MEDIA – The family of a Philadelphia man who died after he was stabbed by a courier delivering food has filed an amended version of its wrongful death lawsuit against the courier and the food-delivery company, after the company made numerous objections to the suit’s initial iteration.
Plaintiff Linda Schellenger, acting as executrix for the Estate of Sean Schellenger, filed suit against Uber Technologies, Inc. of Philadelphia, Portier, LLC of Harrisburg (both doing business as “UberEats” and the latter c/o C.T. Corporation) and Michael White of Philadelphia, on Jan. 27 in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas.
The suit stated the defendants acted negligently by, “allowing their delivery person to carry a concealed and illegal weapon, being a twelve-inch knife with a seven-inch blade.” The suit also alleged that the company failed to properly train White, and did not conduct a thorough background check before employing him.
An altercation between White and Schellenger took place during a motorist dispute near 17th and Chancellor Streets in Philadelphia on the evening of July 12, 2018. White was working as a bike courier for UberEats when he encountered Schellenger and his friends, who were driving to another destination after leaving the bar at Rouge.
According to White’s defense attorney, he said White told Schellenger that he “didn’t need to be a tough guy” when he saw Schellenger on the street arguing with another driver. White then said Schellenger racially insulted and charged toward him in an attempt to tackle him, and that he stabbed Schellenger in the back in self-defense.
Schellenger died that very evening, as White surrendered himself to authorities the next day. At trial, prosecutors argued that White had unnecessarily placed himself into the traffic dispute between Schellenger and the other driver, and that the killing was unjustifiable.
In October, a jury acquitted White of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Sean Schellenger. Last month, White was sentenced to two years’ probation for evidence tampering in hiding the knife used to commit the alleged crime.
The instant civil suit stated the defendants acted negligently by “allowing their delivery person to carry a concealed and illegal weapon, being a twelve-inch knife with a seven-inch blade.” The suit also alleged that the company failed to properly train White, and did not conduct a thorough background check before employing him.
On Feb. 26, counsel for the Uber defendants filed preliminary objections against the lawsuit, seeking the dismissal of the claims against Uber with prejudice or alternatively, the recklessness and punitive damages claims stricken with prejudice, in addition to all mentions of pending criminal charges at the time of the incident and allegations as to White’s psychiatric background and social media accounts revealing a supposed propensity for violence also stricken with prejudice as “scandalous and impertinent.”
“In short, objecting defendants cannot be vicariously liable for a delivery driver’s alleged criminal assault as a matter of law; and any claim for negligent hiring or training fails as a matter of law because plaintiff has not alleged a single fact that would suggest that White had a violent propensity or that Uber or Portier knew or should have known that White would act as he allegedly did on the night of July 12, 2018,” the objections stated.
“Alternatively, plaintiff has failed to set forth any specific facts alleging that objecting defendants possessed the requisite knowledge of unreasonable risk of physical harm to plaintiff, beyond that required to establish negligence, so all claims of recklessness and punitive damages should be stricken and dismissed with prejudice.”
Counsel also reiterated the objections to criminal and social media evidence.
“Further, reference to pending criminal charges against White at the time of this incident should be stricken from the complaint as scandalous and impertinent, since these pending charges are not admissible under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure,” the objections read.
“Further, allegations that White’s psychiatric background and social media show a propensity for violence should be stricken from plaintiff’s complaint, as these allegations are baseless, unsupported, scandalous and impertinent.”
As a result, the plaintiff filed an amended complaint on March 12.
The 10-count suit for negligence, wrongful death, survival, punitive damages, assault and battery seeks total damages in excess of $50,000.
The plaintiff is represented by Alfred V. Altopiedi of the Law Offices of Alfred V. Altopiedi and Anthony D. Reagoso of Reagoso Law, in Springfield.
The defendant is represented by Madeline S. Baio and Leah E. Altman of Goldberg Segalla, in Philadelphia.
Delaware County Court of Common Pleas case CV-2020-000952
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com