7 JOHN and BARBARA LENDA, as Parents and Natural Guardians of BRITTANY LENDA, and JOHN AND BARBARA LENDA, in their own right, IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA NO. 98-35 Plaintiffs CIVIL ACTION - LAW v, VELMA WEAVER, Defendant JURY TRIAL DEMANDED CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE On this 20th day of May, 1998, I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the Complaint was served upon the fOllowing by United states Mail, postage prepaid, addressed as follows: Drew P. Gannon, Esquire Hartman & Miller, p, C. 126-128 Walnut street Harrisburg PA 17101 .. HANDLER AND WIENER By , I J '~ " '. ,~' ...... HANDLER &~B. :lIH ~Iarhl'l ~'n'l'I 1',0. !lox II"/'i lIi1rrbhul,:.I'A 1';111.4 71'i.:!:IK.:!OWI 'i17.:!:tt:10:!~' Fax 1. ,f:, Ii 111I,dl, I J,;, I \\I'I!'"I' \\ -,."IIII"lIli"': 1 11\ 101 Illi"." loll. II~' , t ',11,,11 II \1\1111'1'" \1111111'\\ .... llll_h\' ". 1.1I1l"~ H \-;11,.,11 Ilr.'I'.'IY \1. 1.'i1III1'1 ~.I:Il\l,IIII,III,I!or t I ~l.':..' ,1'1 June 10, 1998 ,\1-., \.1,0;,11...11 """.,1..",' 1\.. .'01 t 'I lIlli, oj 1'1\11 1,...1 \,r,.~ ,.r.- ',',I",,, " I:., ".1 ..I Ill,,' .\.hf~." \ \1,..\.1,.,;11,.111,.,,,1," \1",1:\. r". .,.. .ll'\. \:~.,. Lawrence E. Welker, Prothonotary Cumberland County Court House Carlisle, PA 17013 \1.."\,1..,1'1,,1.,,..1,'..\.... Re: Lenda v. Weaver No. 98-35 Dear Mr. Welker: Enclosed please find the Verification signed by Barbara Lenda In the above- captioned action. Please attach the original Verification to the Complaint previously filed. Very truly yours, CMA:jg Enclosure HANDLE?! D ,WIENER I ' (/ / ,. I By ,. / /caro ~T M. Anner , / cc: Drew P. Gannon, Esquire w/encl. r, VERIFICATION I verify that the statements contained In the foregoing document are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, Information and belief. I understand that false statements contained therein are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. ~4904 relating to unsworn falsification to authorities. -0(1dxv~ riJlfJii~ Barbara Lenda, Individually and as Parent and Natural Guardian of Brittany Lenda, a minor Date: (p . 5 -9'8 ;e.,;. : CIVIL ACTION - LAW JOHN and BARBARA LENDA as Parents and Natural Guardians of BRITTANY LENDA, and JOI'IN and BARBARA LENDA, in their own right, Plaintiffs : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA v. : NO. 98-35 Civil Tenn VELMA WEAVER, Defendant : JURY TRIAL DEMANDED ANSWER WITH NEW MATTER OF DEFENDANT, VELMA WEAVER TO PLAINTIFFS' COMPLAINT AND NOW, comes the Defendant, Velma Weaver, by and through her counsel, Hartman & Miller, P,C., who responds to the Plaintiffs' Complaint with the following Answer with New Matter: 1-3, Denied. After reasonable investigation, the Defendant is without infonnation sufficient to fonn a belief as to the truth of the matters averred in paragraphs I through 3 of Plaintiffs' Complaint; they are therefore denied and strict proof thereof is demanded at trial. 4. Admitted, 5. Admitted in part and denied in part, It is admitted that the Defendant was in exclusive ownership of the property in question, It is specifically denied that the Defendant was in exclusive management or exclusive control of the property in question and strict proofthereof is demanded at trial. 6, Denied. It is specifically denied that the Defendant was in control of a Siberian Huskey/Labrador Retriever mix-type dog that allegedly attacked and injured Plaintiff, Brittany J.endu. uml strict proof thereof is delllunded nttrinl. 7.25, The nverments contuined in purngrnphs 7 through 25 o I' Pin in tiffs' Complaint arc cunelusluns of Inw or filct to which no response is necessnry, To the extenttllllt n response is deemed neeessury, the nverments arc denied pursuanlto Rule 1029(e) of the Pennsylvania Rules uf Civil Procedure. By way of further answer, Defendant hereby incorporutes by reference ns though fully set forth herein paragraphs 35 through 40 of New Maller hereiuatter, 26.34. The averments contained in paragraphs 26 through 34 arc directed to Jeffrey and Diunn Wenver, who arc not parties to this litigation, and therefore no response is required by Defendant, Vclma Weaver. To the extent that a response is deemed necessary, the averments are denied pursuant to Rule 1029(e) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure, WHEREFORE, Defendant. Vclma Weaver, demands judgment in her favor and against Plaintiffs and that Plaintiffs' Complaint be dismissed with prejudice and costs of this action, NEW MATTER 35, The averments set forth in Plaintiffs' Complaint fail to state a claim or cause of aclion against the Defendant upon which relief may be granted. 36. Any claim or cause of action as set forth in Plaintiffs' Complaint is barred by the operation of the contributory/comparative negligence of Plaintiffs as may be developed during discovery, 37. Any claim or cause of action as set forth in Plaintiffs' Complaint is barred by the operation of Plaintiffs' assumption ofa known risk as may be developed during discovery. 2 38. Any claim or cause of action raised in Plaintifr.~' Complaint is barred by the applicable statute of limitations. The incidcntupon which the Complaint is based occurred on January 29, 1993. Plaintiffs filed a Writ of Summons against Jeffrey and Diana Weaver on January 27,1995, The Plaintiffs filed a Writ of Summons against Defendant Velma Weaver on or about January 5, 1998, The claims of Plaintiffs John and Barbara Lenda in their own right are clearly barred by the applicable two year statute of limitations, The claim of Brittany Lenda is also barred as having been filed more than two years after the initial Writ was filed. In addition. any claim or cause of action which. by reason oflack of specificity of pleading, is not directly or specifically set forth in the language of Plaintiffs' Complaint, but which Plaintiffs seek to raise at a later time by further amendment, claiming to have preserved such claim or cause of action within Plaintiffs' Complaint. is also barred by the statute of limitations. 39. If the Plaintiffs sustained injury and damages as alleged in Plaintiffs' Complaint, such injury and damages were caused by individuals or entities other than the Defendant, her agents, servants or employees and over whom Defendant neither exercised nor had the right or duty to exercise control, and for whose actions or inaclions the Defendant is not responsible or otherwise legally liable, 40, Defendant did not own the dog in question nor did she exercise any control over the dog. Furthermore, to the best of her knowledge, the dog had never attacked anyone nor did she have any knowledge of its alleged aggressiveness. 3 NEW MATTER IN THE NATURE OF A CIWSSCLAIM AGAINST I>LAINTIFFS/ADDITIONAL DEFENDANTS, .JOIIN ANI) IIAImARA LENI)A, PURSUANT TO PA. R.C.I>. 225Ud) 41, Defcndant incorporates by reference as though lillly set forth herein the averments Ilnd denillls contained in pllragruphs I through 40 of this Answer with New Matter, 42, Delcndllnt files this Crossclaim agllinst Plaintiffs, John and Barbara Lenda pursuant to Pa, R,C,P, 2252(d). The injuries and damages, ifany, of Plaintiff Brittany Lenda were caused by the negligence, carelessness or recklessness of Additional Defendants, John and Barbara Lenda who negligently supervised their daughter and permitted her to grab the dog around the neck while the dog was standing between the legs of John Lenda, 43, [fit is detennined that Plaintiffs are entitled to recover any or all of the damages set forth in the Complaint, which is specifically denied, then Additional Defendants, John and Barbara Lenda are solely responsible to Plaintiffs and are alone liable, jointly liable or liable over to Defendant for contribution, indemnification or both, WHEREFORE, Defendant respectfully requests that if it is detennined that Plaintiffs are entitled to recovery, that judgment be entered solely against Additional Defendants. John and Barbara Lenda and/or persons other than the Defendant. [n the alternative, if it is detennined that Plaintiffs are entitled to recover against the Defendant, which is specifically denied, then Defendant respectfully requests that judgment be entered against Additional Defendants, John and Barbara Lenda and/or others for joint and severallillbility or for contribution, indemnification or both. 4 NOTICE TO I'LEAI) You are hcrcby notificd to file a writtcn rcsponsc to thc encloscd Answer with Ncw Matter within twenty (20) days from service hcrcof or a judgmcntmay bc cntcrcd against you. Rcspcctfully submittcd, HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. By: {/~u, f! J~ Ja M. Hartman, Esquire Supreme Court J.D, No. 21902 Drew P. Gannon, Esquire Supreme Court J.D. No. 74680 126 - 128 Walnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 (717) 232-3046 Attorneys for Defendant, Velma Weaver Dated: h-lb-7~ 5 VERIFICATION I, Velma Weaver. hereby verify and state that the facts set forth in the foregoing document arc true and correct to the best of my information, knowledge and belief. I understand that false statements herein arc made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa. C.S.A. Section 4904 relating to unsworn verification to authorities. --j;2a-gJ~ Velma Wrytver Dated: t~/rLL ,3, IY9'? , CI~lrrIFlCATE OF SEltVlCE I hcrcby ccrti I'y thlltlmll lhis dllY scrving II \:opy or thc forcgoing documcntupon thc pcrson and in thc manncr indicatcd below, which scrvice Slit is ties the requircmcnts or thc Pcnnsylvania Codc, by dcpositing II copy ol'thc same in the Unitcd States mail, at Harrisburg, Pcnnsylvania. with tirst-class postagc, prepaid. as I'ollows: Carolyn M. Anncr, Esquire Handlcr & Wicncr 319 Market Strect Harrisburg, PA 17101 HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. By: ;/ /Jw I 4. Ct-'Mlb. Ja~M. Hartman, EsqUlrc Suprcmc Court 1.0, No, 21902 Drcw P. Gannon, Esquire Suprcme Court 1.0. No. 74680 126 - 128 Walnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 (717) 232-3046 Attorneys I'or Del'endant, Velma Weaver Dated: b-{ t."7<t >- lJ', E=; a; j5 co;. WS:~ & =:1< f6 '0",- :c: (j I.~ :r- u.. ri~ ).,-, 0 n:: 0:. ::',~~ :':Jf... on: ~L! :;~ (.,.-. 1'1;jJ r;. ;:;, (';'J ~ -, .:'._.1.. " l1.. CO ~.:: 0 ::J en U >- Cl ~ ~ C': ,- C~ .?: UJ9 -J...,. ;;.:):;'; C_Jt'1 .- ",):':;;" FE"" ".t-:: <L :_"1::.5 ~c ~;. '- E: ('oj :-"(/) w!).- ('oj .:1;2': .-'LI.~ (.r'-, 0:;,:- :3 t,:'i(O 0- -, ~a_ -" u, co ::.l 0 0' U JOHN and BARBARA LENDA as Pnrents and Naturnl Guardinns of BRITTANY LENDA, and JOHN and BARBARA LENDA, in their own right, : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, : PENNSYLVANIA Plaintiffs : CIVIL ACTION - LAW v. : NO. 98-35 Civil Term VELMA WEAVER, Defendant : JURY TRIAL DEMANDED PLAINTIFF'S RESPONSE TO NEW MATTER OF DEFENDANTS AND PLAINTIFF'S RESPONSE TO NEW MATTER IN THE NATURE OF A CROSS CLAIM AGAINST PLAINTIFFS/ADDITIONAL DEFENDANTS. JOHN AND BARBARA LENDA To: Defendant, Velma Weaver, by and through their attorney of record: Drew P. Gannon, Esquire HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. 126-128 Walnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 Sincerely, /' Handler &/Wiener ,,' / ' , . /I 'I /-'// ' , /~ Carolyn . Anner, Esq. ~(\orney .D. # 62636 Attorney for Plaintiffs 319 Market Street P.O. Box 1177 Harrisburg, PA 17108 Dated: June 30, 1998 JOI'IN and BARBARA LENDA as Parcnts and Naturnl Gunrdinns of BRITTANY LENDA, and JOHN and BARBARA LENDA, inthcir own right, : IN TIlE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, : PENNSYLVANIA Plnillliffs : CIVIL ACTION - LAW v. : NO. 98-35 Civil Term VELMA WEAVER, Defendnnt : JURY TRIAL DEMANDED PLAINTIFF'S RESPONSE TO NEW MATTER OF DEFENDANTS 35. Denied. This is a conclusion of law to which no response is required. Should any allegation therein be deemed factual in nature, said allegations are specifically denied. 36. Dcnied. This is a conclusion of law to which no response is required. Should any allegation therein be deemed factual in nature, said allegations are specifically denied. 37. Denied. This is a conclusion of law to which no response is required. Should any allegation therein be deemed factual in nature, said allegations are specifically denied. 38. Denied. This is a conclusion of law to which no response is required. Should any allegation therein be deemed factual in nature, said allegations are specifically denied. 39. Denied. This is a conclusion of law to which no rcsponsc is required. Should any allegation therein be deemed factual in naturc, snid allcgntions are specificnlly denied. 40. Denied. This is a conclusion of law to which no responsc is required. Should any allegation therein be deemed factual in nature, said nllcgations arc specifically denied. WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs respectfully request that judgement be entered in their favor and against Defendants. HANDLER ANDW1ENER , / / Date:~ By / Carolyn M. 1 I.D. No. 62 6 319 Market Street P.O. Box 1177 Harrisburg, PA 17108-1177 (717) 238-2000 PLAINTIFF'S RESPONSE TO NEW MATTER IN THE NATURE OF A CROSS CLAIM AGAINST PLAINTIFFS/ADDITIONAL DEFENDANTS. JOliN AND BARBARA LENDA 41. Denied. This is a conclusion of law to which no response is required. Should any allegation therein be deemed factual in nature, said allegations are specifically denied. 42, Denied. This is a conclusion of law to which no response is required. Should any allegation therein be deemed factual in nature, said allegations are specifically denied. 