§ 5504. Establishing liability in civil proceedings.
(a) Petition.--If a judgment has been rendered against the child in a civil action for injury because
of the tortious act of the child and the judgment has not been satisfied within a
period of 30 days, the injured person may petition the court for a rule to show cause
why judgment should not be entered against the parent.
(b) Answer and trial.--The parent may file an answer to the petition, and, if there is any dispute as to
unlitigated facts, the case shall be set down for trial.
(c) Judgment.--If there is no dispute as to the unlitigated facts, the court shall authorize the
entry of a judgment against the parent. In no case shall the judgment against the
parent exceed the limitations set forth in section 5505 (relating to monetary limits
of liability).
(d) Action against parent.--Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, a victim of a willful, tortious act
of a child may initiate a civil action directly against the parent or parents of the
child who committed the tortious act for the purpose of receiving compensation for
the injuries suffered, not to exceed the limitations set forth in section 5505.
(Apr. 21, 1994, P.L.128, No.15, eff. 60 days)
1994 Amendment. Act 15 added subsec. (d).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
4
cases (
2 in the last 5 years), 1993–2024 · leading case:
E.W. v. E.N. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2024).
E.W. v. E.N. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2024).
“23 Pa.C.S. § 5504(a) (“If a judgment has been rendered against the child in a civil action for injury because of the tortious act of the child and the judgment has not been satisfied within a period of 30 days, the injured person may petition the court for a rule to show cause…”
Wenger v. Shank, 34 Pa. D. & C.4th 377 (1997).
· cites it 2× “In Count II of the complaint, plaintiffs allege that the negligence of both Celeste Shank and Steven Shank resulted in the harm allegedly suffered by minor plaintiff.”
E.W. v. E.N., 2024 Pa. Super. 283 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2024).
“23 Pa.C.S. § 5504(a) (“If a judgment has been rendered against the child in a civil action for injury because of the tortious act of the child and the judgment has not been satisfied within a period of 30 days, the injured person may petition the court for a rule to show cause…”
Kelly v. Seachrist, 18 Pa. D. & C.4th 514 (1993).
“The Act of Assembly establishing liability in civil proceedings of the parent for the tortious act of the child sets forth the petition procedure for obtaining judgment *516 against the parent (23 Pa.C.S. §5504) with the same limitations as provided in criminal or juvenile…”
— 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5504(a) — 2 cases
E.W. v. E.N. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2024).
“23 Pa.C.S. § 5504(a) (“If a judgment has been rendered against the child in a civil action for injury because of the tortious act of the child and the judgment has not been satisfied within a period of 30 days, the injured person may petition the court for a rule to show cause…”
E.W. v. E.N., 2024 Pa. Super. 283 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2024).
“23 Pa.C.S. § 5504(a) (“If a judgment has been rendered against the child in a civil action for injury because of the tortious act of the child and the judgment has not been satisfied within a period of 30 days, the injured person may petition the court for a rule to show cause…”
— 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5504(d) — 1 case
Wenger v. Shank, 34 Pa. D. & C.4th 377 (1997).
“In Count II of the complaint, plaintiffs allege that the negligence of both Celeste Shank and Steven Shank resulted in the harm allegedly suffered by minor plaintiff.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.