Graham v. Comm'r of Transp., 195 A.3d 664

On Dec. 12, 2011 plaintiff Barry Graham crashed on I-95's Gold Star Memorial Bridge after sliding on black ice and sued the Commissioner of Transportation under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 13a-144 (defective highway statute).
State Police had reported earlier ice-related accidents on the bridge and notified DOT operations at 5:49 a.m.; DOT called out an off-hour crew that could not reach and treat the bridge before Graham's 6:38 a.m. crash.
DOT submitted affidavits and logs that its crew followed off-hour protocol and that electronic warning boards were activated; plaintiff submitted contrary testimony about pervasive black ice and lack of visible warnings.
Trial court granted DOT summary judgment, finding DOT’s response time reasonable; Appellate Court reversed, holding a genuine issue whether State Police unreasonably failed to close the bridge and that § 13a-144 can waive immunity for state employees’ conduct.
This certified appeal asked whether § 13a-144’s waiver of sovereign immunity extends to State Police conduct (and whether Lamb v. Burns should be overruled).
Supreme Court declined to overrule Lamb but limited Lamb’s reach: waiver extends to non-DOT state employees only when (1) they perform duties related to highway maintenance and (2) there is evidence of a relationship (a “Lamb-type” relationship) linking the employee’s role to the Commissioner’s statutory duty; here, the record lacked evidence of such a relationship as to the State Police.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Does § 13a-144 waive sovereign immunity for negligent acts of State Police (failing to close bridge)?	Graham: statute’s plain text waives immunity for "the state or any of its employees," so State Police conduct can support a §13a-144 claim.	Commissioner: waiver limited to commissioner (and DOT employees); Lamb was wrongly decided and should be overruled.	Court: Lamb remains good law but narrowed — waiver covers non-DOT employees only when performing highway‑maintenance duties and a Lamb‑type relationship to the Commissioner is proven; no such relationship shown here, so State Police conduct cannot impose liability on Commissioner.

Lamb v. Burns, 202 Conn. 158 (Conn. 1987) (held § 13a-144 waives immunity for the state or any employee "at least when performing duties related to highway maintenance")
White v. Burns, 213 Conn. 307 (Conn. 1990) (discusses scope of commissioner’s duty under § 13a-144 and the terms "neglect" and "default")
Ormsby v. Frankel, 255 Conn. 670 (Conn. 2001) (elements plaintiff must prove in § 13a-144 action)
Hicks v. State, 297 Conn. 798 (Conn. 2010) (waivers of sovereign immunity are few and narrowly construed)
Envirotest Sys. Corp. v. Comm’r of Motor Vehicles, 293 Conn. 382 (Conn. 2009) (statutes waiving sovereign immunity construed to make least change in immunity)
Conboy v. State, 292 Conn. 642 (Conn. 2009) (legislature must express waiver of sovereign immunity in explicit statutory language)