43. Denied. This is a conclusion of law to which no response is required. Should any allegation therein be deemed factual in nature, said allegations are specifically denied. WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs respectfully request that judgement be entered in their favor and against Defendants. Date: &\ ~\ ~~ \ \ HANDLER AN7IENER ..;;' /J/ By Carolyn, . Ann ,Esquire J.D. ~6. 62 3 319 Mar ke treet P.O. Box 1177 Harrisburg, PA 17108-1177 (717) 238-2000 VERIFICATION PURSUANT TO PA. R.C.P. NO 1024 (c) CAROL YN M . ANNER, ESQUIRE, state that he is the attorney for the party filing the foregoing document; that he makes this Affidavit as an attorney, because the party he represents lacks sufficient knowledge or information upon which to make a verification and/or because he has greater personal knowledge of the information and belief than that of the party for whom he makes this affidavit; and that he has sufficient knowledge or information and belief, based upon his investigation of the matters averred or denied in the foregoing document; and that this statement is made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa. C.S. ~4904 relating to unsworn falsification to authorities. I . Date: #/)01 &( i ! 4 ./ " / / Caroly // / , (, 'r ',', . CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE AND NOW, this 30th day of June, 1998, I hereby certify that I have, on this date, served the within Response to New Matter and New Matter in the Nature of a Cross Claim Against Plaintiffs/Additional Defendants, John and Barbara Lenda, by sending a true and correct copy of same to his attorney of record via first class United States mail, postage pre-paid and addressed as follows: Drew P. Gannon, Esquire HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. 126-128 Walnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 " ....... .... ..:l' ~~~ a: ..:l ~ UJ~~ €~~ ~:5 '-,~. :r: [i-O ,,-~ ~ -~. d::r: u. ." C)l;:: ~.:~ 6i\': .~ t~~~ UJU- ~;;.-' ~LL , _.... .u.1 ~ , :.:i:~ ....~~ U. en ::J 0 O~ 0 '.'. JOI'IN und BARBARA LENDA liS Purcnts und Naturul GUllrdinns of BRITTANY LENDA, uud JOliN uud BARBARA LENDA, in thcir own right, Plninliffs : IN TilE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : CIVIL ACTION. LA W v. : NO. 98-35 Civil Tenn VELMA WEAVER, Defendant v. JEFFREY and DIANA WEAVER, Additional Dcfendants : JURY TRIAL DEMANDED NOTIr.R TO DRFRND YOU HAVE BEEN SUED IN COURT. If you wish to defend against the claims set forth in the following pages, you must take action within twenty (20) days afler this Complnint and Notice are served, by entering a written nppearllnce personally or by attorney nnd filing in writing with the Court your defenscs or objections to the claims set forth against you, You are warned that if you fail to do so the casc rnny proceed without you and ajudgment may be entered against you by the Court without further notice for any money claimed in the Complaint or for any other claim or relief requested by the Plaintiff. You may lose money or property or other rights important to you. YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYER AT ONCE, IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAWYER OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP. Court Administrlltor Cumberland County Courthouse 1 Courthouse Square, 4th Floor Carlislc, PA 17013-3387 (717) 240-6200 \ AY.JSll USTED HA SIDO DEMANDADO/A EN CORTE. Si ustcd desea dcrcndcrsc dc las demandns quc sc prcscntanl11as ndelante en Ins siguientcs paginns, debe tOlllar accion dcntro dc los proximos vcintc (20) dias despues de la notificacion dc esta Dcmanda y Aviso radicando pcrsonalmente 0 por medio de un nbogado una compareccncia escrita y radicando cn la Cortc por escrito sus defensas dc, y objcccioncs a, ias demandas prcsentadas aqui en contra suya. Sc Ie advicrtc de que si usted Calla de tomar nccion como se dcscribe antcriormcnte, el caso pucde proccdcr sin usted y un fnllo por cualquier suma dc dinero rcclamada en la demanda 0 cualquicr otra reclamacion 0 remedio solicitndo por cl demandante pucde ser dictado en contra suya por la Corte sin mas aviso adicional. Ustcd puede pcrder dinero 0 propiednd u otros dcrechos importantes para usted. USTED DEBE LLEV AR ESTE DOCUMENTO A SU ABOGADO INMEDIATAMENTE. SI USTED NO TIENE UN ABOGADO 0 NO PUEDE PAGARLE A UNO, LLAME 0 VA Y A A LA SIGUIENTE OFICINA PARA A VERIGUAR DONDE PUEDE ENCONTRAR ASISTENCIA LEGAL. Court Administrator Cumberland County Courthouse I Courthouse Square,,4th Floor Carlisle, PA 17013-3387 (717) 240-6200 JOHN IInd BARBARA LENDA liS Pnrcuts nud Nnturnl GUllnlinus of BRITTANY LENDA, nnd JOHN IInd BARBARA LENDA, in thcir own right, Plaintiffs : IN TIlE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS : CUMBERLAND COUNTY,PENNSYLVANIA : CIVIL ACTION. LA W v. : NO. 98-35 Civil Ternl VELMA WEAVER, Dcfendllnt v. JEFFREY and DIANA WEAVER, Additionlll Defendants : JURY TRIAL DEMANDED ADDITIONAl. DEFENDANT COMPI.AINT AND NOW, comes the Defendant, Velma Weaver, by and through her counsel, Hartman & Miller, P.C., to file this Additional Defendant Complaint, nnd in support thereof states the following: , I 1. Additional Defendants, Jeffrey nnd Diana Weaver, are adult individuals residing ! at2 Reynolds Street, Meehanicsburg, PA, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania 17055. 2, Plaintiffs, John and Barbara Lenda, as parents and natural guardinns of Brill any Lenda, and John and Barbara Lenda in their own right, filed a Complaint against Defendnnt Velma Weaver, which was served on Velma Weaver's counsel 011 or about May 19, 1998. See Exhibit "An nttached hereto. 3. Velma Weaver filed an Answer with New Matter to the Complaint on June 18, 1998, which is hereby incorporated by reference. S.el: Exhibit "B" attached hereto, 4. Plaintiffs nllege in their Complaint, in1cr alia, that Velma Weaver was negligent in failing to properly securc a Siberian Husky/Labrador Retriever mix type dog and otherwise \ Iililing to rcstruinnnd conlrolthc unimul whcn Velma Wcavcr ullcgcdly kncw or should hnvc known thut the dog had n dnngcrous nuturc nnd vicious propcnsity. 5. Plaintiffs ullcge inthcir Compluint, inter utiu, thut Vclnlll Wcuver wus ncgligcnt in failing to takc prccautions thnt mny havc prcvcntcd injury to thc minor Plaintiff. 6. Plaintiffs allcge in their Complaint, in1cr allii, that Velma Wenver wus negligent in fuiling to sccurc thc dog in un urea where IInyone cntcring thc premiscs would not be hnnncd or affected by its nctions, when Velma Wcavcr ullcgedly knew or should havc known ofthc dog's dangerous nuturc and vicious propensities. 7, Plnintiffs ullege in their Complaint, in1cr allii, that Vclma Weaver was ncgligent in failing to provide premises thnt were free from unneccssari1y dangerous conditions that would havc prcvented injury to Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda and anyone clse who might entcr the premiscs. COUNT' Velma \Venver v. Jeffrey nud Dinna \Veaver 8. The averments of paragraphs 1 through 7 arc incorporated herein by rcfcrcnce ns if set forth in full. 9, Jeffrcy and Diann Wcaver rented the premises in qucstion from Vclma Wcaver and were in exclusive control and posscssion ofthc premiscs. 10. Jeffrey and Diana Weaver were the sole owncrs of the Siberian Husky/Labrador Retriever mix type dog that allegedly attncked nnd injured PlnintiffBrittany Lenda. 11. Jeffrey and Diann Wcavcr invited the Plaintiffs into thcir homc to inspect thc dog when the nlleged incident occurred. 2 . '., ...I~....", r-.... ..... .,-,' 12. luthc cveutlhulthe rcmuiuing ullegutions orthc Compluint, which is incorpornted herein by rcfercnce withoutntlmission or udoption, urc estnblishcd und uny liubility is found to exist onthc purt of the Defcndunt, Vchnu Weuvcr, which Iiubility is speciticnlly denied, then Additionnl Defendants Jeffrey and Diuna Wenvcr, nre liable over to Dcfcndant, Velma Wenvcr, for contribution and/or indemnity or nre jointly nnd severally liable to PllIintiffs based upon their actions and/or failure to act, as described nbove. 13. In the event that the losses alleged by Plaintiffs are found to exist, which losses are specifically denied, then Additional Defendants, Jeffrey and Diana Weavcr, are solely linble to Plaintiffs for the losses and/or are liable over to Defendant, Velma Weaver, for contribution and/or indemnity or are jointly and severally liable to Plnintiff. WHEREFORE, Defendant, Velma Weaver, demands that in the event Plaintiffs are found entitled to any recovery, that judgment be entered solely against Additional Defendants, Jeffrey and Diana Weaver, or in the alternative, that Additional Defendants, Jeffrey and Diana 3 Wcnvcr urc Iillblc over to Dcfcndunl, Vchnu Weuvcr, for coutribution nnd/or indcmnity or urc jointly nud sevcrnlly Iinblc to Pluinliffs. Rcspectfully submittcd, HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. ,I By: #M.I /~ ~I~ Juck M. Hartmun, Esquirc Suprcme Court J.D. # 21902 Drew P. Gannon, Esquire Supremc Court J.D. # 74680 126 - 128 Walnut Strect Harrisburg, PAl 710 1 (717) 232-3046 Dated: 7-;)0- 98 Attorneys for Defendant, Velma Weaver 4 " >- ':'1 :- cr ..;( u-: t:; J... lU~} ~.l .':~; f.2i.) C) H-.' ~. " , lirl:: ,"- '.J;~ T(.) 0' . '''-j'''' "oJ . i":;:':,:; lr j.~ ::; ;\1(,\ -r2: -J {."}:t I.J.. ~ U (Q ;;.) ,n (.) ~ HARTMAN & MILLER, P.c. ATTORNEYS AT LAW 126.128 W^I.Nur SrKl!lrr, II^KKI~IIUKl;. I'A 17101 . TI!I.m'IIONI! (717) 2.12.3046. WKITI!K'S I!XTI!NSION 104 I'^CSIMII,II (717) 232.3538 . EM^,I, II.M@pnnnllno,ClII1\ J^CK M, II^KTM^N D^vu) C, MU,\.I!K MI1UNIM S, SIIlX1I' KI!VIN E, OsIIOKNI! DKIIW 1', G^NNON AMY C. FOIlll!>"I!K OUVI!K C. OVI1KIJ\NIJI!K III T ^"^ A, MUCII^ July 30, 1998 Curtis Long Prothonotary Cumberland County Courthouse I Courthouse Square Carlisle, PA 17013-3387 , Re: John and Barhara Lenda, et al. v. Velma Weaver Cumberland County C.C.P. No. 98-35 Civil Term Dear Mr. Long: Enelosed please find an original Verification form signed by Defendant, Velma Weaver which I would ask be allaehed to the Additional Defendant Complaint whieh was filed on or about July 21, 1998. (n addition, the Additional Defendant Complaint references Exhibits "A" and "s" whieh were mistakenly not allached. I am enclosing those Exhibits at this time and would ask that they be allached to the Additional Defendant Complaint as well, 1 am providing copies of this documentation to Allorney Anner and Jeffrey and Diana Weaver, as confirmed by the allached Certificate of Service. Should you have any questions concerning this maller, please contact me at the above number, Very truly yours, A~ 1?,4~ r{f(~ P. Ga~n';\~ DPGllbs Enclosure cc; Carolyn M, Anner, Esquire (w/enclosure) Jeffrey and Diana Weaver (w/enclosure) . VEIUFICATION I, Velma Weaver, hcreby verify and stnte that the facts sct forth in thc foregoing document are true and corrcctto the best of my information, knowledge nnd belief. I understand that false statements herein are mnde subject to the pcnalties of 18 Pa. C.S.A. Section 4904 relating to unsworn verification to authorities. -4c~ Velma Weave Dated:;1--1- ~~ Ic;C;2 - ,- '~-'_"',_.,. ~ . -_..~..-..._-"'-.;...-;..-_.~.. EXHIBIT A " JOHN and BARBARA LENDA, as PlIr"ntH and Natural Guardians of BRITTANY LENOA, amI JOHN and BARBARA LENDA, in their own right, IN THE COURT OF CO~IMON PLEAS OF CUNBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA NO. 98-35 Plaintiffs v CIVIL ACTION . LMI VELMA WEAVER, JURY TRIAL DEMANDED Defendant NOTICE YOU HAVE BEEN SUED IN COURT. If you wish to defend against the claim set forth in the following pages. you must take action within twenty (20) days after this Complaint and Notice is served, by entering II written appearance personally or by attorney and filing in writing with the Court your defense or objections to the claim set forth against you. You are warned that if you fail to do so the case may proceed without you and judgement may be entered against you by the Court without further notice for any money claimed in the Complaint or for any other claim or relief requested by the Plaintiff. You may lose money or property or other rights important to you, YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR LAWYER AT ONCE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A LAWYER OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET FORTH BELOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP. NOTICIA Le han demandado a usted en 1a corte. Si usted quiere defenderse de estas demandas expuestas en 1as paginas signuientes, usted tiene vienta (20) dias de p1azo a1 partir de a1 fecha de 1a demanda y 1a notificacion, Usted debe presentar una apariencia escrita 0 en persona a per abogado y archivar en 1a corte en forma escrita sus defensas 0 sus objectiones alas demandas en contra de su persona. Sea avisado que si usted no se fefiende, la corte tomara medidas y puede una orden contra usted sin previo aviso 0 notificacion y par cua1qui~r queja 0 akuvui que es pedido en la peticion de demanda. Usted puedo parder dinero 0 sus propiedades 0 otros derechos importantes para usted, LLEVE ESTA DEMANDA A UN ABODAGO IMMEDIATAMENTE. SI NO TIENE ABOGADO 0 SI NO TIENE EL DIMERO SUFICIENTE OE PAGAR TAL SERVICIO, VAYA EN PERSONA 0 LLAME POR TELEPONO A LA OFICINA CUYA DIRECCION SE EMCUENTRA ESCRITA ABAJO PARA AVERIGUAR DONDE SE PUEDE CONSSGUIA ASISTENCIA LEGAL. COURT ADMINISTRATOR 4th Floor, Cumberland County Courthouse Carlisle, PA 17013 Telephone: (717) 240~620 ,," HANDLER AND 1'1 NER ,/ ./ .... ~., By ./,","" ,,/ / Ca:"o~n"'M /Anner, Esquire 1. D', t!9< ,62636 319 ~~ket St., POBox 1177 Harr~sburg PA 17108-1177 (717) 238.2000 Attorneys for Plaintiff(s) JOHN and BARBARA LENDA, as Parents and Natural Guardians of BRITTANY LENDA, and JOHN AND BARBARA LENDA, in their own right, iN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA NO. 98-35 Plaintiffs CIVIL ACTION - LAW v. Defendant JURY TRIAL DEMANDED !I VELMA WEAVER, COMPLAINT AND NOW, corne Plaintiffs, by and through their attorneys, HANDLER & WIENER, and make the within Complain~ against Defendant as follows: 1. Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, is a minor individual born October 22, 1989 and currently residing with her mother, Barbara Lenda, at 149 Ashford Drive, Enola, cumberland County, Pennsylvania. 2. Plaintiff, John Lenda, is parent and natural guardian of Brittany Lenda and is an adult individual currently residing at 42 Stephen Road, Apt 6F, Camp Hill, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. 3. Plaintiff, Barbara Lenda, is an adult individual currently residing at 149 Ashford Drive, Enola, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. 4. Defendant, Velma I-leaver (hereinafter referred to as "Defendant") is an adult individual currently residing at Box 165, R. D. fil, East Waterford, Juniata County, Pennsylvania. 5. At all times mentioned herein Plaintiffs believe and therefore aver, Defendant was in exclusive ownership, management, 1 and control of the premises at 2 Reynolds Street, Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. G. At all times mentioned herein Plaintiffs believe and therefore aver, Defendant ~/as in control of a Siberian Huskey/Labrador Retriever mix type dog that attacked and injured Plaintiff Brittany Lenda. 7. Prior to January 29, 1993, the Defendant was aware that the dog, part Huskey, could demonstrate vicious propensities towards little children. 8. Subseql;1ent to January 29, 1993, Plaintiffs believe and therefore aver the Defendant was aware that the dog snapped at, attacked, bit and/or otherwise demonstrated vicious propensities towards the baby of Jeffrey and Diana Weaver. 9. The dog was subsequently placed in the pound. 10. At the time of the accident, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, was on Defendant's property with her parents, Plaintiffs John and Barbara Lenda, to decide whether to take the dog home with them. Plaintiffs were lawfully upon the premises as an invitee of the Defendant. 11. On or about January 29, 1993, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda was petting the dog when suddenly and without warning, the dog lunged and attacked Plaintiff Brittany Lenda, biting her on her face. 12. The Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, sustained and suffered severe lacerations under her left eye, on her left eyelid and a 2 puncture wound on her left eyebrow. 13. The Plaintiffs sought and obtained medical treatment at Holy Spirit Hospital at which, surgery was performed to repair the lacerations, by Leo Farrell, M.D. 14. Plaintiffs thereafter followed up with Dr. Farrell for the minor Plaintiff's scarring. 15. As a direct and proximate cause of the negligence of the Defendant, Plaintiff Brittany Lenda has suffered serious bodily injury as set forth more fully hereinafter. COUNT I JOHN and BARBARA LENDA. as Parents and Natural Guardians of BRITTANY LENDA v. VELMA WEAVER 16. Plaintiffs, John and Barbara Lenda, as Parents and Natural Guardians of Brittany Lenda, incorporate and make a part of this Count paragraphs 1 through 15 of this Complaint as if fully set forth. 17. The occurrence of the aforesaid accident and the injuries to Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, resulting therefrom, were caused directly and proximately by the negligence of the Defendant generally and more specifically as set forth below: a. In failing to properly secure the dog and otherwise failing to restrain and control the animal, when the Defendant knew, or should have known, that the dog had a dangerous nature and had vicious propensities. b. In failing to take precautions that may have prevenced 3 injury to the Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, and anyone else who might enter the premises. c, In failing to secure the dog in an area where anyone entering the premises would not be harmed or affected by its actions, when the Defendant l:new or should have l:nown of the dog's dangerous nature and vicious propensities. d. In failing to provide premises that were free from unnecessarily dangerous cODditions that would have prevented injury to Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, and anyone else who might enter the premises. 18. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, has sustained severe injuries to her face, more specifically to her left eye, requiring surgery. 19. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, has undergone great physical pain and discomfort, and mental anguish, and she will continue to endure the same for an indefinite period of time in the future to her great physical, emotional, and financial detriment and loss. 20. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, has been hindered from attending to her daily activities to her great detriment, loss, humiliation, and embarrassment. 21. As a result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, suffered a loss of life's pleasures, and probably 4 will continue to suffer the same in the future to her great detriment and loss. 22. Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, believes and therefore avers that her injuries are permanent in nature, including permanent facial scarring. 23. As a result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff, Bri ttany Lenda, has undergone grea t phys ical pain, discomfort, humiliation, embarrassment and mental anguish, and she will continue to endure the same for an indefinite period of time in the future, causing' her great physical, emotional, and financial detriment and loss. 24. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda' s, parents have been compelled, in order to effect a cure for the aforesaid injuries, to expend large sums of money for medicine and medical attention. The Plaintiff continues to receive treatment and incur medical expenses for said injuries, and will continue to do so in the future, to her and her family's great detriment and loss. 25. As a further result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, could incur future lost wages. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, seeks damages from Defendant, Velma Weaver, in an amount in excess of Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,OOO.00), which exceeds the jurisdictional amount requiring compulsory arbitration and demands trial by jury. 5 COUNT II JOHN and BARBARA LENDA. in their own riaht v. Jeffrev and Diana Weaver 26. Plaintiffs, John and Barbara Lenda, incorporate and ma}:e a part of this Count paragraphs 1 through 25 of this Complaint as if fully set forth. 27. The occurrence of the aforesaid accident and the injury resul ting therefrom \1aS caused directly and proxima tely by the negligence of Defendant, generally and more specifically as set forth below: a. In failing to properly secure the dog and otherwise failing to restrain and control the animal, when the Defendant kne\1, or should have };nown, that the dog had a dangerous nature and had vicious propensities. b. In failing to take precautions that may have prevented injury to the Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, and anyone else who might enter the premises. c. In failing to secure the dog in an area where anyone entering the premises would not be harmed or affected by its actions, when the Defendants knew or should have known of the dog's dangerous nature and vicious propensities. d. In failing to provide premises that Here free from unnecessarily dangerous conditions that would have 6 else who might enter tho preminas. ..... \ ~..":.,'.e:,'...::.~~,~ prevented injury to Plaintiff, Brittany Londll, <lnd anyone 28. As a direct and proximate rUDult oe the negligence cf Defendant, Pl~intiff, Brittany Lenda, haD sUDtained severe injurieD to her face, more specifically to her left eye, requiring surgery. 29. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, has undergone great physical pain and discomfort, and mental anguish, and she will continue to endure the same for an indefinite period of time in the future to her great physical, emotional, and financial detriment and loss. 30. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiffs, John and Diana Lenda, have been hindered from attending to their usual occupation and daily activities and duties their great detriment, humiliation, and to loss, embarrassment. 31. As a result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiffs, j John and Barbara Lenda, suffered a 1055 of life's pleasures, and probably will continue to suffer the same in the future to their great detriment and loss. 32. Plaintiffs, John and Barbara Lenda, believe and therefore avers that the injuries to Brittany Lenda are permanent in nature, .J { including permanent facial scarring. 33. As a result of the negligence of Defendants, Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, has undergone great physical pain, discomfort, I II I' " , , i, humiliation, embarrassment and mental anguish, and she will 7 i,;" ! I I I , I continuo to enduro the snme [or nn indefinite period of time in the fUtUL'O, causing IH~r 'Jreat physical, emotion,11 and financial detriment and loss and resulting in grent emotion and financial detrimont and loss to Plaintiffs John anel Barbara Lenda. 34. As a direct and proximate result of the negligence of Defendant, Plaintiffs, John and Barbara Lenda, have been compelled, in order to effect a cure for the aforesaid injuries, to expend large sums of money for medicine and medical attention. The Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda, continues to receive treatment and incur medical expenses. for said injuries, and will continue to do so in the future, to great detriment and loss to Plaintiffs John and Barbara Lenda. WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs, John and Barbara Lenda, seek damages from Defendant, Velma Weaver, in an amount in excess of Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), ~/hich exceeds the jurisdictional amount requiring compulsory arbitration and demands trial by jury. Respectfully SUbmitted, HANDLER & WIENER By: Date: Nay 19, 1998 Carolyn M. Anner, Esquire LD. 1162636 319 Market Street P.O. Bo:~'1l77 Harrisburg, PA 17108 (71;) 238-2000 Attorney for Plaintiffs 8 JOliN nnd BARDARA LENDA, no PDr.nt. Dnd NnturDl OUDrdinnlS 0-' BRITTANY LENDA, nnd JOliN AND BARBARA LENDA, in their own right, IN TilE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA NO. 98-35 Plnintiffo CIVIL ACTION - LAW v. VELMA WEAVER, Defendnnt JURY TRIAL DEMANDED CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE On this 20th day of May, 1998, I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the Complaint was served upon the following by United states Mail, postage prepaid, addressed as follows: Drew P. Gannon, Esquire Hartman & Miller, P. C. 126-128 Walnut Street Harrisburg PA 17101 HANDLER AND WIENER . By "\ ,:(: \ ". .yean E. Green, , \ I,' I '... . Secretary EXHIBIT B JOHN nnd I3ARBARA LENDA liS Pnrcnls nnd Naturnl Gunrdinns ofBRITI'ANY LENDA, nnd JOI-IN nnd BARBARA LENDA, in thcir own right, PlaintilI~ : IN TIlE COIJRT OF COt-.IMON I'LEAS : ClJMIIERI./\ND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA : CIVIL ACTION. LAW VELMA WEAVER, : JURY TRIAL DEMANDED (-.. .:" ~;.:. ~ .. : I"~ : , .. " ,.. " .. , .. ~~,: ( . ' I . " '.,' .. I -. , ." ," '\I v. : NO, 911-35 Civil Tcrm Defcndnnt ;.;',' ,:J .:.:. ~ ;1" ANSWER WITH NEW MATTER OF DEFENDANT, VELMA WEAVER TO PLAINTIFFS' COMPLAINT ~~~i '.l! -'. AND NOW, comes the Dcfendant, Vclmn Wcavcr, by nnd through hcr counscl, Hartman & Miller, P.C" who responds to thc Plaintiffs' Complaint with thc following Answcr with New Matter: 1-3, Denicd, After rcasonablc invcstigation, the Defendant is without information sufficient to form a bclief as to the truth of the mattcrs avcrrcd in paragraphs 1 through 3 of Plaintiffs' Complaint; they are thereforc dcnied and strict proof thcrcof is demanded at trial. 4, Admitted, 5, Admitted in part and denicd in parI. It is admitted that the Dcfendant was in exclusive ownership of the propcrty in qucstion. It is specifically denied that the Defendant was in exclusive management or exclusive control ofthc propcrty in question and strict proof thereof is demanded at trial. 6, Denied. It is specilically denicd thatthc Dcfendant was in control of a Siberian Huskey/Labrador Retriever mix-typc dog that allegedly attackcd and injured Plaintiff, Brittany Lcmhl, nnd strict prollf thcreof is dCll1l1ndcd nt trilll. 7-25. Thc IIvcrmcnts contllincd in pllrngrnphs 7 through 25 nf Plaintiffs' COll1plllintnrc conclusions of Inw or fllctto which nn rcsponsc is ncccssary. To thc cxtcnl that a responsc is dcell1ed nccessary, thc nvcrll1cnts IIrc dcnicd pursuant to Rulc I 029(c) of thc Pcnnsylvania Rules WHEREFORE, Defendant, Velma Wcaver, dcmands judgment in her favor and against of Civil Proccdure, By way of furthcr answcr, Dcfcndanl hcrcby incorporalcs by reli:rence us though fully set forth herein pnragrnphs 35 through 40 of New Mutter hcrcinafter. 26-34, The averments containcd in paragraphs 26 through 34 are directcd to Jeffrey and Diana Weaver, who arc' not parties to this litigation, and thercforc no rcsponse is required by Defendant, Velma Weaver. To thc extent that a responsc is dccmcd nccessary, thc avcrments arc denied pursuant to Rulc I029(e) of the Pcnnsylvania Rules of Civil Proccdurc. Plaintiffs and that Plaintiffs' COll1plaint bc dismissed with prejudice and costs of this action, \ , I NEW MATTER 35. The averments set forth in Plaintiffs' Complaint fail to state a claim or causc of ! action against the Defendant upon which relief may be granted. 