Supreme Court of Connecticut
Cannizzaro v. Marinyak
July 1, 2014
Summary
The court affirmed summary judgment for the homeowner because the plaintiff failed to establish a genuine issue of material fact concerning whether the homeowner knew or should have known that she needed and had an opportunity to control her worker's alcohol consumption. Applying the governing principles for duties to control third persons, the court concluded that the undisputed evidence showed the homeowner neither provided nor permitted alcohol, lacked knowledge of the drinking, instructed a supervisor to prohibit it, and was absent when the worker drank and left. The court affirmed on this ground without deciding whether the accident's location independently defeated the duty claim.