183 A.2d 753 | Conn. Super. Ct. | 1962
On February 25, 1961, at approximately 6 p.m., the defendant left her automobile standing on the street in front of her home at 354 Priscilla Street, Bridgeport. It was dark at the time. The keys were left in the ignition. During the next half hour, a thief stole the car and ultimately struck the plaintiff's parked automobile, causing damage in the amount of $361.78. The area from which the defendant's automobile was stolen is a residential area, consisting mainly of two-family houses. Approximately five or six blocks away from the defendant's home is a commercial area.
The defendant claims that the act of the thief was an intervening cause, cutting off any possible liability on the part of the defendant. The plaintiff citesBlock v. Pascucci,
In Lombardi v. Wallad,
In Collins v. City National Bank Trust Co.,
In the present case, the court finds that leaving an automobile on a city street, after dark, with the keys in the ignition, was a negligent act, and that the defendant should have foreseen the distinct possibility that a thief might steal the car and cause damage to innocent persons.
Judgment may therefore enter for the plaintiff to recover the sum of $361.78, plus costs.