Lodge v. Arett Sales Corp.
Connecticut Supreme Court
246 Conn. 563 (1998)
- Written by Kate Luck, JD
Facts
Several firefighters were involved in a collision after the brakes failed on the fire truck they were driving while responding to a false alarm. Two firefighters were killed, and several others were injured. The brakes failed due to negligent maintenance of the truck by the city. Two of the firefighters, the representatives of two firefighters’ estates, and several spouses of the firefighters (collectively, the firefighters) (plaintiffs) sued Baker Protective Services, Inc., Wells Fargo Alarm Services Division, Arett Sales Corporation, and Advanced Automatic Sprinkler Protection Systems, Inc. (collectively, the alarm companies) (defendants) for negligently issuing a false fire alarm. The alarm companies argued that they did not owe a duty to the firefighters because the fire truck’s brake failure was not a reasonably foreseeable result of issuing a false alarm. The firefighters argued that a collision was a foreseeable risk of having a fire truck respond to a fire alarm. The jury found in favor of the firefighters, and the alarm companies appealed. At the time of the lawsuit, the firefighters had already received compensation for their injuries through the workers’-compensation program.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Callahan, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
