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Levandoski v. Cone2/24/2004
The common-law "firefighter's rule" provides, in general terms, that a firefighter or police officer who enters private property in the exercise of his duties occupies the status of a licensee and, therefore, is owed a duty of care by the property owner that is less than that owed to an ordinary invitee. Furstein v. Hill, 218 Conn. 610, 615, 590 A.2d 939 (1991). Thus, under the firefighter's rule, the landowner generally owes the firefighter or police officer injured on his property "only the duty not to injure him wilfully or wantonly . . . ." Id., 616. The principal issue in this appeal is whether the firefighter's rule should be extended beyond the scope of premises liability so as to bar a police officer from recovering, based on a claim of ordinary negligence, from a tortfeasor who is neither an owner nor a person in control of the premises. The defendant, who is not a landowner or person in control of land, appeals from the judgment of the trial court, following a jury trial, in favor of the plaintiff, a police officer who was injured by the defendant's negligent conduct on the land of another person. We conclude that the firefighter's rule should not be so extended and, accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court in favor of the plaintiff.
The plaintiff, James R. Levandoski, a member of the East Lyme police department, brought this action against the defendant, Douglas Cone, for injuries negligently caused by the defendant while the plaintiff was pursuing the defendant on private property. The plaintiff's employer, the town of East Lyme (town), filed a motion to intervene as a party plaintiff seeking reimbursement of workers' compensation benefits it had paid to the plaintiff, which the court granted. Thereafter, the plaintiff filed an offer of judgment, which the defendant did not accept. After a jury trial and a verdict for the plaintiff, the defendant moved to set aside the verdict and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, which the court denied. Thereafter, the town, with the court's permission, withdrew its intervening complaint because it had reached a settlement with the plaintiff regarding the amount of its workers' compensation lien reimbursement. The trial court denied the defendant's request for a reduction in the amount of the verdict by the amount of the lien, awarded prejudgment interest on the verdict, and rendered judgment for the plaintiff accordingly.
The defendant claims that the trial court improperly: (1) denied his motions for a directed verdict and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict because the plaintiff's action was barred by the firefighter's rule; (2) denied his motions because the plaintiff failed to prove proximate cause; and (3) awarded prejudgment interest to the plaintiff. We conclude that: (1) the firefighter's rule does not apply to this case; (2) there was sufficient evidence to establish proximate cause; and (3) the court properly awarded prejudgment interest.
The jury reasonably could have found the following facts. On May 15, 1996, the plaintiff was a police officer of the town. At approximately 11 p.m., in response to a neighbor's complaint about a noisy party taking place at the home of David Baskin on Hillwood Drive, the plaintiff and another officer went to that residence, intending to end the party rather than to make arrests. When they arrived at the residence, they approached the house from different sides in order to observe the party. The plaintiff, watching from behind bushes and a tree, saw a group of young persons playing basketball, and heard music and noise. He then heard someone announce the arrival of the police, and saw cans of what he assumed was beer being discarded.
The pla
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