MUNICIPAL LAW: Court Holds That Plaintiff Didn’t Provide Adequate Description Of Locus

The Connecticut Superior Court holds that an allegation that a plaintiff was injured as a result of a “defective condition” on a “walkway and/or bridge” at a 54-acre park was insufficient under the facts of the case before it to comply with the statutory notice requirements for defective sidewalk claims.

The defective highway statute, C.G.S. § 13a-149, requires a written notice within 90 days of the incident describing the injury, the cause of the injury, the time, and the place.  The court found that the plaintiff’s notice which did not discuss the size of the step, the lack of a railing or the vegetation, failed to provide even a general description of the cause of the plaintiff’s injury.  The court also found that the plaintiff’s notice about the location of the injury was vague.

“The complete absence in the plaintiff’s notice of the description of the defects themselves combined with the vague description of the location of those defects makes it impossible for the defendant to use this notice in preparation for a lawsuit.”  Accordingly, the court grants the defendant municipality’s motion to dismiss.

Bencivengo v. Town of Madison, CV 12-6030857 (Frechette, J.)(May 1, 2013)