Wasko v. Manella6/8/2004
In this certified appeal, we must determine whether the Appellate Court properly reversed the judgment of the trial court, rendered after a trial to the court, in favor of the substitute plaintiff, Middlesex Mutual Assurance Company (Middlesex). Wasko v. Manella, 74 Conn. App. 32, 44, 811 A.2d 727 (2002). We conclude that the Appellate Court improperly determined that a social guest in a personal residence is immune from liability for negligently caused fire damages in a subrogation action brought by the homeowner's insurance carrier. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the Appellate Court.
The opinion of the Appellate Court sets forth the following relevant facts and procedural history of this case. "In 1993, Brian Wasko and Phyllis Wasko, residents of Weston, owned a house on Shore Road in Goshen that they used primarily on weekends and vacations. [The defendant, James] Manella was a friend and business associate of the Waskos who had recently moved to New York City. The Waskos offered to let [the defendant] stay at their house in Goshen on the weekend of February 5, 1993, with the proffered hope that he might be interested in renting or buying it in the future. [The defendant] accepted that offer. While at the house in Goshen, he lit a fire in the fireplace, and, when he was ready to return to New York, he emptied the ashes and embers into a paper bag, which he placed outside on the porch. After he departed, the house caught fire and was substantially destroyed. The fire marshal of the town of Goshen determined that the ashes and embers in the paper bag had caused the blaze.
"The house was insured under a homeowners policy from Middlesex. Pursuant to the insurance policy, Middlesex paid the Waskos $48,500 for the lost personal property and $84,005 for the lost dwelling for a total of $132,505. In October, 1993, the Waskos brought an action against [the defendant] sounding in negligence, recklessness and res ipsa loquitur. In March, 1997, Middlesex was substituted as the real party in interest.
"On April 14, 2000, [the defendant] filed a motion for summary judgment on all counts, of which only the negligence count survived. At that time, [the defendant] argued that Middlesex had no right of subrogation and that a social houseguest should be considered an 'implied co-insured' under the policy. The [trial] court was unpersuaded. On October 13, 2000, it held, in a memorandum of decision, that Middlesex could subrogate the Waskos' claim because the homeowners policy did not specify coverage for social guests. In short, [the defendant] was not an insured under the terms of the policy.
"In the subsequent trial to the court on July 24 and 25, 2001, the court found that [the defendant] had been negligent and that his negligence had caused the destruction of the Waskos' house and personal property. The court awarded Middlesex $132,505 in damages." Id., 33-34.
The defendant appealed to the Appellate Court, claiming that the trial court: (1) improperly had found that Middlesex had a right of subrogation against a social guest; (2) improperly had precluded Brian Wasko from testifying as to his understanding of the scope of coverage of his insurance policy; and (3) inaccurately had calculated the replacement value of the personal property. Id., 34-35. Addressing the defendant's first claim, the Appellate Court determined initially that Middlesex's right of subrogation was equitable, and not contractual, in nature. Id., 38. Accordingly, the Appellate Court reviewed DiLullo v. Joseph, 259 Conn. 847, 848, 792 A.2d 819 (2002), in which this court concluded that a landlord's insurer did not have a right of subrogation against a tenant who negligently had da
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