In the near future, I will be introducing Samantha’s Law, dedicated to Samantha Kalkbrenner, a fifteen-year-old student of Allegheny County, that was killed while traveling in a school passenger van, when the van was hit by a racing driver. My legislation would codify the recent Pennsylvania Superior Court decision in Spencer vs. Johnson, which held that defendants are held joint and severally liable for all damages when a plaintiff, such as a child traveling on a bus, is 0% negligent.  

Under current law, the Fair Share Act limits a judgment against a defendant to its proportionate share of an award if it is determined to be less than 60% negligent. However, the Fair Share Act does not address plaintiffs that are 0% negligent.

Recently, in Spencer v. Johnson, the Superior Court examined the Fair Share Act and provided some important guidance. Specifically, the Spencer Court stated in dicta that the language in the Fair Share Act does not clearly or explicitly expand its scope to include cases where the plaintiff has not been found to be contributorily negligent. Therefore, the Spencer court concluded that for the minimum finding of 60% negligence portion of the Fair Share Act to apply, the plaintiff’s negligence must be an issue in the case. My bill will ensure that this finding is enshrined into the Fair Share Act so that any ambiguity on the question is eliminated. This will make the law more fair for plaintiffs seeking to recover damages when they are in no way at fault and remedy any potential legal confusion for courts.

I hope you will join me in co-sponsoring this legislation.
 

Statutes/Laws affected:
Printer's No. 1675 (May 12, 2025): 42-7102(a.1)(2)