Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 8541 (2026)

 Governmental immunity generally.

✓ current as of May 2026
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SUBCHAPTER C

ACTIONS AGAINST LOCAL PARTIES

 

Sec.

GOVERNMENTAL IMMUNITY

 

8541.  Governmental immunity generally.

8542.  Exceptions to governmental immunity.

 

OFFICIAL IMMUNITY

 

8545.  Official liability generally.

8546.  Defense of official immunity.

8547.  Legal assistance.

8548.  Indemnity.

8549.  Limitation on damages.

8550.  Willful misconduct.

 

LIMITATIONS ON DAMAGES

 

8553.  Limitations on damages.

 

JUDGMENTS

 

8557.  Judgment as a bar.

8558.  Judgments against insured local agency.

8559.  Judgments against self-insured local agency and those not fully insured.

 

POWERS OF LOCAL AGENCIES

 

8563.  General powers of local agencies.

8564.  Liability insurance and self-insurance.

 

Venue, Interest and Intervention.  Section 333 of Act 142 of 1980, which repealed the act of November 26, 1978, P.L.1399, No.330, known as the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act, provided that actions under Subchapter C for claims against a local agency may be brought in and only in a county in which the local agency is located or in which the cause of action arose or where a transaction or occurrence took place out of which the cause of action arose. Section 333 further provided that no interest shall accrue in any such action prior to any entry of judgment and provided that a local agency may intervene in any action brought against an employee thereof for damages on account of an injury to a person or property based on claims arising from, or reasonably related to, the office or the performance of the duties of the employee.

Cross References.  Subchapter C is referred to in sections 762, 8337 of this title; section 315 of Title 3 (Agriculture); section 17142 of Title 16 (Counties); section 5311.1 of Title 35 (Health and Safety); section 3306 of Title 58 (Oil and Gas); section 6345 of Title 75 (Vehicles).

 

 

GOVERNMENTAL IMMUNITY

§ 8541.  Governmental immunity generally.

Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, no local agency shall be liable for any damages on account of any injury to a person or property caused by any act of the local agency or an employee thereof or any other person.

 

Cross References.  Section 8541 is referred to in section 8542 of this title; section 9158.5 of Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 827 cases (127 in the last 5 years), 1981–2026 · leading case: Brewington, S. v. Phila. Sch. Dist., Aplt., 199 A.3d 348 (Pa. 2018).
Brewington, S. v. Phila. Sch. Dist., Aplt., 199 A.3d 348 (Pa. 2018). · cites it 7× “In this appeal, we consider one of these exceptions ― the real property exception to governmental immunity ― and, in particular, whether the absence of padding on a gym wall, into which a student ran during gym class, causing injury, falls within the exception.”
Mascaro v. Youth Study Ctr., 523 A.2d 1118 (Pa. 1987). · cites it 10× “By Answer, Appellees denied the allegations of negligence and, in their New Matter, invoked the affirmative defenses of governmental and official immunity conferred by 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 8541, [1] and asked for judgment on the pleadings.”
McShea v. City of Philadelphia, 995 A.2d 334 (Pa. 2010). · cites it 6× “See 42 Pa.C.S. § 8541; Sphere Drake Insurance Company v.”
Brittany Morrow v. Barry Balaski, 719 F.3d 160 (3rd Cir. 2013). · cites it 3× “24 Act” (now codified at 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 8541 ) and are not subject to “tort liability .”
Balentine v. Aplt. v. Chester Water Auth, 191 A.3d 799 (Pa. 2018). · cites it 4× “” 42 Pa.C.S. § 8541. Section 8542 sets forth the following pertinent exception: § 8542.”
Moore v. Pa. Dept. of Just., 538 A.2d 111 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1988). · cites it 8× “In reversing, the court highlighted the language of 42 Pa. C. S. §8541 as follows: Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, no local agency shall be liable for any damages on account of any injury to a person or property caused by any act of the local agency or an…”
Meyer v. Cmty. Coll. of Beaver Cnty., 965 A.2d 406 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2009). · cites it 16× “As to the breach of warranty claims, the College argued that Plaintiffs failed to offer sufficient proof to support their claims. Relevant to this appeal, the College argued the CPL does not apply to community colleges and, as a local agency, a community college is immune from…”
Maloney v. City of Philadelphia, 535 A.2d 209 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1987). · cites it 10× “The City filed preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer, [2] claiming it was immune to suit pursuant to 42 Pa. C. S. §8541 because (1) Maloney had failed to state a cause of action and (2) the alleged negligent acts complained of do not fall within any of the eight…”
Crowell v. City of Philadelphia, 613 A.2d 1178 (Pa. 1992). · cites it 5× “They were proceeding west on University Avenue, which is located in the western section of Philadelphia.”
Sellers, C, Aplts v. Twp. of Abington,et al, 106 A.3d 679 (Pa. 2014). · cites it 7× “After the completion of discovery, Appellees moved for summary judgment based upon governmental immunity, citing to the Political Division Tort Claims Act (Tort Claims Act), 42 Pa.C.S. § 8541, which states “[e]xcept as otherwise provided in this subchapter, no local agency shall…”
Jones v. Chieffo, 700 A.2d 417 (Pa. 1997). · cites it 8× “They stipulated for the purpose of summary judgment, however, that if the police car had a working siren, Jones would have heard it and avoided the accident. They also stipulated that the Police Department knew that a number of cars that could be involved in pursuits did not…”
Buschman v. Druck, 590 A.2d 53 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1991). · cites it 8× “A jury trial resulted in a verdict for the plaintiffs, with the jury attributing eighty percent of the liability to Lewis, and the remaining twenty percent to the City.”
— 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 8541(a)(2) — 2 cases
Beitler v. City of Philadelphia, 738 A.2d 37 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1999).
— 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 8541(b)(1) — 1 case
Love v. City of Philadelphia, 543 A.2d 531 (Pa. 1988).
— 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 8541(b)(3) — 1 case
Fowler v. Gettysburg Sch. Dist., 13 Pa. D. & C.4th 266 (1991).
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.