DocketNumber: No. CV-93-0342816S
Citation Numbers: 1998 Conn. Super. Ct. 6658, 22 Conn. L. Rptr. 238
Judges: MORAN, J. CT Page 6659
Filed Date: 5/21/1998
Status: Non-Precedential
Modified Date: 7/5/2016
Boppers and Bechard move for summary judgment on the ground that Shubert's second revised complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. They seek judgment as a matter of law, claiming that an abutting property owner or occupier has no duty to maintain a public sidewalk,1 and that an abutting property owner or occupier must have possession and control of a public sidewalk in order to be liable for an injury caused by a sidewalk's defective condition.2 Boppers and Bechard filed a memorandum of law together with two affidavits in support of their motion. On November 20, 1997, Shubert filed an objection to the motion for summary judgment with a memorandum of law.
A motion for summary judgment shall be granted "if the pleadings, affidavits and any other proof submitted show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Practice Book § 384, now Practice Book (1998 Rev.) § 17-49. "Although the party seeking summary judgment has the burden of showing the nonexistence of any material fact . . . a party opposing summary judgment must substantiate its adverse claim by showing that there is a genuine issue of material fact together with evidence disclosing the existence of such an issue." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Bruttomesso v. Northeastern Conn. Sexual AssaultCrisis Services, Inc.,
Boppers and Bechard move for summary judgment on the ground that an abutting property owner or occupier has no duty to maintain a public sidewalk.
"At common law there is no liability upon an abutting property owner for injuries resulting from the effects of natural causes upon streets or sidewalks such as the accumulation of snow or ice. . . . Therefore if the liability is or can be shifted from the municipality to the individual it must be accomplished by statutory or charter provision or by ordinance adequately authorized by such provision, and, being the creature of statute or such ordinance, it can be no greater than that specifically imposed thereby. Imposition upon abutting owners of a duty to clear walks of snow and ice, with a provision of a penalty by fine and costs for failure to do so or for clearing the same by the municipality and collection of the cost from the abutting owner, is not sufficient to render the individual, instead of the city, liable for injuries sustained by reason of snow or ice thereon." (Citations omitted; emphasis added.) Willoughby v. NewHaven,
Although Shubert fails to allege the violation of any New Haven ordinances in count one, it claims in its opposition to summary judgment that, according to §
Accordingly, a property owner or occupier in the city of New Haven has a duty, pursuant to sections
Boppers and Bechard argue that an abutting property owner or occupier must have possession and control of a public sidewalk in order to be liable for an injury caused by a sidewalk's defective condition. Shubert does not allege liability based on possession and control of the sidewalk. Rather, Shubert alleges that Boppers and Bechard are liable for nuisance given their violation of §
According to the law of nuisance, an abutting landowner will be liable for any injury incurred due to a dangerous condition created by him on a sidewalk. Hanlon v. Waterbury,
In support of the motion for summary judgment, Boppers and Bechard submitted the affidavit of Quinton White, one of Boppers' managers at the time Sliney fell on the sidewalk. The White affidavit provides: "That on or about January 14, 1991 and for at least one year prior thereto, [Boppers] did not own the sidewalk in front of [Boppers] where it is alleged that [Sliney] fell, but rather that sidewalk in front of [Boppers] is a public sidewalk[; Boppers] did not in any way maintain, fix or otherwise repair the public sidewalk in front of [Boppers] where [Sliney] is alleged to have fallen[; and Boppers] did not fix, repair, upkeep or otherwise exercise any form of possession or control of the public sidewalk in front of [Boppers] where [Sliney] is alleged to have fallen." (¶¶ 4-6.) Boppers and Bechard also submitted the affidavit of Bechard, a manager of Boppers at the time Sliney fell on the public sidewalk, in support of the motion for summary judgment. The Bechard affidavit is identical to the White affidavit discussed above.
While Shubert did allege in its complaint that Boppers and Bechard created the sidewalk's defective and dangerous condition, it failed to submit documentary evidence which would establish the existence of a factual dispute. A mere allegation such as this one is insufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact. See New Milford Savings Bank v. Roina,
Boppers and Bechard owed a duty to Shubert to remove or abate the ice and snow from the public sidewalk. Therefore, Boppers and Bechard are not entitled to judgment as a matter of law as to the first count.
A genuine issue of material fact remains with respect to the second count regarding whether Boppers and Bechard created the condition alleged to be a nuisance.
Accordingly, the motion for summary judgment is denied as to both counts.
John W. Moran Judge of the Superior Court