36. Any claim or causc of action as set forth in Plaintiffs' Complaint is barred by the operation of the contributory/comparative negligencc of Plaintiffs as may be developed during discovery. 37, Any claim or causc ofaetion as set forth in Plaintiffs' Complaint is barred by the i I., il I' f f i I I , operation of Plaintiffs' assumption ofa known risk as may bc developed during discovery. 2 '\ 38. Auy claim or cause of aClion wiscd iu I'lainlilI~' Complnint is barrcd by thc applicable statute of limilations, Thc incidcnt upon which thc Complninl is buscd occurred ou January 29, 1993. Plaintiffs filcd a Wril of Summons against Jeffrey nnd Diana Wcnver ou Jnnuary 27,1995. The Plaintiffs liIed a Writ of Summons against Dcfeudanl Vclmn Weavcr on or about Janumy 5, 1998. The claims of Plainliffs John and Barbara LemhI in thcir own rightal'e clearly barred by the applicable two yem statute of limitations, The claim of Brittany Lemhi is also barred as having been filed more than two yenrs after the initial Writ was filed. In addition, any claim or cause ofnciion which, by reason of lack of specificity of pleading, is not directly or specifically set forth in the language of Plaintiffs' Complaint, but which Plaintiffs seek to raise at a later time by further amendment, claiming to have preserved such claim or cause of action within Plaintiffs' Complnint, is nlso barred by the statute of limitations. 39, If the Plaintiffs sustained injury and damages as alleged in Plaintiffs' Complaint, such injury and damages were caused by individuals or entities other than the Defendant, her agents, servants or employees and over whom Defendant neither exercised nor had the right or duty to exercise control, and for whose actions or inactions the Defendant is not responsible or otherwise legally liable, 40. Defendant did not own the dog in question nor did she exercise any control over the dog, Furthermore, to the best of her knowledge, the dog had never attacked anyone nor did she have any knowledge of its alleged aggressiveness, 3 NEW MATTJm IN TilE NATUHE OF A CIUJSSCLAII\J M;AJNST I'LAINTIFFS/AJ)J)JTIONAJ, IJJWENI),\NTS. ,JOliN ANI> BAIUlAI{A LEr.ilM._tllHSlJANT TO I'A..ll..c:.rJl51(ul 41, Defendant incorporntes by rel'crenee us though fully set lorlh herein the nverrncnts and dcninls containcd in parngrnphs I through 40 of this Answer with New Mutter. 42. Defendantliles this Crossclairn ngainst Plaintiffs, John and Barbara Lemhi pursuant to I'a, R.C.P, 2252(d). Thc injuries and damages, if any, of Plaintiff Brittany Lcnda were caused by thc ncgligencc, carelcssncss or recklcssness of Additionnl Defcndants, John and Barbara Lenda who ncgiigcntly supcrviscd their daughter and permitted hcr to grab the dog around the neck whilc the dog was standing betwcen thc legs of John Lenda, 43. Ifit is detcrmined that Plaintiffs are cntitled to recover any or nil ofthc damages set forth in thc Complaint, which is specifically denied, then Additionnl Defcndants, John nnd Barbara Lenda are solcly responsible to Plaintiffs and are alone liable,jointly liablc or liable over to Defendant for contribution, indemnification or both, WHEREFORE, Defendant respectfully rcquests that if it is determined that Plaintiffs arc entitled to recovery, that judgment be cntercd solely against Additional Dcfendants, John and Barbara Lenda nnd/or persons othcr than the Defendant. In the alternative, if it is determincd that Plaintiffs nre entitled to recover against the Defendant, which is specifically denied, then Defendant respectfully requests that judgment be entcrcd against Additional Defendants, John and Barbara Lenda and/or othcrs for joint and severnlliability or for contribution, indemnification or both, 4 lS.QIICE TO PLEAD Younre hcrcby nOlincd to tile n writtcn rcsponse to thc enclosed Answer with Ncw Motter within twcnty (20) dnys from serviec hereof or n judgmcntmny bc cntered nllninst you. Respcctfully submitted, HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. By: UM Jac . M. Hnrtman, Esquire Supreme Court J.D. No. 21902 Drew p, Gannon, Esquire Supreme Court J.D. No, 74680 126 - 128 Walnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 (717) 232-3046 Atlorneys for Defendant, Velma Weaver Dated: 6-1b-7~ 5 -'.-. ~"~.o,-_"";.. . VERIFICATION I, Velma Wcaver, hereby verify nnd state tlllltthe facts sct forth in the foregoing document nre true nnd correct to the best of my information, knowledge nnd belief. lunderstnnd that false stntements herein me made subject to the pcnaltics of 18 Pn. C.S.A. Section 4904 relnting to unsworn verification to authoritics. '-;;;:~//I(AJ-rT:..L Velma W ver ./ Dated: }MU- ~ IY9'? CEnTIIIICATE OF SERVICE I hcreby certify that I am this duy serving a eopy of the foregoing documcntupon the person and in the manner indicated below, which service sntisties thc rcquiremcnts of the Pcnnsylvania Code, by depositing u copy of the same in the Unitcd Statcs mail, at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with first-clnss postage, prepnid, us follows: Cnrolyn M. AllIlcr, Esquirc Handler & Wicner 319 Market Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. By: ;/ au, jJ /aM.4!b:' Ja~M, Hartman, EsqUIre Supremc Court1.D. No, 21902 Drew P. Gannon, Esquirc Suprcmc Court1.D, No, 74680 126 - 128 Walnut Street Harrisburg, P A 17101 (717) 232.3046 Attorneys for Dcfendant, Velma Wcaver Dated: b-/L."7<t CEltTlJ1ICATI'~ OJ1 SI~ltVICE I hcreby eertlfy thntll1lllthis dny serving II copy orthe lilrcgoing document upon thc personllnd in thc mllnner indicntcd below, which service slltislics the requiremcnts of thc Pcnnsylvnnia Code, by depositing a copy of the snme in the Unitcd Statcs mllil, nt Hllrrisburg, Pennsylvania, with tirst-c1ass poStllgc, prepaid, liS follows: Carolyn M. Almer, Esquire Handler & Wiener 319 Market Street Harrisburg, P A 1710 I Jeffrey and Diana Weaver 2 Reynolds Strect Mechanicsburg, P A 17055 HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. By: fiAAv/?~ J k M. Hartman, Esquire Supreme Court J.D. # 21902 Drew P. Gannon, Esquire Supreme Court J.D. # 74680 126 - 128 Walnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 (717) 232-3046 Attorneys for Defendant, Velma Weaver Dated: 7- 3O-fS , , " ~ ..:f' ~ -'( u: h r-J Ul.... ;2<:: gfs "J:r.~ II H:.:f: c:.: u,~ c,.,.- a> 10 r.., 2>= c.JC'.': -,;;"'U) IJJl.l.... I )-.", t:~'J c-r; ;:::.:!. !.1juJ ...:: ::'.l !.!.lCJ... ..., (5 '" '0 ::5 0' u \.... ". SHERIFF'S RETURN - REGULAR CASE NOI 1998-0003~ P COIIIIONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, COUNTY OF CUll BERLAND LENDA JOHN ET AL VS. WEAVER VELIIA TREVOR KENT . Sheriff or Deputy Sheriff of CUIIBERLAND County, Pennsylvania, who being duly IIworn according to la., say., the within NOTICE AND ADDITIONAL DEFT was served upon WEAVER JEFFREY the defendant, at 16140 HOURS, on the ~ day of AUDust 19~ at 2 REYNOLDS ST IIECHANICSBURG. PA 170~3 County, Pennsylvania, by handing a true and attested copy of the together with COIIPLAINT and at the 8ame time directing ~ attention to the contents thereof. . pUll BERLAND to DIANA WEAVER (WIFE) NOTICE AND ADDITIONAL DEFT . . Sheriff's Costs: Docketing Service Affidavit Surcharge 18.00 7.44 .00 6.00 So answers I H.~~~;~I HARTMAN & KILLER 08/12/1998 by Jh{~ t~~% ";:ll. 44 Sworn and subscribed to before me this I.).!!:::' day of ()"ru.J. 19-1L A.D. n k- 0. '-hl./.(!i". / '::!"1i ~ t'rotnonot.ry " SHERIFF'S RETURN - REGULAR CASE NO. 1998-0003~ P CO""ONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA. COUNTY OF CU"BERLAND LENDA JOHN ET AL VS. WEAVER VEL"A TREVOR KENT . Sheriff or Deputy Sheriff of CU"BERLAND County, Pennsylvania, who being duly sworn according to law, .ay., the within NOTICE AND ADDL DEFENDANT was served upon WEAVER DIANA the defendant, at 16140 HOURS, on the ~ day of Auaust 19~ at 2 REYNOLDS ST "ECHANICSBURG. PA 1705~ .CU"BERLAND County, Pennsylvania, by handing to DIANA WEAVER a true and attested copy of the NOTICE AND ADDL DEFENDANT together with CO"PLAINT and at the same time directing Her attention to the contents thereof. . . Sheriff's Costs: Docketing Service Affidavit Surcharge 6.00 .00 .00 6.00 So answers I R. C~;;:.<a-~ aART"AN & "ILLER 08/12/1998 by Dtittt{ -k!::u "~;'::.{Q{D Sworn and subscribed to before me (;1..1 n this /) - day of WJu_.I- 19 9'i A. D. ~~ Q t';;;tJ/ci'n;,1ta~;ZY 3. Do YOII admit thutl'luintill's IiIcd a Writ of SUl11mons uguiust Defendllnt Vell11u Wcuvcr on or ubolll Junuary 5, 1998? Yes No If you have auswered "no" to question 3 ubovc, plcllse stulc all fucts upon whieh you have based your deninl. 4. Do you admit that the claims of Plaintiffs John and Barbara Lenda in their own right against Defendant Velma Weaver were filed more than two years after the dnte of the incident alleged in the Complaint? Yes No If you have answered "no" to question 4 above, please state all facts upon which you have based your denial. , ~ 5. Do youngree lhntthe elnims of I'luintill' Ilrittnny Lendn usserted ngninst Delcndunt Vehnu Weuvcr on or nbullt Jununry 5, 1998 were Iilet! more tllllu two yenrs uner the Pluintiffs' Writ of Summons wns filed ngninst Jeffrey unt! Dinnnll Wenver on Junllury 27, 1995'7 Yes No If you huve nnswcred "uo" to question 5 above, plcase state all fncts upon which you have bascd your deninl. 6. Do you admit that Defendant Vclma Weaver was not prcsent at the time of the incident described in the Complaint? Yes No If you have answered "no"to question 6 abovc, please state all facts upon which you have based your denial. 7. Do youndlllit thut Defcndunt Velrnu Wellver WIIS not the owner of the dog inl(uestioll? Yes Nil If you hnve IIl1swered "110" to l(uestion 7 nbove. plellse stute nil fncts upon which you huve based your deniul. 8. Do you admit that Defcndant Velmu Weaver did not invitc Plaintiffs to the property in question on the day of the incident described in the Complaint? Yes No If you have unswercd "no" to l(uestion 8 ubove, pleuse state all fncts upon which you have bused your denial. Respectfully submitted, HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. Dated: (J"'Z7- '7~ By: t/u,-", /!f.... -- Jack M. Hartman, Esquire Supremc Court J.D. # 21902 Drew P. Gannon, Esquire Supreme Court J.D. # 74680 126 - 128 Walnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 (717) 232-3046 Attorneys for Dcfcndant, Vclma Weaver ClmTIFICATI~ OF SEIWICE I hereby cerlify thntlllln this day serving II eopy of the foregoing document upon the perSOlllllld ill the manner indiented below, which service sntislies the requirements of the Pennsylvania Code, by depositing a copy of the same in the United Stutes mnil, nt Harrisburg, Pennsylvnnia, with lirst-class postage, prepaid, us follows: Cnrolyn M. Anner. Esquire Handler & Wiener 319 Market Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 Jeffrey and Dianna Weaver 2 Reynolds Street Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. By: It/1~' ~ f,.... .---- Jack M. Hnrtman, Esquire Supreme Court l.D. # 21902 Drew P. Gannon, Esquire Supreme Court J.D. # 74680 126 - 128 Walnut Street Harrisburg,PA 17101 (717) 232-3046 Attorneys for Defendant, Velma Weaver Dated: s-:;..?-11 Ii: Lf) ~ <C Lr. 1-- .. -') -4' U.lr:~ C.....: r~) ;'; '-2(-> :::: c);i: If> c.. .._, 01_(- C.I:~ 0,-:; ,.. ~.. ~k G:) ~:,'<: (-oJ r~lf~ u::.11.i c.!: T =:J ~D.. [-" 0<1 LL n"l ::.; 0 Cl' L) JOHN and BARBARA LENDA as Parents and Natural Guardians of BRITTANY LENDA, and JOHN and BARBARA LENDA, in their own right, I IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS I CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA I CIVIL ACTION - LAW Plaintiffs v. VELMA WEAVER, NO. 98-35 Civil Term Defendant JEFFREY and DIANA WEAVER, Additional Defendants JURY TRIAL DEMANDED PLAINTIFF'S RESPONSE TO ADMISSIONS OF DEFENDANT. VELMA WEAVER AND NOW, Plaintiff, John and Barbara Lenda, by and through their counsel, Carolyn M. Anner, Esquire, Handler and Wiener, submit the following Response to Admissions of Defendant, Velma Weaver, and respectfully aver as follows: 1. Admitted. 2. Admitted. 3. Admitted 4. Admitted. 5. Admitted. 6. Denied. The Plaintiffs do not have any information to support this allegation. 'I , 7, Denied. Plaintiffs do not have enough information to support this allegation, 8. Denied. Plaintiffs do not have enough information to support this allegation. Date:~' HANDLER AND WI~ER / ,. b"'~V/ By , Carolyn,M. A ner, Esquire I.D. No~ 62636 319 Market Street P.O. Box 1177 Harrisburg, PA 17108-1177 (717f 238-2000 Attrmey for Plaintiff' -, , , CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE AND NOW, this 6th day of October, 1998, I hereby certify that I have, on this date, served the within Response to Admissions, by sending a true and correct copy of same to his attorney of record via first class United States mail, postage pre- paid and addressed as follows: Jack M. Hartman, Esquire and Drew P. Gannon, Esquire 126-128 Walnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 \ HANDLER AND WIENER B~k Shelly . G j , Para 1- ~ ,ft;. '1 ,1 '.J,/, :f .j :~: ~y , ' I" ~ ~<: r....~ r~i'~ t:" i;~ r?;'j ...t'~ ~ ~'~ ~ CO (r- c.::' ,OiJ; - ...... C" r,,: []:~.-r 1.1., ..~: ~r:'~ I'. ., it: '..J~:.. (~j"": ,. ~<:: '.:1:::., 11 ....... ~ -: :>.