Haynes v. Middletown

Summary

The court held that the plaintiffs presented sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find that a dangerous locker, combined with known horseplay in the locker room, created imminent harm to an identifiable class of students. It adopted a stricter imminent-harm standard requiring a danger so likely to cause harm that the municipality had a clear and unequivocal duty to act immediately, overruling contrary precedent. Because the jury was not instructed on governmental immunity and its exception, the court reversed and ordered a new trial.