Summary
This Connecticut Appellate Court decision addresses whether a municipal transfer station qualifies as a public highway under the state's municipal highway defect statute (§ 13a-149) after a plaintiff slipped and fell on a walkway there. Relying on binding precedent, the court affirmed summary judgment for the defendants, holding that because access to the facility was restricted to residents who purchased permits and operated during limited hours, it lacked the essential feature of being open to the indefinite public. Consequently, the plaintiff's claim did not fall within the purview of the statute.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the walkway at the transfer station constitutes a public highway within the meaning of General Statutes §13a-149
- Whether summary judgment was proper on the §13a-149 claim
Holdings
- The trial court did not err in granting summary judgment because the transfer station was not open to the indefinite public and therefore the plaintiff’s claim does not fall within the purview of §13a-149.
- Summary judgment was proper because there was no genuine issue of material fact that the transfer station was a public highway.
Key quotations
“The essential feature of a public use is that it is not confined to privileged individuals or groups whose fitness or eligibility is gauged by some predetermined criteria, but is open to the indefinite public.” (6)
“A highway includes any state or other public highway, road, street, avenue, alley, driveway, parkway … under control of the state or any political subdivision of the state, dedicated, appropriated, or opened to public travel or other use.” (7)
Factual background
Plaintiff Arleen Beger slipped on a walkway in front of a cardboard waste receptacle at the City of Bristol’s transfer station. The transfer station was accessible only to city residents who purchased a permit and was open limited hours. The plaintiff alleged the walkway was defective and that the transfer station constituted a public highway under §13a-149.
Procedural history
The plaintiff filed a personal injury action alleging a defect under General Statutes §13a-149 after falling on a walkway at the city’s transfer station. The Superior Court granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, finding the transfer station not a public highway. The plaintiff appealed.