LaFlamme v. Dallessio

Summary

The Connecticut Supreme Court held that whether an executor possessed and controlled estate real property, and therefore owed a duty of care for an alleged premises defect, presented a genuine issue of material fact. The court reversed the Appellate Court’s affirmance of summary judgment and remanded for further proceedings, concluding that the Probate Court decrees and affidavits did not conclusively establish who retained control of the property.

Holdings

1. Under General Statutes § 45a-321 (a), the fiduciary of a decedent's estate presumptively has possession, care, and control of the decedent's real property during settlement, unless the property was specifically devised, the will gives inconsistent directions, or the Probate Court ordered surrender or distribution to heirs or devisees.
2. The Probate Court decrees granting the widow use of the marital home did not conclusively establish that she had exclusive possession and control of the driveway or that the executor lacked responsibility for its maintenance.
3. Summary judgment was improper because the Probate Court decrees and affidavits created a genuine issue of material fact as to who possessed and controlled the property and therefore owed the plaintiff a duty of care.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the executor of an estate necessarily has no duty to maintain estate real property in a reasonably safe condition during settlement of the estate.
2. Whether the Probate Court decrees and supporting affidavits established, as a matter of law, that the executor lacked possession and control of the property.
3. Whether the evidence created a genuine issue of material fact concerning possession and control sufficient to preclude summary judgment.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded