Bucci v. Bridgeport

Citations

• 227 Conn. App. 593

Syllabus

The plaintiff sought to recover damages from the defendant city for injuries she sustained in connection with a motor vehicle accident. On the night of the accident, after finishing their shifts, C and G, police officers employed by the defendant, drove separately to a restaurant, where C consumed alcoholic beverages. When they left the establishment, C was visibly intoxicated. As G was following C to his home, C's vehicle crossed into the plaintiff's lane of travel and collided with her vehicle. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant was liable for G's allegedly negligent conduct in allowing C to operate his vehicle while under the influence of alcohol pursuant to the applicable statute (§ 52-557n) and for failing to properly screen C prior to hiring him as a member of the police department. The trial court granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment and denied the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment, and the plaintiff appealed to this court. Held: 1. The trial court properly determined that a genuine issue of material fact did not exist as to whether G was acting within the scope of his employment or official duties so as to subject the defendant to a claim for the plaintiff's injuries pursuant to § 52-557n (a) (1) (A): the affidavits submitted by the defendant in connection with its motion for summary judgment demonstrated that G was not engaged in any official duty of his employment or doing something incidental to it at the time of his allegedly negligent conduct, as G and C had been off duty for approxi- mately four hours prior to the accident, they drove their personal vehi- cles to the restaurant, they were not in uniform and did not have badges, identifying insignia or service weapons on their person at the restaurant, they had not been attending a party sponsored by the police department, and they did not perform any police services while at the restaurant; moreover, contrary to the plaintiff's assertions, G's violations of the police departm