Peterson v. Sypher

• Decision Date: 19 January 1972
• Citation: 295 A.2d 560,162 Conn. 616
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court
• Parties: Martin R. PETERSON et al. v. Irving SYPHER.

Page 560

295 A.2d 560

162 Conn. 616

Martin R. PETERSON et al. v. Irving SYPHER.

Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Jan. 19, 1972.

Frank DeNezzo, Hartford, with whom was Paul B. Groobert, Manchester, for appellant (defendant).

Herbert A. Lane, Willimantic, with whom, on the brief, was Jerome A. Rosen, and Daniel K. Lamont, Willimantic, for appellees (plaintiffs).

Before HOUSE, C.J., and THIM, RYAN, SHAPIRO and LOISELLE, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

On February 23, 1964, the plaintiff Gustave R. Peterson, while operating his automobile, was involved in a collision with a vehicle owned and operated by the defendant. The plaintiff Martin R. Peterson is a minor son of Gustave and was a passenger in the Peterson vehicle at the time of the accident. The plaintiffs instituted an action in the Superior Court, alleging that the defendant had operated his vehicle in a negligent manner, thereby causing the accident. The action was tried to a jury which awarded damages in the amount of $50,000 to Gustave and $7500 to his son Martin. The defendant's motion to set aside the verdicts as being excessive was denied by the court. ¹ The court, however, held that the verdict in favor of Gustave was not justified and ordered a remittitur of $12,000, which the plaintiff filed. From the judgment in the amount of $38,000 rendered in favor of Gustave R. Peterson, the defendant has appealed. The sole issue before this court is whether the reduced verdict of $38,000 is excessive.

We have held that the ruling of a trial court on a motion to set aside a verdict as being excessive is entitled to great weight; Gorham v. Farmington Motor Inn, Inc., 159 Conn. 576, 585, 271 A.2d 94; Vogel v. Sylvester, 148 Conn. 666, 669, 174 A.2d 122; and we find that the following excerpts from the memorandum of decision are particularly relevant: 'The . . . issue is whether the award to Gustave Peterson was excessive. At the time of the accident, Gustave Peterson was 37 years old and in good health. He was a heavy equipment mechanic operating his own garage. He had been self-employed for over a year and had been a mechanic since he was sixteen years old. The injuries he sustained included a severe laceration of the forehead, a contusion of the right abdomen and kidney, fractures of the 8th, 9th, 11th and 12th ribs, and injury to the thoracic nerve, thrombo-phlebitis in his right leg, injury to his right shoulder resulting in atrophy of the right shoulder area, as well as other serious complications. He was initially hospitalized for a period of thirteen days and was in the intensive care unit for a week with a fever. Breathing was...