Walsh v. Town of Stonington Water Pollution Control Authority
Connecticut Supreme Court
250 Conn. 443, 736 A.2d 811 (1999)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
Residents (defendants) living next to the Town of Stonington’s (plaintiff) sewage-treatment plant brought a private-nuisance suit against Stonington for damages related to the plant’s odors. When issuing jury instructions, the trial court stated that Stonington’s use of the land as a sewage-treatment plant was an objectively reasonable act in isolation but instructed the jury to weigh a multiplicity of factors and the conflicting interests of the residents and Stonington in determining whether the land use was unreasonable under the circumstances. The jury awarded damages to the residents. Stonington appealed, arguing that (1) it was shielded from liability because operating the plant was both permissible and necessary; (2) because the social utility of the plant outweighed the harm to the residents, they were not entitled to damages; and (3) the jury instructions did not properly instruct the jury to weigh Stonington’s interests in evaluating the residents’ private-nuisance claim.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Norcott, J.)
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