MUNICIPAL LAW: Superior Court finds in favor of municipality in defective highway action

In a court trial, the Superior Court finds that a municipality that hired a contractor to perform road maintenance did not have actual or constructive notice of a defect allegedly created by that contractor.  It was alleged that the contractor had spread black sand across the roadway and that this constituted a highway defect, causing the plaintiff to lose control of his motorcycle.

The Superior Court holds that the plaintiff failed to establish actual or constructive notice of the condition on the part of the municipality, reasoning that the city had no duty to confirm that the highway was safe after the roadwork was completed.

Graham v. New Haven (08/30/16)