Florence v. Town of Plainfield

849 A.2d 7, 48 Conn. Supp. 440, 2004 Conn. Super. LEXIS 102
CourtConnecticut Superior Court
DecidedJanuary 16, 2004
DocketFile No. CV-03 0069580S
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 849 A.2d 7 (Florence v. Town of Plainfield) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Florence v. Town of Plainfield, 849 A.2d 7, 48 Conn. Supp. 440, 2004 Conn. Super. LEXIS 102 (Colo. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

FOLEY, J.

The defendant, the town of Plainfield (town), and the other defendants, various named police officers, have moved to strike the plaintiffs amended complaint, which alleges that the plaintiffs decedent, Jenny McMechen, twenty-four years of age, was fatally shot by her estranged boyfriend, Michael Latour, twenty-three years of age. The complaint also alleges that McMechen was nine months pregnant with a viable fetus fathered by Latour, which also died as a result of McMechen’s death. Plaintiff Debbie L. Florence, admin-istratrix of the estate of McMechen and the unborn fetus, brings this 105 page, sixteen count complaint against the town and certain police officers alleging various specifications of negligence for failing to protect the decedent and seeking indemnity by the town for the conduct of its police officers. The defendants move to strike the complaint or portions of the complaint for two reasons. First, the defendants claim that the town is immune from liability in tort by virtue of the doctrine of governmental immunity. Second, the defendants maintain that Connecticut’s wrongful death statute, General Statutes § 52-555, does not permit an administratrix to maintain an action on behalf of an unborn fetus.

At the excellent oral argument on the motion to strike, counsel for the defendants conceded that the [442]*442facts as alleged in the amended complaint dated December 1, 2003 were true, for the purposes of the pending motion to strike. This is consistent with Connecticut law, which provides that “for the purpose of a motion to strike, the moving party admits all facts well pleaded.” RK Constructors, Inc. v. Fusco Corp., 231 Conn. 381, 383 n.2, 650 A.2d 153 (1994). “In reviewing the granting of a motion to strike, we construe the facts alleged in the complaint in a light most favorable to the pleader.” Id., 384.

Also on that date, all counsel agreed that the amended complaint is the operative complaint and that the motion to strike, filed May 19, 2003, shall be applied to it. Counsel are to be commended for their vigorous but professional presentation of the case, their cooperation to frame the issues precisely and their collegiality in court.

I

FACTS

The court finds the following summary of facts, taken as true, to be those pertinent to its decision. While many of the facts alleged in each count overlap, some allegations are specifically directed at certain defendant police officers. The court will first deal with the facts necessary for a disposition of the governmental immunity claim. If the defendant town is successful in its motion to strike on the basis of governmental immunity, it will be unnecessary to resolve the second part of the motion to strike, which deals with the wrongful death claim made on behalf of the unborn fetus.

The amended complaint consists of sixteen counts. The odd numbered counts are brought by the plaintiff as administratrix of the estate of McMechen, the decedent. The even numbered counts are brought by the plaintiff as administratrix of the estate of Baby Boy McMechen, [443]*443an allegedly viable fetus carried by the decedent, and are identical to the corresponding counts brought on behalf of the estate of McMechen. Counts one and two are brought against the town for municipal liability pursuant to General Statutes § 52-557n, and for wrongful death pursuant to § 52-555. Counts three through thirteen are brought against several individual officers of the Plainfield police department. Counts fifteen and sixteen are brought against the town for indemnification pursuant to General Statutes § 7-465 and for wrongful death pursuant to § 52-555.

The court begins its analysis of the facts with certain background information not directly alleged in the complaint.1 This background is necessary to distinguish the present case from situations which might arise in larger towns or urban settings. Generally, the town of Plainfield is a town of modest size located in rural eastern Connecticut. The State of Connecticut Register and Manual reports the 2000 census population figure for Plainfield at 14,619 persons. The vast majority of those citizens are law-abiding and have never been arrested. They have only a passing acquaintance, if any, with the local police department. It is not such a large town that the police department would not be expected to have a working knowledge of the convicted felons with a history of violence within the town or those residents with a history of multiple arrests. If certain geographic pockets or neighborhoods within the town have a disproportionately high incidence of criminal activity within the town, the police department would [444]*444be expected to have such knowledge. If certain families within the town had an extensive history over time of criminal and disruptive behavior, the police department of such a town should be expected to know that information. That information is, or should be, common knowledge within the law enforcement community within the town. In short, at all times relevant herein, the officers of the Plainfield police department knew or should have known of Latour and his antisocial and criminal propensities by reputation if not by personal contact.

Count one of the amended complaint, against the town, alleges that several members of the Plainfield police department (department) were, at all relevant times, acting within the scope of their employment. The complaint further alleges that the town “knew or reasonably should have known that Michael Latour had an extensive criminal history that included a history of violence and also violence toward women in particular.” Specifically, the complaint alleges that, in 1994, (when Latour was seventeen years of age) he had been convicted of assault in the first degree of his then girlfriend. Initially, Latour was given a fully suspended sentence, but violated his probation within one month of receiving his sentence.2 He was found in violation of probation and ordered to serve five years of his sentence. He was released in 1999. After his release from prison, Latour had five arrests for incidents not involving McMechen. Three of these arrests involved violent and assaultive behavior, two of which were against women.

There were also four separate incidents between Latour and McMechen known to the department. The [445]*445first incident occurred on May 27, 2001, when McMechen made a complaint against Latour to the Connecticut state police for an assault upon her that occurred three weeks earlier. As part of this complaint, McMechen disclosed that she might be pregnant with Latour’s child. The assault included kicks, strikes, threats on her life and an attempted strangulation, among other assaultive and violent behavior. A Connecticut state police trooper informed Officer Esposito of the department of the substance of the allegations against Latour made by McMechen. The trooper also told Esposito that McMechen “wanted these incidents to be known in case Latour were to kill her.” Esposito asked Officer Geyer, also of the department, to speak with McMechen about the incident. McMechen told Geyer that she was afraid of Latour. Geyer conveyed the substance of his conversation with McMechen to Officer Esposito, who wrote a report indicating that he would contact the office of the state’s attorney regarding the incident, but no such contact was ever made.

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Bluebook (online)
849 A.2d 7, 48 Conn. Supp. 440, 2004 Conn. Super. LEXIS 102, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/florence-v-town-of-plainfield-connsuperct-2004.