Schurgast v. Schumann

242 A.2d 695, 156 Conn. 471, 1968 Conn. LEXIS 628
CourtSupreme Court of Connecticut
DecidedMay 21, 1968
StatusPublished
Cited by118 cases

This text of 242 A.2d 695 (Schurgast v. Schumann) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schurgast v. Schumann, 242 A.2d 695, 156 Conn. 471, 1968 Conn. LEXIS 628 (Colo. 1968).

Opinion

Ryan, J.

In the original action, the plaintiff, Anselm Sehurgast, seeks to recover damages for the destruction by fire of a house which the defendant Eoger M. Schumann had agreed to construct for him. The first count sounds in negligence and sets forth specific acts of negligence by Schumann and his employees, the defendants Louis Corte and Eodney Weed. In the second count, Sehurgast alleges facts for the obvious purpose of relating the essential elements of the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur. Although no demurrer was addressed to this count, it should be noted that, since there is no allegation of negligence on the part of the defendants, it fails to set forth a cause of action. The third count sounds in contract. During the course of the trial, the third count was withdrawn and is not involved in the present appeal. Schumann insti *474 tuted a third-party action against the Aetna Insurance Company, hereinafter sometimes referred to as the third-party defendant and sometimes as Aetna, wherein he sought a judgment declaring that a manufacturers’ and contractors’ liability policy issued to him by the third-party defendant covered the events described in Schurgast’s complaint, that the third-party defendant must defend the action brought against Schumann by Schurgast, and that the third-party defendant must pay any judgment which may he obtained by Schurgast against Schumann up to the limits of the policy.

The trial court found the issues on the original action for Schurgast against Schumann and against Weed and Corte, his two employees. It also found the issues on the third-party action in favor of Schumann, the third-party plaintiff and one of the defendants in the original action, against Aetna, the third-party defendant. Appeals have been taken by the defendants on the original action and by the third-party defendant. We shall consider first the appeal of the original defendants from the judgment of the trial court against them.

I

In their first assignment of error, the original defendants seek to have added to the finding certain facts which they claim are either admitted or undisputed. “This court has the power to correct the finding where it fails to include admitted or undisputed facts. Practice Book § 627; Morrone v. Jose, 153 Conn. 275, 277, 216 A.2d 196; National Broadcasting Co. v. Rose, 153 Conn. 219, 223, 215 A.2d 123. A fact, however, is not admitted or undisputed simply because it is uncontradicted. ... In the instant case, there was no failure on the part *475 of the trial court to include any paragraphs of the draft finding which were admitted or undisputed, as set forth under our rule in cases such as Brown v. Connecticut Light & Power Co., 145 Conn. 290, 293, 141 A.2d 634.” Solari v. Seperak, 154 Conn. 179, 182, 224 A.2d 529.

The second assignment of error attacks certain paragraphs of the finding as having been found without evidence. This claim is without merit since the challenged paragraphs of the finding either are directly supported by the evidence or are based on inferences reasonably drawn from the evidence. Cappiello v. Haselman, 154 Conn. 490, 492, 227 A.2d 79.

The finding is not subject to any material change and discloses the following facts: On August 26, 1959, Schurgast entered into a written agreement with Schumann, a building contractor, in which Schumann agreed to construct a one-family dwelling for Schurgast on land owned by Schurgast in Meriden. Prior to January 11, 1960, Schumann and his employees had begun construction of the Schurgast house. The foundation of the house was completed, the house was framed in, the roof was on, the sides were shingled, the windows and the doors were in place, locks were in the doors, the insulation was in, and the rough plumbing, the rough electrical work and the water service were installed. On the morning of January 11, 1960, the house was completely destroyed by fire. At the time of the fire, Corte and Weed were employees of Schumann and were doing carpentry work on the Schurgast house. Schumann safeguarded the Schurgast house while it was under construction. At Schumann’s instruction the house was locked at night. There were only two keys to the house; Schumann had one, and *476 Corte and Weed shared the other. Schurgast did not have a key to the house. Schumann engaged all subcontractors on the house and directed them as to when to perform their work. Schurgast made no arrangements with subcontractors. Schumann was the only person who gave instructions to his employees; Schurgast gave them no instructions. No one could enter the Schurgast house without the permission of Schumann. On the morning of the fire, Schumann and his employees had control of the .house. Approximately two years prior to the fire, Schumann had purchased a new salamander stove. A salamander is a tool of the trade of a building contractor which is used to heat a building under construction and to dry plaster. Schumann’s salamander was made of heavy-gauge steel, was about five feet high, weighed about twenty-five pounds and burned kerosene. This stove had been used by the defendants on other jobs prior to this one. It was placed in the kitchen on the first floor of the Schurgast house about three weeks before the fire and was used for a period of time prior to the fire. On the morning of the fire, inspection and use of the salamander were within the control of the defendants. The stove rested on three bricks on the kitchen floor. It had no flue or exhaust pipe to the outdoors. It held between three and five gallons of kerosene. The amount of air entering the salamander was regulated by one of two levers. The amount of heat provided was regulated by controlling the amount of air entering the stove. It was necessary to check and clean the salamander regularly to ensure that no dirt or foreign matter would interfere with its proper operation. On the morning of the fire, the salamander was in good condition. Ordinarily, a salamander which is in good *477 condition will not start a fire except as the result of a careless inspection or user. On the morning of the fire, Corte and Weed arrived at the Schurgast house at about 8 a,.m. They filled the stove by having one man pour kerosene from a can, while the other man held open a hole in the stove. They then lit the stove by igniting a piece of paper and inserting it through the hole into which the kerosene had been poured. Shortly thereafter, Corte and Weed began to work in a second-floor bedroom. Sometime between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., Corte left the house to get coffee for himself and Weed. He returned to the house with coffee after fifteen or twenty minutes. Corte passed through the kitchen when he went out and on his return. On going out he locked the rear door. Upon his return, he went back to the second-floor bedroom where he and Weed were working.

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Bluebook (online)
242 A.2d 695, 156 Conn. 471, 1968 Conn. LEXIS 628, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schurgast-v-schumann-conn-1968.