TT&H Attorneys Scott McCarroll and Amanda Hennessey win dismissal of negligence lawsuit filed in Federal Court

On September 29, 2020, Scott McCarroll and Amanda Hennessey (Harrisburg office), won the dismissal of a negligence case filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.  The Plaintiff’s action sought recovery for property damage sustained as a result of a delivery of heating oil to a home that had not requested the delivery and that was not equipped to accept the oil.  Plaintiff claimed that 150 gallons of oil entered the home.  Scott and Amanda filed a Motion to dismiss arguing that Plaintiff’s claims were barred by the statute of limitations.  In her opposition to the Motion, the Plaintiff argued that the statute of limitations was tolled due to fraudulent concealment and acknowledgment.  The Plaintiff submitted an Affidavit in purported support of her tolling argument.

In disposing of the Motion, the Court determined that the statute of limitations was not tolled under the facts pled in the Complaint. The Court found that the claim was time-barred because the Plaintiff did not file her Complaint until July 2020, despite being aware of the full extent of her damages in January 2018. While the Court declined to consider the Plaintiff’s Affidavit, in dicta, the Court noted that the Affidavit failed to establish that any act by the Defendant or its insurance company had the effect of concealing the extent of the damage, nor was the Affidavit sufficient to establish an acknowledgment of a debt that would toll the statute of limitations.

Questions about this case can be directed to Scott McCarroll, at (717) 237-7131 or smccarroll@tthlaw.com, or to Amanda Hennessey, at (717) 237-7103 or ahennessey@tthlaw.com.