The Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently overturned a Court of Common Pleas ruling which had granted summary judgment in favor of the Steamtown Mall in a case involving an assault which occurred in the Mall’s parking lot.
The claim was brought by Sharon Young, who was employed by one of the Mall’s tenants. Young was the victim of a car-jacking which occurred as she was leaving from work. Young was attacked by unidentified assailants who were attempting to steal her vehicle from the employee section of the Mall parking lot.
In reversing the Common Pleas’ grant of summary judgment to the Mall, the Appellate Court held that the issue of whether the Mall had acted reasonably in terms of the level of security it had provided in the area of the attack was an issue for a jury to decide, not the Court.