- ;;9n.: I " II) (t'L'l 1-. I~i/ ;;; ii, & /bl'f3 ,,~ <:0. S 0 0, (j JOHN nnd BARBARA LENDA as Pnrents nnd Natural Guardinns ofBRI1TANY LENDA, and JOI.IN und BARBARA LENDA, in their own right, Plaintiffs : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS : CUMBERLAND COUNTY , PENNSYLVANIA : CIVIL ACTION - LA W v. : NO. 98-35 Civil Tean VELMA WEAVER, Defendant v. JEFFREY and DIANA WEAVER, Additional Defendants : JURY TRIAL DEMANDED MOTION OF DEFENDANT, VELMA WEAVER FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND NOW, comes the Defendant, Velma Weaver, by and through her counsel, Hartman & Miller, P.C., to move this Court for Summary Judgment and in support thereof avers as follows: ! J. The Plaintiffs commenced this action by filing a Writ of Summons against Defendant, Velma Weaver on or about January 5, 1998. (Writ of Summons; Plaintiffs' Response to Defendant's Request for Admission No.3). 2. The Complaint was filed on or about May 19, 1998 and a timely Answer with I I~ , I , New Maller was filed on June 18, 1998. 3. Defendant filed an Additional Defendant Complaint against Jeffrey and Diana ) Weaver on or about July 30, 1998, 4. All discovery necessary for the disposition of this Motion has been completed. 'I~I Ai 5. Minor Plaintin: Brittnuy Lendn nllcgedly sustained physical injuries whcn she was attacked by a "Siberinn Huskey/Lnbrndor Retriever" mix-type dog on January 29, 1993, (Complaint ~~ 6-7), 6. The incidcnt occurred ntthc home of the Additional Defendants, Jeffrey and Diana Weaver, who were renting thc premises from Defendant, Velma Weaver. (Deposition of Velma Weaver, p. 3, Ins. 19-21). 7. As a result of this incident, Plaintiffs initially filed suit against Jeffrey Weaver and Diana Weaver on or about January 27, 1995. (Plaintiffs' Response to Defendant's Request for Admission No.2). 8. Plaintiffs never pursued that action against Jeffrey and Diana Weaver. 9, Approximately five years after the alleged incident the Plaintiffs began this action. (Plaintiffs' Response to Defendant's Request for Admissions Nos, I and 3). 10. The Plaintiffs have admitted that the claims of Plaintiffs, John and Barbara Lenda, in their own right against Defendant, Velma Wcaver were filed more than two years after the date of the incident alleged in the Complaint. (Plaintiffs Response to Defendant's Request for Admission No.4). I I i II. Plaintiffs have admitted that the claims of Minor Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda asserted against Defendant, Velma Weaver on or about January 5, 1998, were filed more than two years I~ I after the Plaintiffs' Writ of Summons was filed against Jeffrey and Diana Weaver on January 27, 1995. (Plaintiffs Response to Defendant's Request for Admission No.5). : ( 12. An action to recover damnges for personal injury caused by thc wrongful act or 2 ,;1 negligent of unother hus a two yenr stntute uf Iimltntiuns. (42 I'u. C.S.A. ~ 5524(2)). 13. By their own ndmission, the c1uims of I'luintiffs, John und Burburu Lendu, in thcir own right wcre broughtuguinst Defcndunt, Velmn Weuver beyond the upplicuble statute of limitutions und must therefore be dismissed. 14. The claims of Minor Pluintiff, Brittany Lenda, are nlso barred by the same statute of limitations. 15. Ordinarily, the Minority Tolling Statutc tolls the statute of limitations until the minor reaches age of majority. (42 Pa. C.S.A. ~ 5533(b)). 16. The Minority Tolling Statutc, howcver. is inapplicable to cases which are begun during a plaintiffs minority. (Fancsali v, Universitv I-Icalth Ccnter of Pittsburl1h, 700 A.2d 962, 966 (Pa. Super, 1997)). 17. The purpose ofthc Minority Tolling Statute is to give minors an equal opportunity to bring a cause of action, but not to give minors morc rights than others, (Foti v. Asinas, 432 Pa. Super, 604, 608, 639 A.2d 807, 809 (1994). 18. In this case, the Lendas excrcised the minor child's right to bring suit when they filed their Writ of Summons against Jeffrey and Diana Weaver on January 27, 1995. 19. Because suit had alr~ady been commenced, the Minority Tolling Statute had no further application. At most, Minor Plaintiff, Brittany Lenda had two additional years from the date she brought suit on January 27, 1995, or until January 27, 1997, in which to pursue her claims arising from the incident. (42 Pa. C.S.A, 95524). 20. By the Plaintiffs' own admission, they did not pursue the claim of Minor Plaintiff, 3 '_0. Brillnny Lendn until Jnuunry 5,1998, nhnost n yenr nner the expirntion of the stntute of limitntions, three yenrs nner the initinl netion wns brought, nnd five yenrs nner the iucident occurred, and therefore the clnimmust be dismissed. (Plnintiffs' Response to Defendnnt's Request for Admissions Nos. I through 5). 21. Genernlly, a Inndlord out-of-possession is not responsible for attacks by nnimals kept by her tenant on leased premises where the tenant has exclusive control over such premises. (Palermo v. Nails, 483 A.2d 871 (Pa. Super, 1984)). 22. A landlord out-of-possession mny be held liable for injuries by animals owned and maintained by her tenant when the landlord has knowledge of the presence of the dangerous animal and has the right to control or remove the nnimal by taking possession of the premises. (Pnlermo, ~). 23. The law ofPennsylvnnia places the burden ofpl'Oofofprior knowledge by the landlord/owner ofa domestic animn1's vicious propensity upon the plaintiff, (Fink v, Miller, 330 Pa. 193, 198 A. 666 (1938); Snyder v. Milton Auto Parts, Inc., 285 Pn, Super, 559,428 A.2d 186 (1981)). 24, The Plaintiffs have produced absolutely no evidence that the dog in question ever showed vicious propensities, or that Defendant, Velma Weaver was nware of these alleged vicious propensities, 25. Defendant, Velma Weaver's verified Answer to Plaintiffs' Interrogatory No.3 confirms that she has no knowledge that the dog ever acted aggressively townrds nnyone prior to the incident nlleged in the Complaint. (Defendant's Answer to Plaintiffs' Interrogntory No.3). 4 26. Veln1U Weaver nlso gllvc II deposition in this ellse in which she testified thllt the dog never acted IIggressively tOIYllrds IInyone. (VelllllI Weaver Depo.. p. 4, Ins. 18-25; p. 5, Ins. 1-4). 27. Velma Weaver further testified thnt she did not own the dog nor did she cxercise any control over it. (Velma Weaver Depo., p, 6,lns. 11-15). 28. John Lcnda testified t1ll1t the dog did not appear overly aggressive to him and it did not growl at him or his family when thcy went to visit Jeffrey and Dianna Weaver. (Deposition of John Lenda, p. 9, Ins. 22-25; p. 10, Ins. 1-3). 29. Mr. Lenda further confirmed that he had no knowledge to support the averments of the Complaint that Velma Weaver wns aware that thc dog had demonstrated vicious propensities towards little children. (John Lenda Depo., p. 12, Ins. 9-16; Ins, 23-25; p. 13, Ins. 1- 8). 30. Mr, Lenda also testified that he had no knowledge whatsoever that the dog had ever acted violently before or after the incident described in the Complaint. (John Lenda Depo., p. I4,lns. 12-17), 31. Barbara Lenda testified that she had no knowledge of any prior incidents with the dog demonstrating violent propensities, nor has she heard of ever incidents since then. (Deposition of Barbara Lenda, p. 17, Ins, 6-12), 32. Confirming the testimony of John Lenda, Barbara Lenda also testified that she had no knowledge to support the averments of the Complaint that Velma Weaver was aware that the dog could demonstrate vicious propensities towards little children, (Barbara Lenda Depo., p. 18, 5 In. 2). 33. Barbara Lenda also denied the averments of paragraph 8 of her Complaint which allcged that Velma Weaver was aware that the dog had demonstrnted vicious propensitics towards the baby of Jeffrey and Dianna Weaver. (Bnrbara Lenda Depo., p. 18, Ins. 3-12). 34. Barbara Lenda testified that she has no knowledge of the dog acting violently before or after the allcged incident with her daughtcr. (Barbara Lenda Depo., p. 19, Ins. 11-17). WHEREFORE, Defendant respectfully requests that this Honorablc Court dismiss the Plaintiffs' Complaint with prcjudice and costs of this action. Respectfully submitted, HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. BY:~u,;J ~Q~ JacK . Hartman, squire Supreme Court J.D, # 21902 Drew P. Gannon, Esquire Supreme Court J.D. # 74680 126 - 128 Walnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 (717) 232-3046 Attorneys for Defendant, Velma Weaver Dated: n.-tj-9t?' 6 CEIn'IFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that I am this day serving a copy of the foregoing document upon the person and in the manner indicnted below, which service satisfies the requirements of the Pennsy1vanin Code, by depositing a copy of the same in the United Stutes mail, at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with first-class postage, prepaid, as follows: Carolyn M. Anner, Esquire Handler, Wiener, Henning & Rosenberg 319 Market Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 Jeffrey and Dianna Weaver 2 Reynolds Street Mechanicsburg, P A 17055 HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. By:~~1~ Jack . Hartman, Esquire Supreme Court J.D. # 21902 Drew P. Gannon, Esquire Supreme Court J.D. # 74680 126 - 128 Walnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 (717) 232-3046 Attorneys for Defendant, Velma Weaver " Dated: nJ)-9~ '~ ~ ',' ,;~ ~~ ".? ~~, ,~~. " " " [r <'I ,- .' tr: (C~ j::= 11I~~ l': t~l- " f....,' \..;.. " -:!:-r'- - {_J( cSi c' t..:.."< .: - " , . t! r1: . (, , " j:,~ c: ," I.'~ r:1 ...1 U C-., '-.) PRAECIPE FOR LISTING CASE FOR ARGUMENT (Must be typewritten and subnittcd in duplicate) TO THE PROTHONOTARY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY: Please list the within matter for the next Argunent Court. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CAPTION OF CASE (entire caption must be stated :i:1 full) JOB II' and BM:HARA r,~:NDA as Par.ent,s and Natural Guardians of BP1TTANY L~NDA. a~d JOH~ and BAFBARA LENDA, in their own right, ( , : '. - :- , I , ":., , :11 , I , " ,; , , ~ :1 , ! " , " I , I .. I '1 r " ., -.~ (Plaintiff) vs. VELMA WEAVER, ( Defendant) vs. JEFFREY and DIANNA WEAVER, Additional Defendants civil Term 1998 l'b.98-35 1. State matter to be argued (Le_. plaintiff's notion for new trial. defendant's demurrer to complaint. etc.): Defendant's MDt ion for Sumrrary Judgroent. 2. Identify counsel who will argue case: (a) for plaintiff: Carolyn M. Anr.E'r. Esqui re Address: Hancler. Wiener, Henning & Rosenberg 319 Market StrE~t Harrisburg. PA 17101 (b) for defendant: Drew P. Gannon. Esquire ~s: Hartman & Miller, P.C. 126 - 128 W~lnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 (e) for additional defendants - pro se, 2 Reynolds Street, Mehbg.PA 3. I will notify all parties in writing within t1NO days that this case has 17055 been listed for argunent. 4. Argunent Court Date: January 6, 1999. Dated: /J-1---1'1 , -JJ~~P {()~M- At mey for Defenaanc . "ri '....".. 1 IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 2 3 JOHN and BARBARA LENDA as Parents and Natural Guardian 4 of BRITTANY LENDA, and JOHN and BARBARA LENDA, 5 in their own right, Plaintiffs CIVIL ACTION - LAW 6 v. I Ox No. 98-35 civil Term 7 VELMA WEAVER, Defendant, i l , .. 8 v. 9 JEFFREY and DIANA WEAVER, Additional Defendants Jury Trial Demanded 10 \d Oral Deposition of 11 12 13 JOHN LENDA 14 , I 15 j 16 DATE: Wednesday, November 11, 1998 17 TIME: 1:05 p.m. 19 PLACE: Handler, Wiener, Henning and Rosenberg 319 Market Street Harrisburg, Pennsylvania I ! I I 18 20 ::'1 .'") '" 21 TAKEN BY: Defendant, Velma Weaver ~:. '-J " ,', 1- .. ~ :..12 ,ill "ld. ~:~S 't::..1 "-I I ',1"(1 ;~"j :"',' -0;; o~ 22 . ..., 'f' . V 25 APEX REPORTING SERVICE By: Sharon L. Dougherty, RPR P. O. Box 6265 Harrisburg, PA 17112-0265 717-545-3553 :.'1 , ,) 23 24 . , , ORI GINAL '..... 2 ') . 2 For the Plaintiffs: CAROLYN M. ANNER, ESQUIRE 3 HANDLER, WIENER, HENNING & ROSENBERG 319 Market Street 4 P. O. Box 1177 Harrisburg, PA 17108-1177 1 APPEARANCES: 5 6 For the Defendant, Velma Weaver: 7 DREW P. GANNON, ESQUIRE HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. 8 126-128 Walnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 9 10 Also present for Erie Insurance: DEBRA KLINGER 11 RONALD REYNOLDS 12 o 13 14 15 16 17 I N D E X 18 Witness JOHN LENDA 19 Examination by: Mr. Gannon P9.Qe No. 3 20 21 22 Exhibits 23 (None) Marked 24 .~~ .. 25 ---.) APEX Reporting Service 3 1 PRO C E E 0 I N G S -~ 2 3 S TIP U L A T ION 4 (It is hereby stipulated by and between 5 counsel for the respective parties that signing, 6 sealing, certifying, and filing are hereby waived, and 7 that all objections, except to the form of the 8 question, are reserved to the time of trial.) 9 10 JOHN LENDA, 11 having been sworn, was examined and testified as 12 follows: C) 13 EXAMINATION 14 BY MR. GANNON: 15 Q Today is Wednesday, November 11th, 1998. 16 We are in the offices of Handler, Weiner, Henning, and 17 Rosenberg to take some depositions in conjunction with 18 the case of Brittany, John, and Barbara Lenda v. 19 Velma Weaver. 20 Mr. Weaver, have you ever had your 21 deposition taken before? 22 A No. I've never had a deposition taken 23 before. 24 Q Your attorney may have reviewed some of ~"l 25 the ground rules. will them. The ,....) I go over court APEX Reporting Service I") 1 reporter is taking down verbal answers. So if you ",10 2 could try to avoid shaking your head or saying uh-huh 3 or huh-huh it would be helpful to her. 4 A Okay. 5 Q If I ever ask a question that is 6 confusing, please ask me to stop and I will rephrase it 7 for you. 8 A (Nods. ) 9 Q Are you taking any medications today that 10 would affect your ability to answer the questions? 11 A No, not that I think so. Some Ibuprofen 12 now and then. CJ 13 Q Let me ask you some background 14 information. Where do you work? 15 A I work at Electronic Data Systems in Camp 16 Hill. 17 Q How long have you worked there? 