Jackson OâKeefe Hartford CT Law Firm obtains favorable Supreme Court ruling
On March 8, 2010, Hartford County personal injury attorney Joseph M. Busher obtained a favorable ruling from the Connecticut Supreme Court in favor of his client, the Town of Voluntown Board of Education. The case arose out an injury that on October 11, 2005 at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Constitution Field in the Town of Voluntown, Connecticut. The plaintiff alleged that she sustained severe personal injuries when part of a tree located on an adjacent field split from the trunk and fell onto her as she watched her daughter play a school-sponsored soccer game.
On appeal, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that the defendants were entitled to immunity pursuant to General Statutes § 52-557n which states in part that "a political subdivision of the state shall be liable for damages to person or property caused by . . . acts of the political subdivision which constitute the creation or participation in the creation of a nuisance." Since the statute requires positive acts on the part of the defendant, the Court held that the plaintiff’s allegations based solely on an alleged knowing and intentional failure to remediate a diseased tree did not satisfy the statutory requirements for liability.
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