Levandoski v. Cone

841 A.2d 208 (2004)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

P, a police officer, responded to a complaint about a noisy party taking place at the home of David Baskin. When P and his partner arrived at the residence, they approached the house from different sides in order to observe the party. P, watching from behind bushes and a tree, saw a group of young persons playing basketball, and heard music and noise. He then heard someone announce the arrival of the police and saw cans of what he assumed was beer being discarded. P then saw D retrieve some items from a bag in the garage, walk down the driveway while peering over his shoulder, and then put some sandwich size plastic baggies in his pants. P believed that the baggies contained marijuana. P turned his flashlight on D and requested that he remove the baggies from his pants. In order to avoid being arrested, D began to run away toward some woods. P ordered him to stop but D refused and P pursued him into the woods. Just as P was about to apprehend D, P fell off of a ledge onto some rocks. P suffered severe injuries to his hip and knee, including lacerations, dislocation of the hip, and a 20 percent permanent disability of his lower right leg. P sued D. The town intervened to recover the amount of its workers' compensation lien, and P filed an offer of judgment in the amount of $100,000, which D did not accept. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of P in the total amount of $147,535, which consisted of $65,000 in noneconomic damages and $82,535 in economic damages. The trial court denied D's postverdict motions and granted the town's request for permission to withdraw its intervening complaint because it had reached a settlement with P in the amount of $58,000. The court denied D's request to reduce the award by the amount of the town's lien and awarded P prejudgment interest on the verdict pursuant to General Statutes § 52-192a. D appealed.