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****************************************************** The ``officially released'' date that appears near the beginning of each opinion is the date the opinion will be published in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it was released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the beginning of all time periods for filing postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the ``officially released'' date appearing in the opinion. In no event will any such motions be accepted before the ``officially released'' date. All opinions are subject to modification and technical correction prior to official publication in the Connecticut Reports and Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event of discrepancies between the electronic version of an opinion and the print version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest print version is to be considered authoritative. The syllabus and procedural history accompanying the opinion as it appears on the Commission on Official Legal Publications Electronic Bulletin Board Service and in the Connecticut Law Journal and bound volumes of official reports are copyrighted by the Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may not be reproduced and distributed without the express written permission of the Commission on Official Legal Publications, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. ****************************************************** JOSEPH R. HOLT ET AL. v. PEOPLE'S BANK (AC 19976)
Schaller, Dranginis and Stoughton, Js. Argued December 11, 2000--officially released April 3, 2001 Counsel

Brenden P. Leydon, for the appellants (plaintiffs). Thomas R. Gerarde, for the appellee (defendant).
Opinion

STOUGHTON, J. The plaintiffs appeal from the judgment of the trial court rendered in favor of the defendant in this premises liability action. The plaintiff Joseph Holt sought damages for injuries that he sustained in a fall that occurred while he was on the defendant's premises. The plaintiff Donna Holt joined in the action claiming damages for loss of consortium.1 The defendant, People's Bank, interposed a special defense, alleging negligence on the part of the plaintiff. The case was tried to an attorney trial referee, who issued a report in which he concluded that the plaintiff's own negligence barred recovery. The plaintiffs timely filed a motion to correct this finding, which the court denied. They then filed objections to the acceptance of the report of the

attorney trial referee and exceptions to the report of the attorney trial referee, which were both heard and overruled by the trial court. The court subsequently accepted the report and rendered judgment for the defendant. This appeal followed. The plaintiffs claim that the attorney trial referee improperly (1) found that the plaintiff slipped on his way to the teller in the same area where he ultimately fell, thus imputing knowledge of the hazard to him, and (2) premised his conclusion that the plaintiff was negligent on the fact that the plaintiff was wearing cowboy boots with smooth leather soles. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. The attorney trial referee's report included the following relevant findings of fact and conclusions of law. On January 9, 1996, the defendant owned and controlled an office at 3 Pickwick Plaza in Greenwich. The bank had two entrances that led from the outside to the interior of the bank and the teller counter. On the previous day, heavy snow had fallen, and, on January 9, 1996, approximately nineteen inches of snow and ice had accumulated on the ground in Greenwich. Because customers tracked snow, slush and water into the bank, bank personnel placed warning signs at each entrance and periodically mopped the floor of the bank. In the mid-afternoon of January 9, 1996, the plaintiff parked his car in a parking garage located near the rear entrance of the bank. He was wearing cowboy boots with smooth leather soles and walked along a snow covered path to the rear entrance of the bank. He walked across the lobby to a customer desk and waited in line for the next teller. While in line, the plaintiff noticed an accumulation of water and slush on the floor. As he walked toward Wesley Jaramillo, the next available teller, Jaramillo noticed the plaintiff slip, but not fall, on the area in front of the tellers. After the plaintiff completed his transaction, he turned, walked across the same area from which he came and slipped and fell on an accumulation of snow, ice, slush and water. The plaintiff became soaked with water and slush while he was on the floor. The attorney trial referee concluded that the plaintiff was a business visitor and that the defendant was negligent, but he also concluded that the plaintiff, himself, was negligent. The referee concluded that the plaintiff's negligence was 70 percent of the total negligence that caused his fall and, thus, that he was barred from recovery pursuant to General Statutes

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Connecticut Law