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According to the United States Census, there are more than 13 million people living in Pennsylvania. That means that on December 24, 2024, there will be more than 13 million chances that Santa injures a Pennsylvania resident. We, as Pennsylvania residents, deserve to know our rights against the jolly fella should he negligently cause an injury.
If you have been hurt by Santa, this blog is for you. If you have ever been curious, where could I hypothetically sue Santa should he cause an injury in Pennsylvania, this blog is for you. If you are looking for helpful tips in suing the mall Santa who had a few too many egg nogs before hitting the streets, feel free to keep reading, but unfortunately you probably won’t find much help here. This blog is dedicated to suing the real deal. Saint Nicholas, himself. Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, or whatever one of his aliases you want to call him.
I. How Long Do I Have To Sue Santa?
The first thing you need to know when thinking about suing Santa is what deadline are you working with. In Pennsylvania, most causes of actions available under our civil system have in place a statute of limitation that determines how much time you have to bring an action. You need to know what type of claim you have in order to determine which statute of limitation applies to your claim. In this blog, we are assuming that we are bringing a claim based in negligence to recover for bodily injuries sustained in a sleigh-related accident.
Under Pennsylvania Law, pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. §5524, you generally have two years to commence a lawsuit involving “[a]n action to recover damages for injuries to the person or for the death of an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect or unlawful violence or negligence of another.”
Therefore, since you are commencing an action involving injuries to you caused by the negligence of Santa, you have two years from the date of the injury-causing accident to start your lawsuit.
II. Where Can I Sue Santa?
Now that you know how long you have to sue, let’s turn to where you can start your lawsuit. Depending on the value of your claim, you have some potential options.
Should your claim be worth less than $12,000, you can consider bringing a claim in Small Claims Court. These actions take place in the Magisterial District Court. This is by far the quickest way to receive a judgment. In Small Claims Court, your case will be heard in front of only a magisterial district judge rather than a traditional judge and jury. There are some pros to Small Claims Court, such as quicker resolution of your case, and it may be cheaper due to some relaxed rules and steps; however, there are also some cons, such as the jurisdictional damage limit of only $12,000, and either party can appeal the judgment within 30 days. If the judgment gets appealed, the case moves up to the next stage and starts over as if the Small Claims Court process never happened. If you decide to file your claim against Santa in Small Claims Court, you are going to want to do it in the magisterial district in which the accident took place, assuming the accident took place outside of Philadelphia, which has its own sets of rules and procedures.
In this hypothetical, however, let’s assume you were severely injured and your damages exceed $1,000,000. After all, you are most likely ending up on the permanent naughty list after suing Santa, so you might as well go after a big pot of money since it is going to be your last crack at the big guy. In this scenario, you have a couple options.
The first option you may choose is to sue Santa in State Court. In Pennsylvania, you can commence a civil action for damages in the Court of Common Pleas. Each county has its own Court of Common Pleas. Here you have the opportunity to have your case heard in front of a judge and a jury. This process usually takes a lot longer than the Small Claims Court process, but you can pursue damages exceeding $12,000, and it is not as easy to appeal and wipe out your eventual judgment. If you choose to sue in State Court, you are going to want to sue Santa in the county in which the accident took place.
Since Santa is not a United States Citizen and his domicile is in the North Pole, coupled with the fact that your damages exceed $1,000,000, you can also choose to sue Santa in Federal Court. 28 U.S.C. §1332 provides Federal District Courts with diversity jurisdiction in cases, including the present case, where you have a citizen of a state (you in Pennsylvania) and a citizen of a foreign state (Santa in the North Pole) and the damages exceed $75,000. If you go this route, you will want to sue Santa in the federal district where the accident took place. There are three district courts in Pennsylvania: Eastern; Middle; and Western.
Therefore, you have the choice to either sue Santa in State or Federal Court. Generally, the recommended course is for a plaintiff who is a Pennsylvania resident, like yourself, to bring the action in State Court. The reasoning is that you generally want to get a jury pool with people who will most likely relate to you and be sympathetic to you. Typically, the people closer to you in a geographic location are going to feel more sympathetic and relate to you as it could have just as easily been them involved in an accident not too far from their own home. Generally, you increase your chances of getting jurors that live closer to you by filing in State Court as there are 67 counties in Pennsylvania and only 3 federal districts. Therefore, the Federal District Courts typically bring in prospective jurors from areas much further away geographically than the pools of jurors being brought in at your local county level.
III. How Do I Initiate the Lawsuit Against Santa?
Now that you have sufficient time to file a lawsuit against Santa and you know where you want to file your lawsuit, let’s turn to how to file your lawsuit.
How you file your lawsuit depends on where you are planning to file your lawsuit.
If you filed in Small Claims Court, you would start your action by filing a civil complaint form with the Magisterial District Court.
If you filed in State Court, Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1007 gives you the option of commencing your action by filing either a praecipe for a writ of summons or a complaint with the prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas.
If you filed in Federal Court, you must file a complaint as Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4 limits the commencing of an action to the filing of a complaint with the court.
Once you filed the appropriate paperwork with the appropriate court, you will want to make sure that you obtain proper and timely service on Santa.
IV. Conclusion
So, there you have it, if you’ve been injured by Santa’s negligence in Pennsylvania, those are you answers to: 1.) how long you have to sue Santa; 2.) where to sue Santa; and 3.) how to start the lawsuit against Santa. Don’t get mad at me if you end up on the naughty list. More importantly, don’t tell Santa I gave away these secrets. I don’t want to end up on the naughty list.
…Wait a second… What is that in the corner of my office… Don’t tell me… It’s coal…
Merry Christmas, everyone!