Conn. Civ. Jury Instr. 3.9-24

The plaintiff alleges that (he/she) sustained personal injuries because of a public nuisance on

land under the control of the defendant. A public nuisance exists if:

1) the condition complained of has a natural tendency to create danger and inflict

injury upon person or property;

2) the danger created is a continuing one;

3) the use of the land is unreasonable or unlawful; and

4) the condition or conduct complained of interferes with a right common to the

general public. As to this element, the test is not whether the nuisance in fact

annoyed a number of persons. Rather, the plaintiff must prove that the injury

occurred while the plaintiff was exercising rights which are common to all

members of the public, rights that anyone in that circumstance was entitled to

engage in at the time.

If you find that the plaintiff has proved that the defendant allowed the land to be used in such a

way that each element of a public nuisance has been established, then the plaintiff has

established that the defendant is liable to the plaintiff, provided the plaintiff proves that the

nuisance was a proximate cause of the injuries suffered by the plaintiff. If the plaintiff fails to

prove any one element, then a public nuisance has not been established.