Addessi v. Connecticut Light & Power Co.
Addessi v. Connecticut Light & Power Co.
Opinion of the Court
The principal issue of this appeal is whether General Statutes § 52-557g
The plaintiff sued the named defendant, The Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P), for injuries he incurred when he dove off a dock owned and controlled by the defendant, Wayne Bennett, into Candle-wood Lake, which is owned by CL&P. The plaintiff’s suit against CL&P was based on negligence and nuisance. The trial court granted CL&P’s motion for summary judgment on the ground that General Statutes § 52-557g barred the plaintiff’s claims. The plaintiff appealed, claiming several errors in the trial court’s ruling. All but one of these claims are controlled by our recent decision in Genco v. Connecticut Light & Power Co., 7 Conn. App. 164, 508 A.2d 58 (1986).
The only claim of the plaintiff which survives Genco is that General Statutes § 52-557g is unconstitutionally void for vagueness. The trial court rejected this claim, as do we.
One who attacks a statute as unconstitutional bears the heavy burden of establishing that unconstitutionality beyond a reasonable doubt. Fishman v. Middlesex Mutual Assurance Co., 4 Conn. App. 339, 353, 494 A.2d 606, cert. denied, 197 Conn. 806, 499 A.2d 57 (1985). The vagueness rubric, which derives from the constitutional guarantee of due process, is largely based
The plaintiff builds his argument on the fact that General Statutes § 52-557g does not require the landowner who is shielded from liability by the statute to post on his recreational land a warning of that shield. Thus, he claims, the potential user of the land cannot make an informed choice of whether to assume or forego the risks involved in using the land. It is this deficiency which he claims renders the statute void for vagueness. We disagree.
The plaintiff’s vagueness challenge simply misses the mark. He does not focus at all on the language of the statute, a focus which is central to the constitutional void for vagueness analysis. See, e.g., Gunther v. Dubno, 195 Conn. 284, 297-99, 487 A.2d 1080 (1985); State v. Eason, 192 Conn. 37, 45-48, 470 A.2d 688 (1984). Indeed, he fails to claim that a person of ordinary intelligence reading the statute would not have an opportunity to know what is permitted or prohibited.
Indeed, the plaintiffs argument would imperil the constitutionality of several similar statutes which confer civil immunity without also requiring the immunized party to give prior warning of his immunity to potential claimants. See, e.g., General Statutes § 52-557b (“good Samaritan law”); General Statutes § 52-557j (immunity of landowner from liability to operators of snowmobiles and certain other vehicles); General Statutes § 52-557k (immunity of landowner from liability to one who harvests firewood from land). We do not understand the void for vagueness doctrine to require such results.
There is no error.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
General Statutes § 52-557g provides in pertinent part: “(a) Except as provided in section 52-557h, an owner of land who makes all or any part of the land available to the public without charge, rent, fee or other commercial service for recreational purposes owes no duty of care to keep the land, or the part thereof so made available, safe for entry or use by others for recreational purposes, or to give any warning of a dangerous condi
“(b) Except as provided in section 52-557h, an owner of land who, either directly or indirectly, invites or permits without charge, rent, fee or other commercial service any person to use the land, or part thereof, for recreational purposes does not thereby: (1) Make any representation that the premises are safe for any purpose; (2) confer upon the person who enters or uses the land for recreational purposes the legal status of an invitee or licensee to whom a duty of care is owed; or (3) assume responsibility for or incur liability for any injury to person or property caused by an act or omission of the owner.”
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Gary Addessi v. Connecticut Light and Power Company
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published