Salemme v. Town of Seymour

Summary

The Connecticut Supreme Court held that the savings clause in General Statutes § 13a-149 may apply to an inaccurate or indefinite description of the location of an injury in a municipal highway-defect notice. The court concluded that providing the street name was not an entirely absent location description and remanded for factual determination of whether the municipality was misled or the plaintiff intended to mislead it.

Holdings

1. The savings clause of § 13a-149 applies to an inaccurate, vague, or indefinite notice of the accident location when the location element is not entirely absent.
2. When the savings clause applies, whether the plaintiff intended to mislead the municipality and whether the municipality was actually misled are factual questions for the trier.
3. The Appellate Court improperly concluded that the § 13a-149 savings clause did not apply; its judgment was reversed and the case was remanded for reversal of the trial court's judgment and further proceedings.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the savings clause of General Statutes § 13a-149 applies when a notice identifies the location of a roadway accident by a general but indefinite street description.
2. Whether the plaintiff's notice was so deficient that the location element was entirely absent, thereby precluding application of the savings clause.
3. Whether the effect of the inaccurate notice on the Town, including whether the Town was misled, presents a factual issue for the trier.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded