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CONNECTICUT OPINIONS DECEMBER 28, 2020 ¦ 31

Plaintiff was a bouncer at a bar. Defendants Mendoza had previously been on vacation did
Kieda and Szwedo were at the bar as customers not make her a “keeper.”
when they initiated an assault against plaintiff ’s
co-worker. Plaintiff tried to diffuse the situa- Court Found There Was a Genuine
tion and tried to restrain Szwedo. Szwedo re- Issue of Material Fact as to Whether
acted violently and caused plaintiff to fall down
a flight of stairs and sustain injuries. Plaintiff Defendants Should Have Had Notice of
sued defendants for assault, battery, and negli- Defective Bike
gence. Kieda filed a motion for summary judg-
ment. The court denied in part. As to the assault CASE: Seymour v. Equinox Greenwich Old Track Rd., Inc.
count, the court denied the motion. It found COURT: Fairfield J.D. at Bridgeport
that there was a genuine issue of material fact DOC. NO.: CV-19-6095443
as to whether the defendants acted in concert COURT OPINION BY: McShane
in the altercation that subsequently led to plain- DATE: December 01, 2020 • PAGES: 9
tiff ’s struggle with Szwedo. Therefore, the court
rejected Kieda’s argument that he did not intend Plaintiff was in a spin class at the gym owned by
to commit an assault against plaintiff. As to the defendants. The pedal basket on her bike came
negligence count, Kieda argued that he did not off, causing her to fall onto the bike frame and sus-
cause plaintiff ’s injuries. He asserted that plain- tain injuries. Plaintiff sued defendants, claiming
tiff ’s injuries were caused by plaintiff ’s struggle that the accident was caused by their negligence.
with Szwedo, and that plaintiff ’s struggle with Defendants filed a motion for summary judg-
Szwedo was an intervening act that caused the ment. The court denied the motion. Defendants
injuries. The court found that there was an issue argued that there was no genuine issue of mate-
as to whether the struggle between Szwedo and rial fact that defendants did not have notice of the
plaintiff was foreseeable and within the scope of alleged defective condition. The court noted that
the risk caused by Kieda’s actions. the evidence established that employees complet-
ed inspections of the spin room and bikes daily.
However, defendants failed to provide any evi-
dence negating plaintiff’s claims that defendants
Court Found Defendant Was Not a did not develop and implement adequate policies
“Keeper” of Dog In Dog-Bite Lawsuit and failed to properly train their employees to in-
spect the equipment. Therefore, there was an issue
CASE: Dubay v. Mendoza regarding whether defendants should have discov-
COURT: New Haven J.D. at Meriden ered the allegedly defective pedal basket if they
DOC. NO.: CV-17-6011012 had adequate policies in place.
COURT OPINION BY: Sizemore
DATE: December 03, 2020 • PAGES: 11
PREMISES LIABILITY • PERSONAL INJURY
Plaintiff filed a lawsuit alleging that she was at-
tacked by a pit bull while she was walking on
the sidewalk near a home. Defendant Mendoza Plaintiff Stated Claim She Was Injured
owned the dog and the dog was located at the as Result of School’s Failure to Follow
nearby home, which was owned by defendant Directive That Doorway Remain Locked
Perry. Perry filed a motion for summary judg-
ment and the court granted it. Plaintiff ’s sole
cause of action against Perry was statutory li- CASE: Deleon v. City of New Britain
ability. The parties agreed that Perry did not COURT: New Britain J.D.
own the dog, that Perry owned the home where DOC. NO.: CV-19-6053137
COURT OPINION BY: Wiese
the dog was found, and that Perry was not at her DATE: December 01, 2020 • PAGES: 4
home during the incident. Therefore, the issue A personal injury plaintiff satisfactorily alleged cau-
before the court was whether Perry was a “keep- sation in her complaint against a city, where she al-
er” of the dog under applicable state law. The leged that a school had breached a written directive
court determined that Perry was not a “keeper” from the school superintendant that a doorway to a
under the statute. Mendoza was the only adult school remain locked at all times. The court denied
present at the home when the incident occurred, a motion to strike the complaint. Plaintiff Jessica
Perry was not present, and Perry was not in Deleon was injured when she entered an elemen-
possession or control of the dog. Just because tary school building through an outside doorway.
Perry had temporarily watched the dog while Plaintiff filed a negligence suit against the city. The

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