Auresto v. Commonwealth

Opinion by

President Judge Crumlish, Jr.,

Anthony Auresto appeals a Pike County Common Pleas Court order granting the Department of En*478vironmental Resources (DER) and John Bitzer’s1 preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer.2 We reverse and remand.

Auresto was injured, while riding his snowmobile on a frozen pond, when it struck a protruding tree stump which was concealed by snow. The pond is a designated snowmobile recreational facility owned by DER and maintained by Bitzer.

Auresto’s sole contention is that the Commonwealth is not an “owner of land” under Section 3 of the Recreational…