MUNICIPAL LAW: Defective Highway Claim Precludes Apportionment Of Liability

The Connecticut Appellate Court holds that a defendant in a motor vehicle accident claim cannot file an apportionment complaint against a municipal defendant alleging liability based upon an allegedly defective roadway.  It was undisputed that the roadway in question was a municipal road, maintained by the town.

The Appellate Court holds that because the allegations fall within the purview of General Statutes § 13a-149, that statute, known as the defective highway statute, provided the exclusive remedy.  The Appellate Court further reasoned that because of the sole proximate cause doctrine applicable to defective highway claims, municipal liability could not attach where the plaintiff or a third party was contributorily negligent in causing the injury and thus apportionment of liability was not possible.

Priore v. Longo-McClean, AC 33779 (June 11, 2013)