Martinotti v. Consolini
Martinotti v. Consolini
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff brought this action to recover for damage to her automobile sustained in a collision with a car owned by the defendant Louis Consolini and operated by the defendant Robert Consolini. From a judgment for the plaintiff the defendants have appealed, assigning error in the failure to correct the finding and in the court’s conclusions.
The finding, with such corrections as the defendants are entitled to, discloses the following facts: On August 11, 1962, at about 6:30 p.m., Peter Martinotti was operating the plaintiff’s car in a westerly direction on the Winsted to Torrington road, also known as Connecticut route 8. Robert Consolini was proceeding in the same direction and to the rear of the Martinotti ear. Route 8 is a two-lane macadam highway; the day was clear and the road dry. The plaintiff’s car was traveling at the posted speed of forty miles per hour and was struck in the rear, while moving, by the Consolini car, which was exceeding the posted speed limit while attempting to pass the plaintiff’s car. The Martinotti car, which sustained damage to its rear end, stopped 100 feet from the point of impact, and the Consolini car stopped 400 to 500 feet from the same point. There was no traffic in the opposite or easterly direction. The defendant Robert Consolini had been drinking beer prior to the accident. The court concluded that Robert Consolini was exceeding the posted speed limit, that he was following the Martinotti car too closely, that he did not have his car under proper control, and that his speed, combined with lack of control, was the proximate cause of the accident.
The finding may be corrected only after examination of the evidence presented in the motion to correct has disclosed “that relevant and material facts have been found without evidence, or that such facts
The fourth paragraph of the motion to strike was abandoned by the defendants at the argument before
The remaining allegation of error is addressed to the conclusions reached by the court. The conclusions must be tested by the subordinate facts and if legally and logically correct must stand. Bridgeport Hydraulic Co. v. Sciortino, 138 Conn. 690, 692. The court concluded that the defendant Robert Consolini was exceeding the posted speed limit. The subordinate facts found state that the posted speed limit was forty miles per hour and that at the time of the collision the plaintiff’s car was going forty miles per hour and the defendant was attempting to pass it. The court is entitled to draw inferences from the facts found. It could reasonably infer that the Consolini car would have to exceed forty miles per hour to pass a car proceeding at that speed. The court properly concluded that the defendant Robert Consolini was following too closely. The finding indicates that the plaintiff’s automobile was struck in the rear while moving. It would be difficult to explain how the defendant Robert Consolini was not following too closely, and the court was correct in inferring that he was closer than was reasonable and prudent. See State v. Donnelly, 124 Conn. 661; State v. Stanton, 37 Conn. 421. With respect to the remaining conclusions, the subordinate facts sustain them and the court was correct in so concluding.
“It is true that a plaintiff cannot merely prove that a collision occurred and then call upon the defendant operator to come forward with evidence that the collision was not a proximate consequence of negligence on his part. Nor is it sufficient for a plaintiff to prove that a defendant operator might
There is no error.
In this opinion Pruyn and Dearington, Js., concurred.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.