408 A.2d 273 | Conn. Super. Ct. | 1979
The third party defendant has moved to strike the complaint of the third party plaintiff, the named defendant.
After sustaining severe personal injuries, the plaintiff brought this action against the named defendant, the manufacturer of a safety device, which, if it had functioned properly, would have prevented the injury. The named defendant, hereinafter the third party plaintiff, has made a motion to implead the plaintiff's employer, the Torin Corporation, hereinafter the third party defendant. The third party complaint alleges both that the third party defendant, when it bought the safety device from the third party plaintiff, assumed a duty to the third party plaintiff to make sure the device was working properly and that there was an implied promise of indemnification. The third party defendant raises three grounds in its motion to strike the third party complaint. First, it avers that a buyer has no duty to see that a product is working properly, merely by virtue of the sale. Then it points out that Connecticut courts do not allow contribution between joint tortfeasors if one is actively negligent. Finally, it points out that the plaintiff is already collecting workmen's compensation from it and reminds the court that workmen's compensation is the exclusive remedy against an employer.
There are no Connecticut cases dealing with the question whether a buyer of safety equipment has any duty to the seller. In support of its contention that there is no duty, the third party defendant cites Robinson v. International Harvester Co.,
The second issue deals with contribution among joint tortfeasors. There can be contribution where the actively negligent party was in control of the situation, and the other party had no reason to foresee the negligence. Preferred Accident Ins. Co.
v. Musante,
Finally, workmen's compensation is the exclusive remedy against an employer. General Statutes §
The motion to strike is sustained. The third party defendant employer had no duty of care with regard to the third party plaintiff manufacturer; there can be no contribution among joint tortfeasors; and workmen's compensation is the exclusive remedy against an employer in the absence of some special relationship.