Anthony Martinez v. City of New Haven

Summary

The court held that the plaintiff, although an identifiable schoolchild, failed to prove that the defendants knew or reasonably should have known that students running with safety scissors created a risk of harm so likely that an immediate duty to act arose. The court also held that the trial court implicitly allowed the defendants to amend their answer to plead governmental immunity and that the plaintiff did not establish an abuse of discretion in permitting the amendment. The judgment was reversed on the negligence counts and remanded for judgment for the defendants on those counts, while affirmed in all other respects. Eveleigh, J., dissenting, would have affirmed because the trial court reasonably found that the teacher's failure to supervise ongoing horseplay presented a fact question concerning imminent harm.