18 A I have worked at this location for eight 19 years. 20 Q What is your current residence? 21 A My current residence is 21 Southmont Drive 22 in Enola. 23 Q Are you single? 24 A Yes. \.J 25 Q Let me just get to it. Before the APEX Reporting Service 4 5 ) .. 1 incident occurred, did you have any pets in the home? 2 A Yes, we have had pets in our home prior to 3 that incident. 4 Q What type of pets? f I 5 A We had had two dogs; a rabbit at one 6 point. We had a cat for a short period of time. I 7 believe some hamsters either before or after that. 8 There may have been others, but these are the major 9 ones that I remember. 10 Q In January of '93, did you have any dogs 11 at that time? 12 A Not at that time, no. o 13 Q What led to the decision to look for a 14 dog? 15 A Well, we had had a dog earlier and the dog 16 had gotten out and run away. We were unable to 17 positively locate -- locate it, and at that time the 18 children liked animals. We were looking at possibly 19 getting -- possibly getting another dog, and this one 20 had come along. 21 Q Is the purpose of getting a dog for 22 companionship as opposed to like a guard dog? 23 A Yes. 24 Q How did you hear about the dog that the ~ 25 Weavers had? APEX Reporting Service r \ .~..':l.....~~",". 6 ~, I 1 A I heard about it through Barbara, and I'm 2 not aware how she became aware of it -- how she learned 3 that that dog might be adopted. 4 Q Before looking at the Weavers' dog, had 5 you looked at any other dogs in that time frame? 6 A Not that I recall. 7 Q Was the dog being sold or given away? 8 A I believe the dog was being given away. 9 Q Do you know what type of dog it was? 10 A It was supposed to be a Siberian Husky; 11 pure bred or not, I can't say. 12 Q Male or female? o 13 A I am not sure. I believe it was a male. 14 Q Did it have a name at that time, if you 15 recall? ! 16 A Not that I remember. 17 Q After you learned that the dog was being 18 given away, did you call the Weavers or how did you set I I 19 up the meeting to go see the dog? 20 A I don't remember exactly how the meeting ~ ,~ 21 was set up. I assume there was a telephone 22 conversation. .' 1 " ,~ 23 Q Do you recall whether you had that 24 conversation or perhaps your wife did? u 25 A I believe Barbara did. APEX Reporting Service 7 1 Q Who went to look at the dog? 2 A All four of us went on that evening. 3 Q By four, I imagine it's you, Barbara, 4 Brittany, and is there another child? 5 A Yes, our older daughter, Jennifer. 6 Q This was on January 29th of 1993? 7 A Yes. 8 Q What time of day was it? 9 A It was in the evening. , 10 Q After dinner, if you remember? 11 A Most likely, but I'm not sure. 12 Q Had you ever heard of the Weavers J 1 I , I o 13 before-- 14 A No. 15 Q -- going to their home? 16 Who was present when you arrived? 17 A I believe just Mr. and Mrs. Weaver. There , , ! ! \ 1 I i 18 might have been someone else in the house. They are 19 the only two I recall seeing. 20 Q Have you ever met Velma Weaver? 21 A Not to my knowledge, no. 22 Q Could you just describe for me in your own ~ 23 words what happened when you got to the house? 24 A We arrived there, met the Weavers, went 41) 25 into their living room. The dog was there at the time. APEX Reporting Service "', -.c, ') 10 11 12 0 13 " 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 ..-.J 8 1 We asked the Weavers several questions 2 about the dog, how old it was, had it had its shots, 3 whether, you know, whether the dog had been around 4 children, was good with children before. 5 Brittany and Jennifer, our daughters, had 6 asked if they could pet the dog, and the Weavers 7 replied that, yes, they could go ahead and pet the dog. 8 They had been petting it for several 9 minutes. The Weavers and Barbara and I were talking about -- about the dog and probably some other subjects, although I don't recall the exact conversation. We heard a quick -- well, let me get my head straight here for a second. I know that we heard Brittany crying. There when we went to her, that she had been at least snapped at. I don't know if the teeth actually closed; and her eye had been injured. Q Let me go back and ask you some follow-up questions. A Okay. Q When you were talking about the dog, when 23 you got there, and you asked them about the age of the 24 dog, do you remember how old they said it was? 25 A I don't recall, no. APEX Reporting Service 9 \' \ -) 1 Q You mentioned the shots. Had it received 2 any shots? 3 A I don't recall that exact answer. 4 Q How about when you asked them if the dog 5 was good with children? 6 A They had replied that the dog had been , , '" 7 around children and did not have problems. 8 Q Where was the dog and the children when , i I, 9 this conversation was going on? 10 A We were all within the Weavers' living 12 Q Was the dog near you at all? 11 room. o 13 A I'm not sure. 14 Q The reason I am asking is because 15 Mr. Weaver gave a statement and he said that the dog I 16 was sitting between your legs. Do you have any -- j 17 A It's possible. 18 Q He also mentioned that Brittany went to 19 give the dog a hug around the neck. Do you remember I I I \, I 20 that at all? 21 A I don't remember that specifically or not. 22 Q In the time that you saw the dog, did it 23 appear aggressive to you? 24 A It did not appear overly aggressive at --..) 25 that time, no. APEX Reporting Service 10 ~ 1 Q Did it growl at you when your family came 2 in? 3 A Not that I recall, no. 4 Q You mentioned that your daughter was bit 5 on the left eye? 6 A Yes, the left eye. 7 Q I've seen the pictures. Where -- is there 8 a scar today? 9 A There is a visible scar under her left eye 10 and a smaller scar on the left eyelid. 11 Q What happened after you heard your 12 daughter cry? o 13 A Well, we looked down or looked at her and 14 saw her saw that she had been injured, and at that 15 time we I mean, got our daughters together, prepared j 16 to leave and take her to be seen, to get the eye seen. 17 Q Did the Weavers offer any type. of first 18 aid or washcloth or Band-Aid or anything like that? 19 A I recall an offer to have insurance cover 20 some medical expenses. As far as that, I don't __ 21 other than that, I don't recall any specific offers, 22 although they likely offered to wash the eye. 23 Q Going again back to Mr. Weaver's o 24 statement, his recollection was that after this .~ \-J 25 happened, some first aid was given to your daughter and APEX Reporting Service ,") 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 o 11 they went back to playing with the dog. Do you have any recollection -- A I don't recall any playing with the dog after the incident. Q What type of terms did you leave on with the Weavers? Did they apologize for the incident? A Yes, they were apologetic about the incident, but other than that, we basically came in or left on the same terms we came in on. We didn't really know each other. Q Obviously you decided not to take the dog? A Obviously, yes. Q Was it based on that incident? A Yes. Q What happened after you left the home? A We returned to our home. Barb -_ I believe Barbara took Brittany into the emergency room to be seen at Holy Spirit. I believe she took her. I don't recall taking her. If that is the case, then whoever else stayed with our daughter Jennifer, put her to bed. j 22 Q Did you end up getting a different dog? 23 A No, we did not end up getting a different 24 dog while we were together. -...J 25 Q To your knowledge, Jeffrey and Diana APEX Reporting Service f,~ n ,. o 12 1 Weaver were the owners of the dog? 2 A Yes, to the best of my knowledge. 3 Q I'm going to ask you some questions about 4 the allegations of the Complaint, and I realize that (: I 5 there is some legal language in there that is probably 6 that of your attorney and not your own, but I would 7 still like to ask you some of the averments. 8 A O~ay. 9 Q In paragraph 7 -- I can show it to you. 10 It says prior to January 29th of 1993, the Defendant, 11 meaning Velma Weaver, was aware that the dog, part 12 Husky, could demonstrate vicious propensities towards 13 little children. Do you have any knowledge of that? 14 A I can't say anything a~out what 15 Mrs. Weaver , ! or I presume Mrs. Weaver knows or didn't 16 know about the dog. ! 17 Q Had you had any knowledge prior to that 18 day about the dog, aside from setting up the meeting to 19 come look at it? 20 A I don't recall if we heard about the dog 21 and set up the meeting on the same day or not. So it 22 may have been several days. 23 Q But prior to that time, did you have any 24 knowledge that the dog could be violent? o 25 A No. APEX Reporting Service 'F.~ :~, ~ r.~ ._.:'..1~::~"":'" 13 r} 1 Q Then in paragraph 8 of the Complaint it 2 says that after January 29th, 1993, Plaintiffs believe 3 and therefore aver the Defendant, again Velma Weaver, 4 was aware that the dog snapped at, attacked, bit, and 5 or otherwise demonstrated vicious propensities towards 6 the baby of Jeffrey and Diana Weaver. Do you have any 7 knowledge about that? 8 A I have no knowledge. 9 Q Do you know what happened to the dog after 10 that incident? 11 A Not of my direct knowledge, no. 12 Q Do you have any indirect knowledge? o 13 A I have heard that the dog was subsequently 14 turned over to the Humane Society, and subsequent to 15 that has been euthanized. 1 16 Q Who did you hear that from, if you know? 17 A From Barbara, and from my attorney. 18 Q Do you have any knowledge as to whether 19 Jeffrey and Diana Weaver knew about the alleged violent 20 propensities of the dog? :.j: ~ 21 A No. 22 Q Since the incident, up to the present '~ lf~ 23 time, have you heard anything from any source that 24 would suggest that the dog had acted aggressively ~ 25 towards any other persons? APEX Reporting Service n 1 "',' 2 3 4 5 6 7 o 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 V 25 14 I,' "(1 r \ ! ,j , ' i \ A Just what is stated in the document that you have been referring to, the Complaint. Q Well, let's put this aside for the minute, ~ i I because you already said that some of this information you have no direct knowledge of. A Okay. Q On your own knowledge, do you have any 8 history or any knowledge that the dog had acted 9 violently towards any other person? 10 I have no other direct knowledge that the A 11 dog had ever acted violently. 12 Again, I want to follow-up with the direct Q 13 knowledge phrase that you used. Aside from what is 14 averred in this Complaint, have you heard anything from 15 any other source that the dog had acted violently 16 before or after this incident? A Not that I recall, no. Q Let me ask how this incident affected Brittany. We have talked about the physical aspects of it and the scarring. Does she still see a doctor for that for her eye? A No, she does not see a doctor for her eye. Q Does it cause her any pain, any physical pain that you know of? A Not that she has specifically mentioned. APEX Reporting Service ~ 1 Q How about emotionally, does the scar 2 bother her? 3 A I am not sure. 4 Q Has she ever told you that it bothers her? 5 A she has never directly stated that the 6 scar bothers her to me. 7 Q Has she made any indirect references to it 8 that you know of? 9 A Not that I'm aware of. 10 Q Do you know if she's afraid of dogs now or 11 whether she plays with dogs? 12 A She still plays with dogs. She is much o 13 more careful about making sure that the owner is there 14 and that she asks that it's all right to pet a dog a 15 certain way. 16 Q Has she had any emotional problems such as 17 nightmares or scary dreams? 18 A She's had -- she's had some nightmares 19 Q I guess I should be more specific -- 20 related to this incident back in '93? 21 A Not that she's mentioned specific to this 22 incident. 23 Q From the medical recorda, I could glean 24 that she had some stitches. You followed up with .-., 25 Dr. Farrell, I believe. Is that who she saw back then? v APEX Reporting Service ~ \ ; I ' 16 ~ 1 A To the best of my knowledge, yes. 2 Q Do you know if any future care has been 3 recommended? 4 A I'm not positive. I believe that he said 5 that there could be some plastic surgery done to remove 6 the scarring. 7 Q Part of the Complaint also sets forth the 8 claim for yourself and Barbara. How has this affected 9 you? 10 Let me ask first, financially, have you 11 had any out-of-pocket expenses? 12 A Not that I specifically recall, just what C:) 13 would have been covered under my medical insurance for 14 any deductibles and co-insurance. 15 Q I gathered from the records that your 16 health insurance did cover the costs for her medical 17 care? 18 A Yes, the health insurance did cover the 19 cost of her treatment. 20 Q Is that through EDS, your employer? 21 A Yes, that is through my employer. 22 Q Do you know the name of that company? 23 A At the time it was the EDS health and 24 dental benefit plan that I was under. It was self J 25 administered. APEX Reporting Service 17 . ~ ~ ." 1 Q Did you have to miss any time from work as 2 a result of this? 3 A Not that I specifically recall. There may 4 have been some days. 5 Q Is there any other affect this has had on 6 you, whether it be financially, emotionally, socially? 7 A Not that I can directly specify to this 8 incident. 9 Q Do you know if Brittany, aside from the 10 medical care, did she have any type of counseling or 11 therapy as a result of the incident? 12 A None that I'm aware of. ~ ~ 13 Q I will show you some photographs that your 14 attorney provided to me. That was I guess about four 15 days after the accident. Is that your daughter in the 16 picture? 