Lasso v. Valley Tree & Landscaping, LLC

Citations

• 209 Conn. App. 584

Syllabus

The plaintiffs, the administrator of the estate of the decedent, O, and O's wife, C, sought to recover damages from the defendant G Co., a construction manager, for the wrongful death of O and for loss of consortium on behalf of C, in connection with the death of O as he was using an excavator to remove trees from certain premises. G Co. had been awarded a contract with the borough of Naugatuck for a project to renovate a high school. Subsequently, the building committee for the borough determined that additional borough funds could be used to remove trees near an upper parking lot that were adjacent to, but not a part of, the grounds where the high school renovation project was taking place. At the request of the building committee, G Co.'s project director solicited bids from two companies and went to the site to point out trees that were flagged for removal by the building committee. The building committee then voted to award the tree removal work to the defendant V Co. O was an employee of V Co. The trial court granted G Co.'s motion for summary judgment as to the plaintiffs' claims, finding that there was no genuine issue of material fact that G Co. was not contractually obligated to have the control or responsibility for the supplemental work of overseeing any separate contractors, including V Co., and that there was no genuine issue of material fact that G Co. did not owe a duty to V Co. or its employees for the safety issues alleged in the complaint, and thus, did not owe a duty of care to O. Held that the trial court's determination that the provisions of the contract between G Co. and the borough did not give rise to a duty owed by G Co. to V Co. and its employees was legally and logically correct and supported by the language of the contract: the contract language was clear and unambiguous in the description of the project area, the extent of the project, and the work for which G Co. had the duty to perform, the court correctly determined that the plainti