Afonso v. Torres

── Afonso v. Torres ── Court: Connecticut Appellate Court Date: April 14, 2026 Author: Cradle Category: General ************************************************ The “officially released” date that appears near the beginning of an opinion is the date the opinion will be published in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it is released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the beginning of all time periods for the filing of postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the “officially released” date appearing in the opinion. All opinions are subject to modification and technical correction prior to official publication in the Connecti- cut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event of discrepancies between the advance release version of an opinion and the version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest version is to be considered authoritative. The syllabus and procedural history accompanying an opinion that appear in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports are copyrighted by the Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may not be reproduced or distributed without the express written permission of the Commission on Official Legal Publications, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. ************************************************  Afonso v. Torres ANNETTE AFONSO v. ISAIAH TORRES (AC 47580) Cradle, C. J., and Westbrook and Wilson, Js. Syllabus The plaintiff appealed from the trial court’s judgment for the defendant after the granting of his motion for summary judgment with respect to the plaintiff’s claims asserted pursuant to the dog bite statute (§ 22-357) and common-law negligence. The plaintiff claimed, inter alia, that the court improperly rendered summary judgment despite the existence of genuine issues of material fact as to whether the defendant was the keeper of the dog in question as required for liability under § 22-357. Held: The trial court properly rendered summary judgment for the defendant with respect to the plaintiff’s claim pursuant to § 22-357 because there was no genuine issue of material fact regarding the defendant’s status as the keeper of the dog, as the defendant’s limited actions of bringing the dog outside and securing the dog to his leash, at the request of the dog’s owner who was present on the property at the time, did not establish that the defendant exercised control over the dog in a manner similar to that which would ordinarily be exerted by the owner. The trial court properly rendered summary judgment for the defendant with respect to the plaintiff’s common-law negligence claim, or with respect to a premises liability claim if her allegations were so construed, because the plaintiff could not prevail on her claim that the defendant owed her a duty of care, as the defendant was not liable for injuries that were inflicted by a dog that was not owned or kept by him and that occurred on a public street. Argued October 10, 2025—officially released April 14, 2026 Procedural History Action to recover damages for, inter alia, the defen- dant’s alleged negligence, and for other relief, brought to the Superior Court in the judicial district of Waterbury, where the court, Parkinson, J., granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment and rendered judgment thereon, from which the plaintiff appealed to this court. Affirmed. Brendan K. Nelligan, for the appellant (plaintiff). Ashley A. Noel, for the appellee (defendant).  Afonso v. Torres Opinion WILSON, J. The plaintiff, Annette Afonso, appeals from the judgment of the trial court granting the motion for summary judgment filed by the defendant, Isaiah Torres, in this action asserting claims pursuant to Gen- e