17 A Yes, it is. 18 Q You can see what looks to be a scar on her 19 eye. How does her current appearance compare to that, 20 if you can tell? 21 A Well, obviously her face is filled out 22 more with age. Other than that, she still appears much 23 the same. 24 Q Could you describe for me the appearance v 25 of the scar? APEX Reporting Service ,"1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 () 18 A The scar -- the most visible scar is below her left eye running approximately along the socket from about the center outward. Q Is it discolored A There is a color difference between the rest of her skin. Q Is the scar lighter or darker than the rest of her skin, if you can recall? A Slightly darker, I believe. Q Is it raised at all, do you know? A Not that I Q What about the scar -- is there a scar on her eyelid? A There is a smaller scar on her eyelid. Q Is that visible if her eyes are open or would that be the part that is closed or covered up? A Her eye would have to be closed for it to be visible. 19 Q Do you know of any complaints that anyone 20 filed against the dog in terms -- 21 A I know of no other complaints. 22 Q You don't have any knowledge of the dog 23 fighting with other dogs? 24 A No. o 25 Q Were there any type of warning signs APEX Reporting Service 19 (J ~",,'fJ;.' 1 posted on the property, like warning, dangerous dog or ~ ;! I: 2 anything like that? 3 A No. 4 o Do you have any knowledge that Velma ,( " 5 Weaver knew that you were coming to look at the dog? 6 A No, 1 have no knowledge of what Velma 7 Weaver might have k.nown, '\~ 8 MR. GANNON: I have no other questions. 9 (Whereupon, at 1:32 p.m. the deposition , 10 was concluded.) 11 . . * * 12 o 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 -.....) 25 APEX Reporting Service o Q o 20 1 C E R T I F I CAT E 2 3 I, Sharon L. Dougherty, a Notary Public for the 4 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, do hereby certify: 5 That the witness named in the deposition, prior 6 to being examined, was by me first duly sworn or 7 affirmed; 8 That said deposition was taken before me at the 9 time and place herein set forth, and was taken down by 10 me in stenotype and thereafter transcribed under my 11 direction and supervision; 12 That said deposition is a true record of the 13 testimony given by the witness and of all objections 14 made at the time of the examination. 15 I further certify that I am neither counsel for 16 nor related to any party to said action, nor in any way 17 interested in the outcome thereof. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 APEX Reporting Service '. ') 1 IN TH8 COURT OF COMMON PLEAS Ol~ CUMD8RLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA ......' 2 3 JOliN and BARBARA L8NDA as Paronta and Natural Guardian 4 of BRITTANY L8NDA, and JOliN and BARBARA L8NDA, 5 in thoir own right, Plaintiffs CIVIL ACTION - LAW 6 Vo No. 98-35 civil Term 7 VELMA W8AVER, Defendant, B v, 9 JEFFR8Y and DIANA WEAVER, Additional Defendants Jury Trial Demanded 10 11 12 ~ . o Oral Deposition of 13 BARBARA LENDA 14 15 16 DATE: Wednesday, November 11, 1998 17 TIME: 1:33 p.m. 18 19 PLACE: Handler, Wiener, Henning and Rosenberg 319 Market Street Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 20 21 Defendant, Velma wea~er,~ TAKEN BY: .'., ,') "1 ,} I,;"] , ~I )l-") ,'~-:; 'I :::~ .( ) ;:1/';1 ~;; ..," _J 22 ,"", " ,', 23 APEX REPORTING SERVICE By: Sharon L. Dougherty, RPR P. O. Box 6265 Harrisburg, PA 17112-0265 717-545-3553 -",' '::1 24 ':? ~fJ f..) . 'i , \ '0 25 ORIGINAL f( " , j 2 .., 1 APPEARANCES: 2 For the Plaintiffs: CAROLYN M. ANNER, ESQUIRE 3 HANDLER, WIENER, HENNING & ROSENBERG 319 Market Street 4 P. O. Box 1177 Harrisburg, PA 17108-1177 5 6 For the Defendant, Velma Weaver: 7 DREW P. GANNON, ESQUIRE HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. B 126-128 Walnut Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 9 10 Also present for Erie Insurance: DEBRA KLINGER 11 RONALD REYNOLDS 12 o 13 14 15 16 17 I N D E X IB Witness BARBARA LENDA 19 Examination by: Mr. Gannon Paqe No. 3 20 21 22 Exhibits 23 (None) Marked 24 ,~ 25 APEX Reporting Service 3 ') . . ~ ~. 1 PRO C E E D I N G S 2 3 S TIP U L A T ION 4 (It is hereby stipulated by and between 5 counsel for the respective parties that signing, 6 sealing, certifying, and filing are hereby waived, and 7 that all objections, except to the form of the 8 question, are reserved to the time of trial.) 9 10 BARBARA LENDA, 11 having been sworn, was examined and testified as 12 follows: o 13 EXAMINATION 14 BY MR. GANNON: 15 Q You were here for the prior deposition. 16 You will probably recognize most of the questions. 17 Let me also let you know if there are any 18 questions that I don't ask clearly, please ask me to I I, I I , 19 rephrase it and I will gladly do so. 20 A Okay. 21 Q Also, again, if you would keep your 22 answers verbal rather than a nod of the head that will 23 be helpful. 24 A Okay. '...J 25 Q Are you taking any medications today that APEX Reporting Service ~ o ~ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 4 might affect your ability to answer these questions? A No. Q Are you single at this time? A Yes, sir, Q What is your current residence? A 149 Ashford Drive, Enola. Q Does Brittany live with you? A Yes. Q Do you have any other children living with :(( I: you? A I have an older daughter. Q Is that Jennifer? A Yes. Q Do you work? A Yes. Q Where do you work? A Highmark, Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Q As I mentioned, I will ask some of the questions and you may be able to provide more information than your husband could remember. Before the incident occurred, what pets -- I am talking about the month before the incident. What type of pets did you have at home? A I don't recall if we had any pets in that month directly previous. APEX Reporting Service 5 1 Q What led to the decision to get a dog? 1 2 A My children have always liked animals and 3 have been raised around them. So we always had we 4 usually have some kind of animal in the house. 5 Q Were the children sort of begging to get a 6 dog or -- 7 A Not begging, no, not begging. 8 Q Was it their idea or your idea? 9 A I don't recall. 10 Q Had you been looking at all for a dog 11 before the Weavers? 12 A We occasionally would go into like the 4. (~ 13 Humane Society and see what kind of animals -- what 14 kind of dogs they had there. Whenever we were near a 15 pet store, we would go in and look. 16 Q Had you had any other appointments to look 17 at dogs that people may have been giving away before 18 you went to the Weavers' home? 19 A No. 20 Q How did you learn about the dog that the 21 Weavers had? 22 A Through a coworker, they knew the Weavers. 23 Q Do you remember this co-worker's name? 24 A Brenda Grau. \ ~ 25 Q Could you spell her last name? APEX Reporting Service ~ o o 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A G-R-A-U. I think she's since married. So I don't know her last name now. o What did she tell you about the dog? A She knew I guess -- let me think -- she knew Jeff. She worked with him somewhere else. She knew that they had had a baby with some medical problems, and that they had this dog that they needed to find a home for. o Did she say whether they were selling the dog or just giving it away? A She didn't know. o Did she give you a phone number? A Yes, sir. o Did you make the call? A Yes. o Do you recall when that was? A No. o Do you know who you spoke with? A No. o During that phone call, did you -- I know you don't remember when or who you spoke with, but what was the substance of the call? A To arrange a time to come over to their house to meet the dog. o This was done on January 29th, 1993? APEX Reporting Service ') 1 Correct. A 2 Q sometime around dinner time? 3 Correct. A 4 Can you describe for me what happened when Q 5 you arrived? 6 When you walk in their front door, you A 7 walk right into their living room, and the Weavers were 8 there with the dog, and we all introduced ourselves and 9 the children met the dog and were petting the dog. The 10 dog was laying on its back. 11 So meanwhile we were talking, the dog 12 snapped, Brittany screamed, and we noticed the injury. o 13 Did you see the actual incident itself? Q 14 A No. 15 Do you have any knowledge as to why the Q 16 dog snapped? 17 A No. 18 Have you talked with Brittany about this? Q 19 Yes, I did. She at that time said that A 20 she was just petting the dog and the dog jumped up and 21 bit her in the face. 22 Do you recall if the dog had a name at Q 23 that time? 24 I don't remember what it was. It did have A , 25 a name, but I don't remember what it was. '-.J APEX Reporting Service 7 ) o 8 1 Q Do you know if it was a male dog or female 2 dog? 3 A I don't recall that. 4 Q Do you remember what you were discussing 5 with the Weavers? 6 A Not specifically. 7 Q Did you have any conversations as to 8 whether the dog was a friendly dog? 9 , A Yes, that was -- I asked that before we 10 ever went over to the house. 11 Q In that phone conversation? 12 A Yes. 13 Q Do you remember -- obviously, if you went 14 to see the dog the reply was yes, it's a friendly dog? \ , I 15 A Correct. 16 J Q Did they reiterate that during the 17 meeting? 18 A It was asked if the dog was friendly and 19 if it had been around children, and they replied that, 20 yes, to both. 21 Q Did you ask whether the dog had ever ':\ 22 bitten anyone before? 23 A I don't think that I specifically asked ( 24 that. . ..-~" U 25 Q Aside from hearing about Jeff Weaver . "~ APEX Reporting Service ,,) 9 10 11 12 :) 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 J 10 1 The children had been petting the dog for Q 2 several minutes? 3 I don't recall the exact amount of time. A 4 How far away was the dog and the children? Q 5 MS. ANNER: From her? 6 MR. GANNON: Yes. 7 THE WITNESS: I don't recall the exact 8 distance. It was in the same room. BY MR. GANNON: Q You mentioned the dog, when you saw it, was on its back? A Yes. Q Were they like petting it's stomach or something? A Yes. Q Do you know how old the dog was at that time? A No. Q Did they tell you where they had gotten the dog from? A No. Q When you first came into the house, how did the dog behave? A I don't recall exactly how it behaved. It 25 didn't growl at us. APEX Reporting Service , ~ l l ..\' ) o 11 1 Q Anything unusual that you noticed? 2 A No. 3 Q No reason for you to be concerned? 4 A No. 5 Q What was the first time you learned that , i I 6 there was something wrong? 7 A When I heard the snap and my daughter 8 crying. 9 Q I guess the damage was to her left eye? 10 A Correct. 11 Q Could you describe the physical injuries 12 for me? 13 A Yes, she had a laceration under her 14 eyelid. It was gaping open and bleeding. She had I , I 15 another one on top of her eye. It was not as large. 1 16 It was more of a tear, and then she was also bleeding 17 from the corner of her eye. 18 Q Was there any damage to the actual eye 19 itself? 20 A I couldn't tell at that time. There was 21 too much blood. 22 23 Q Later on was there ever any damage? A No, it was told to me that the corner of 24 the globe of her eye was punctured. J 25 Q What did you do at that time? APEX Reporting Service ~ '". o 1 have insurance coverage provided. Do you remember 2 that? 3 A I don't remember that being stated that 4 night. That was stated later on. 13 I " I ", I J\ I : I' \ 6 A I had a phone call at work. I don't 13 Q A Q A Q A Q A Q point? A , , , I.~j : l)l , 'I I: L. ! i I I j. ,t 5 Q What conversations did you have later on? 7 remember if I called him, Mr. Weaver, or if he called 8 me, wanting to know how Brittany was. 9 Q Do you remember anything else about the 10 conversation? 11 A No. Somewhere in that conversation the 12 offer for their insurance was made. o 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Do you know whether they have insurance? I don't know. Then you took Brittany to the hospital? Correct. Holy Spirit? Yes. That was that evening? Yes. What treatment did she receive at that 24 had the treatment by Dr. Farrell right there. -.....) 25 Q What did he do for her? APEX Reporting Service ) o ~ 14 A He sutured the eye, the bottom one, and put a couple stitches in the top injury. o Do you know how many sutures were necessary? A No, I don't recall. o What were his instructions at that time after he did that? A We were to follow up to have the stitches removed, and then following that she would need to go to an eye doctor to have her vision checked, and followed up again in a year for potential scar tissue, and then any -- then after that, when she became older, she could have the plastic surgery to remove the scar. Did you take all of those or most of those 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 0 steps? A 0 A 0 A 0 A 0 A 0 I took them all. Did you follow up with the eye doctor? Yes. Was her vision okay? Yes. Any affect No. The sutures came out then? Correct. Did she go back a year later? APEX Reporting Service '~ o J 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A Yes. o Has she seen the doctor for this condition since then? A Not since then. o I saw Dr. Farrell's note, and I think you made reference to it, that when she turns 15 she could consider the plastic surgery? A Correct. o How would you describe the scar now? A It's healed well. It's a very straight line. It's not jagged. It's pale, and it is flush with the skin. The one above her eye is kind of in the crease of the eye and it's a little puffier, but it also is clear -- not clear -- pale. o Is the one on the top of her eye visible if she has her eyes open? A No. She has to have them closed. o Does the scar bother her physically or emotionally? A She's aware of it. She's more self conscious of it. She has had some incidents in the past where she's asked for it to be covered up. She's just more aware of it. Q What type of circumstances would she ask APEX Reporting Service "') 7 8 9 10 11 12 0 13 J 16 1 to have it covered -- 2 A Like school pictures one year, she wanted 3 me to put makeup over it so it wouldn't show. I 4 didn't, but she asked for it. 5 Then a couple of other occasions like 6 Halloween one year, things like that. o Any other times -- A I don't recall specifically, no. o Has she had any emotional affects from this aside from being concerned about the physical appearance? A Immediately afterwards she did have some bad dreams and she was leery of large dogs. The dreams 14 have since pretty much just gone back to being normal 15 dreams, the occasional nightmare, but I don't know that 16 it's directly related to the incident. 