One Eighty-Five Stagg Associates v. Linwood Avenue III, LLC

Citations

• 232 Conn. App. 520

Syllabus

The plaintiff appealed from the trial court's judgment granting the defen- dants' motion for a directed verdict in the plaintiff's action seeking damages in connection with an oil leak from a tank on the named defendant's property that impacted the plaintiff's property. The plaintiff claimed, inter alia, that the court erred in granting the defendants' motion on the ground that the plaintiff failed to present sufficient evidence in support of its claims. Held: The plaintiff waived its claims challenging the trial court's ruling with respect to the counts of the operative complaint alleging statutory causes of action and negligence per se, as the plaintiff failed to raise or brief any claim challenging the court's ruling with respect to those counts. The trial court erred in directing a verdict for the defendants on the counts of the operative complaint alleging common-law negligence and common- law negligent nuisance, as there was sufficient evidence from which the jury could have found that the defendants were negligent, had control of the oil tank, and their negligence was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff's damages. The trial court abused its discretion in ordering the redaction of portions of certain account notes maintained by the oil company servicing the defen- dants' property following the oil spill, as the redacted portions were relevant to the issue of the defendant M's possession or control of the oil tank, and, even assuming that the redacted portions of the account notes constituted evidence of subsequent remedial measures, that evidence was admissible to prove M's control of the oil tank. Argued January 6—officially released May 13, 2025