Municipalities can’t contract their way out of the duty to timely address dangerous conditions on public streets, a deeply divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled.

In Degliomini v. City of Philadelphia, a majority of the high court ruled that an exculpatory release signed by a participant in a May 2015 charity bike ride who ended up severely injured after crashing into a sinkhole did not immunize the city for breaching its duty to repair and maintain public streets.