17 0 What type of nightmares or bad dreams did 18 she have when she was -- I guess she was about four 19 when this happened. 20 A She would have dreams of the dog attack. 21 She would cry. 22 0 Did this happen often or occasionally? 23 A Occasionally. 24 0 Do you know long they last, not the dreams 25 themselves, but how long it went on? Like a few APEX Reporting Service ~) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 o .....J 17 months? a year? A Not that long. Less than a month. Q To your knowledge, it was Jeffrey and Diana Weaver that owned the dog? A Correct. Q Did you have any knowledge prior to the incident that the dog had violent propensities? A No. Q Since then have you heard of anything suggesting that the dog had attacked or snapped at anyone else? A No. Q Have you spoken with Velma Weaver at all since this happened? A No. Q Would you have any idea what her knowledge would be about the dog? A No. Q I will ask you some questions about the Complaint, and again I realize some of this is the legal language of your attorney. Paragraph 7 alleges that prior to January 29th, 1993, the Defendant, meaning Velma Weaver, was aware that the dog, part Husky, could demonstrate vicious propensities towards little children. Did you APEX Reporting Service ) 9 10 11 12 0 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 ~ 18 1 have any knowledge about that? 2 A No. 3 0 Paragraph 8 says, subsequent to January 4 29, 1993, Plaintiffs believe and therefore aver that 5 Defendant, Velma Weaver, was aware that the dog snapped 6 at, attacked, bit and/or otherwise demonstrated vicious 7 propensities towards the baby of Jeffrey and Diana 8 Weaver. Do you have any knowledge of that? A I wouldn't know what she knows. o Aside from what she knows, do you have any knowledge of the dog attacking the baby? A No. o Paragraph 6 alleges that at the times mentioned herein, Plaintiffs believe and therefore aver that Defendant Velma Weaver was in control of a Siberian Labrador retriever mixed type dog that attacked and injured Plaintiff Brittany Lenda. I would like to ask you about the averment that Velma Weaver was in control of the dog. You had 20 previously said that it was owned by Jeffrey and Diana 21 Weaver. 22 23 24 25 MS. ANNER: I will object. It calls for a legal conclusion; the form of the question. BY MR. GANNON: Q Do you have any knowledge as to whether APEX Reporting Service ") () o 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 .-.' 19 Mrs. Weaver, Velma Weaver owned the dog? A I do not know. o She was not on the premises when you were there? A I did not meet her. o Aside from that phone call after the fact where either you or Jeffrey Weaver called to discuss your daughter's condition, have you ever had any contact with them? A I don't recall. o Since the incident in '93, have you heard of any prior acts of this dog that would lead you to conclude that it was violent, aside from the incident with your daughter? A Prior to this incident? o Or after it. A No. Q Have you heard of any complaints filed with the District Justice or the police department about the dog? A No. o Any stories or hear anything about the dog fighting with other dogs? A No. Q Was there any type of warning sign when APEX Reporting Service ") (:,) o 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 you came onto the property, beware of dangerous dog? A No. We wouldn't have gone. Q How has this affected you? A It was traumatic for me to see my own daughter injured. I was there when the sutures were done. So it was very traumatic for me. It's been an inconvenience as well as financially and having to take off from work and taking her to the doctor's office and things along that line. Q How much time did you miss, do you know, from work? A I don't recall. Q Her last medical treatment was with 14 Dr. Farrell in February of '94? Correct. There is no type of planned treatment 15 A 16 Q 17 coming up? 18 A 19 she's older. 20 Q 21 expenses? 22 A No. We are supposed to take her back when Have you had any out-of-pocket medical Just the co-payments for the insurance. 23 Q Do you know how much they were? 24 A No. It would be co-payments for the 25 treatment and the prescription. APEX Reporting Service 20 ') c,') -....J 21 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Q Was that prescription an antibiotic of some sort? A I don't recall. I know there was something for pain, but I don't know about the antibiotic. Q She didn't receive any type of counseling or therapy as a result of this? A No. Q Can you think of any other emotional affects of the scar, aside from wanting to have it 11 covered up? A No. MR. GANNON: I have no other questions. 12 13 14 Thank you. 15 (Whereupon, at 1:55 p.m. the deposition 16 was concluded.) 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 * * * * AeEX Reporting Service ~ o -....J 22 1 C E R T I F I CAT E 2 3 I, Sharon L. Dougherty, a Notary Public for the 4 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, do hereby certify: 5 That the witness named in the deposition, prior 6 to being examined, was by me first duly sworn or 7 affirmed; 8 That said deposition was taken before me at the 9 time and place herein set forth, and was taken down by 10 me in stenotype and thereafter transcribed under my 11 direction and supervision; 12 That said deposition is a true record of the 13 testimony given by the witness and of all objections 14 made at the time of the examination. 15 I further certify that I am neither counsel for 16 nor related to any party to said action, nor in any way 17 interested in the outcome thereof. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 APEX Reporting Service ') 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ,. 12 C) 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 --..).: r',. 1,\'" I; \: : \\~ u ij COURT OF COMMON PLEAS CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA JOHN AND BARBARA LENDA, AS PARENTS AND NATURAL GUARDIANS OF BRITTANY LENDA, AND JOHN AND BARBARA LENDA, IN THEIR OWN RIGHT, PLAINTIFFS . VS VELMA WEAVER, NO. 98-35 CIVIL TERM DEFENDANT () ,-' ,.r) ::: ~l -, '"I" " ,') ., I ;~ VS JEFFREY AND DIANA WEAVER, ADDITIONAL DEFENDANTS t :.~, " :~'7j ':~~.l, ,-,I \.,.. PI.. ) "101 '.-:1 "-,. ::''1 -.... DEPOSITION OF: TAKEN BY: BEFORE: 10) VELMA WEAVER PLAINTIFFS KIMBERLY L. INTRIERI REPORTER-NOTARY PUBLIC DATE: NOVEMBER 16, 1998, 9:01 A.M. HARTMAN AND MILLER, P.C. 126-128 WALNUT STREET HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA PLACE: APPEARANCES: HANDLER, WIENER, HENNING & ROSENBERG BY: CAROLYN M. ANNER, ESQUIRE FOR - PLAINTIFFS HARTMAN & MILLER, P.C. BY: DREW P. GANNON, ESQUIRE FOR - DEFENDANT GEIGER & LORIA REPORTING SERVICE - 1-800-222-4577 2 '), ".....~' 1 2 3 4 5 FOR PLAINTIFFS 6 Velma Weaver 7 8 9 10 11 12 0 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 TABLE OF CONTENTS DIRECT CROSS ~ I i WITNESS 3 6 '~ GEIGER & LORIA REPORTING SERVICE - 1-800-222-4577 n) J 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 0 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ,...J) 3 STIPULATION It is hereby stipulated by and between counsel for the respective parties that reading, signing, sealing, certification and filing are waived; and that all objections except as to the form of the question are reserved to the time of trial. , ~. VELMA WEAVER, called as a witness, being sworn, testified as follows: DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. ANNER: Q A Would you state your name and address, please? Velma Weaver, East Waterford, Pennsylvania. And what is your relationship to Jeffrey and Q Diane Weaver? A Jeff is my son. Diane is my daughter-in-law. And were you the owner of the property that Q they were living on back in 1993? A Yes. Q Would you describe the house that you owned that they were living in, please? A You mean type of house? Q Yes. GEIGER & LORIA REPORTING SERVICE - 1-800-222-4577 4 " ,(I , , , ) A Yes. Q A ranch brick home. And at that time did they own a dog? 1 2 3 4 5 A Q A And how long had they owned the dog? I don't know. Just several months. I'm not 6 sure. 7 8 9 10 11 Q A Was it an adult dog? Yes. Q Do you know what type of breed? Husky. And they had also living with them at the time , Q A 12 a baby, is that right? o 13 14 A No. She was born, but she wasn't home. Q Did you have any -- you knew the dog? Did you 15 know the dog? 16 17 18 19 A Yes. Q Was it a nice dog? Yes. Very calm and just laid around. Did it ever -- did you ever see it snap or Q A 20 bite? 21 22 A No. Q Did you ever know whether or not it did snap 23 or bite? 24 25 A No. Never. Q You have no knowledge? -...b.' GEIGER & LORIA REPORTING SERVICE - 1-800-222-4577 5 1 A No knowledge that it ever bit anybody, snap at ~, to 'J 2 anybody. 3 4 5 6 Q A Ever? Ever. 7 pound. I don't know if somebody came and got it or if Jeff 8 and Diane took it. We just never really -- we never 9 discussed it. Q A Do you know where the dog is now? I'm not sure. I guess they took it to the dog , ' 12 getting ready to bring Trish home. They were advised not to A Do you know when it went to the dog pound? Well, probably soon after because they were 10 11 Q o "" 13 14 15 have __ their daughter was born with spina bifida, and it was just best not to have pets around at the time. Q Do you know if, when the baby was home, the l6 dog was in the house at the same time? 17 A Never. Never. No. The dog was gotten rid of 18 before Trish was brought home. 19 Q So you have no indication or no knowledge that 20 the dog ever tried to snap at the baby? A They were never together. And do you know where the dog is right now? No. MS. ANNER: That's all I have. MR. GANNON: I just have a few questions. 21 22 23 24 25 A Q --.)) GEIGER & LORIA REPORTING SERVICE - 1-800-222-4577 -.) ,""'- I,.,) ..Jj 6 CROSS-EXAMINATION 1 2 3 BY MR. GANNON I 4 Q When was Trish born? 5 A January 19, 1993. 6 Q And how long was she in the hospital before 7 she came home? Do you know? 8 A The first week of February; middle of the 9 first week, like Wednesday. And I don't even remember the 10 date. 11 12 13 14 Q A Did you own the dog? No. Q Did you ever exercise any control over the dog? 15 A No. 16 Q Did you ever know prior to this incident that 17 we're here for today that the dog had demonstrated any 18 vicious propensities towards anyone? 19 20 A I'm not aware of -- no. Q Have you ever met the plaintiffs in this case; 21 the Lendas? 22 23 24 25 A No. I've never seen them. Q Have you ever spoken to them? No. Did your son or daughter ever tell you about A Q GEIGER & LORIA REPORTING SERVICE - 1-800-222-4577 ,') 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 0 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 '-...,// 7 I \ any other incidents with the dog? A You mean vicious incidents? Q A Q A Yes. Where it ever snapped at -- No. -- or growled at anyone. No. No. MR. GANNON: I have nothing further. MS. ANNER: Thank you. (The deposition concluded at 9:07 a.m.) GEIGER & LORIA REPORTING SERVICE - 1-800-222-4577 'j 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 () 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 J.' 8 COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA COUNTY OF DAUPHIN ss I, Kimberly L. Intrieri, Reporter-Notary Public, authorized to administer oaths within and for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and take depositions in the trial of causes, do hereby certify that the foregoing is the testimony of Velma Weaver. I further certify that before the taking of said deposition, the witness was duly sworn; that the questions and answers were taken down stenographically by Kimberly L. Intrieri, a Reporter-Notary Public, approved and agreed to, and afterwards reduced to typewriting under the direction of the Reporter. I further certify that the proceedings and evidence are contained fully and accurately in the notes taken by me on the within deposition, and that this copy is a correct transcript of the same. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my hand this 28th day of November, 1998. / L i/\/ - l" (~ - ....... I - . .,-''-' /. --- .'. I ~~ t Kimberly Reporte . Intrieri otary Public My commission expires on December 17, 2001 GEIGER & LORIA REPORTING SERVICE - 1-800-222-4577 JOHN and BARBARA LENDA, et ai, : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF Plaintiffs : CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA v. : CIVIL ACTION - LAW VELMA WEAVER, : NO. 98.35 Civil Term Defendant PRAECIPE TO: Prothonotary of Cumberland County Please mmked the above-captioned action as settled and discontInued with preJudice. HANDLER, WIENER, HENNING & ROSENBERG , , // // , By Carolyn M.finer, Esquire I. D. NOl"~636 319 Market Street P. O. Box 1177 Harrisburg, PA 17108-1177 Attorneys for Plaintiffs Date: February 2, 1999 ~(\J"