Eugene K. Ferryman v. City of Groton

Summary

The Supreme Court of Connecticut held that the exclusive-remedy provision of the Workers' Compensation Act, General Statutes § 31-284 (a), does not bar an original defendant's third-party indemnity claim against the plaintiff decedent's employer where the third-party complaint alleges an independent legal relationship—such as co-owner, bailor-bailee, or lessor-lessee—between the defendant and the employer. Viewing the allegations most favorably to the pleader under the motion-to-strike standard, the court found facially sufficient the claims that Electric Boat owned, operated, maintained, and controlled the substation and controlled access to it, allegations going beyond mere active/passive negligence. The court added that the legislature's express denial of third-party indemnity only in the product liability context, § 52-572r (d), implies no comparable bar in negligence actions. The judgment striking the third-party complaint was set aside and the case remanded.