Young v. City of Stamford

By: Mark J. Claflin

mclaflin@hl-law.com

860-249-1361 x 143

Howd & Ludorf, LLC recently won a jury trial in Stamford Superior Court in Young v. City of Stamford, a suit brought under the Connecticut Defective Highway Act. The City was represented by Howd & Ludorf, LLC partner Thomas Gerarde at trial. Plaintiff Young was injured when he slipped and fell on ice while dropping his child off at school following a 2hr delayed opening due to snowstorm. The Town had plowed and treated the drop off driveway at the school, but the steady stream of cars on the drop-off driveway brought snow to the area that was compressed and turned to ice. When Plaintiff exited his drivers door to assist his child he slipped on the ice and suffered a serious back injury, that eventually resulted in fusion surgery. Gerarde argued to the jury that the drop off area was not “defective” under Connecticut law, given that the City had made reasonable efforts to keep the area reasonable safe, and no City employee was aware of the slippery area where Plaintiff fell. The Court charged the jury that under Connecticut law the City was not required to keep the area perfectly safe. The jury returned a unanimous verdict that the Plaintiff had not proved that the area where Plaintiff fell was defective and returned a verdict for the City of Stamford.