Karagozian v. USV Optical, Inc.

Citations

• 335 Conn. 426

Syllabus

The plaintiff employee sought to recover damages from the defendant employer, alleging that he was constructively discharged in violation of public policy. The plaintiff had been employed as a licensed optician manager in the defendant's optical department in a JCPenney store and alleged that the defendant improperly required him to provide optomet- ric assistance services to the doctor of optometry in the store. The 19 Although our case law does not expressly preclude damages for personal injuries arising from innocent misrepresentations, we observe that such liability would be inappropriate in the present case. ''The defendant may be subjected to liability for innocent misrepresentation causing stand-alone economic harm when the defendant undertakes to guarantee the truth of the matter represented, that is, when his representation is a warranty. Where a warranty is breached, the plaintiff may recover the contract or loss of bargain measure of damages.'' (Emphasis added.) 3 D. Dobbs et al., The Law of Torts (2d Ed. 2011) § 669, p. 661; see 3 Restatement (Second), supra, §552C, comment (f), p. 145 (noting that innocent misrepresentation damages ''are restitutionary in nature'' and ''in effect [restore the plaintiff] to the pecuniary position in which he stood before the transaction,'' and that, because ''the defendant's misrepresentation is an innocent one, he is not held liable for other damages; specifically, he is not liable for benefit of the bargain or for consequential damages'' (emphasis added)); see also Johnson v. Healy, supra, 176 Conn. 106 (''[t]he proper test for damages was the difference in value between the property had it been as represented and the property as it actually was''). Thus, it appears that this damages calculation would not provide the plaintiffs with any significant relief because the damages for personal injuries stemming from the mesh would be limited to the difference between what the plaintiffs paid for the mesh product and the valu