Baer | PA Courts HARRISBURG – The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has ruled that the Commonwealth cannot dodge liability through the real estate exception to sovereign immunity, in cases where its negligent design and construction created a defective and dangerous condition, and later caused injury. The Court unanimously agreed in an April 28 Wise v. Huntingdon County Housing Development Et.Al that dimly-lit areas of properties owned by the Commonwealth are an exception to sovereign immunity from litigation, and that they are in fact “dangerous property conditions.” It reversed an opposite-minded Commonwealth Court ruling in June 2019, one which affirmed the February 2017 trial court ruling in the Huntingdon County Court of Common Pleas.