The Stamford woman who last fall sued the town, two years after she tripped and fell while exiting the Outback Teen Center building, had been inattentive and failed to keep a proper lookout, according to a response to the lawsuit filed on behalf of the municipality.
Patti Becker “was not watchful of her surroundings” and “failed to take the necessary and proper precautions to observe conditions then and there existing or to avoid same,” according to the response, filed on behalf of the town by attorneys with Stamford-based Ryan Ryan Deluca LLP.
“She failed to make reasonable and proper use of her faculties and senses so as to avoid tripping and falling,” said the response. “And she failed to exercise reasonable care for her safety at said time and place.”
In a Jan. 18 filing on behalf of the teen center, attorneys from Musco & Iassogna of New Haven made largely the same arguments.
According to Becker’s complaint, at about 1 p.m. on Oct. 14, 2014 (a Tuesday), while exiting the now-defunct teen center after an event, she “fell from the single step riser in the entrance vestibule of the building and subsequently could not move unassisted.” The lawsuit, filed on Becker’s behalf by her attorneys at Casper & De Toledo, originally had named the structure’s builders as defendants but that later was withdrawn.
She’s seeking in excess of $15,000—a tipping point in civil lawsuit filings.
The building reverted to town property July 1 after the nonprofit organization that owned Outback failed to self-sustain, and a subsequent operator also failed.
The legal matter is scheduled for the short calendar at state Superior Court in Stamford next week.
In its answer, the town expressly denies Becker’s claims.
Its first special defense is that the plaintiff is complaining of alleged acts or omissions that are “discretionary in nature” and New Canaan is protected by a state law that makes it “immune from liability under the doctrine of governmental immunity.”
Why is it ok for you to put this woman’s name in, but not the one who got arrested for letting her dog run loose in Waveny Park, even after numerous warnings?
Where is the consistency, Michael?
I put the names of all parties in civil lawsuits, the only exception being if there are minor children involved in a custody or related matter.
With the exception of very serious crimes such as murder or instances where it is compelled by public safety—for example, if there’s a home serviceman who is accused of burglarizing his clients or something similar—we do not publish the names of those who are arrested. Not here to embarrass or harass anyone, or to cause them Google-able problems in seeking jobs or dates. If you really want to know who these people are, go to the police department, find the case number and request a copy of the incident report.