Conn. Gen. Stat. » Title 07 — MUNICIPALITIES · Chapter 97 — Municipalities: General Provisions
Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-108 (2026)

City or borough liable for damage done by mobs

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section CT-CGAcga.ct.gov (official) JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
Each city and borough shall be liable for all injuries to person or property, including injuries causing death, when such injuries are caused by an act of violence of any person or persons while a member of, or acting in concert with, any mob, riotous assembly or assembly of persons engaged in disturbing the public peace, if such city or borough, or the police or other proper authorities thereof, have not exercised reasonable care or diligence in the prevention or suppression of such mob, riotous assembly or assembly engaged in disturbing the public peace. Any person claiming damages under this section from any city or borough shall give written notice to the clerk of the city or borough of such claim and of the injury upon which such claim is based, containing a general description of such injury and of the time, place and cause of its occurrence, within thirty days after the occurrence of such injury; and an administrator or executor seeking to recover damages for the death of a decedent whom such administrator or executor represents shall give such written notice within thirty days after his or her appointment; provided such notice shall be given not later than four months after the date of the injury so causing the death of the decedent whom such administrator or executor represents. The expense for which such city or borough is made liable to the state under the provisions of this section shall, if more than one municipal corporation is jointly responsible for the expense aforesaid, be assessed by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, the Attorney General and the Comptroller, acting as a board of assessors. Such board of assessors may apportion such expense among the different municipal corporations so jointly responsible in such manner as to it seems just. An appeal from the action of such board of assessors may be taken to the superior court for the judicial district in which the appellant city or borough is situated, and, if the cities or boroughs concerned are located in different judicial districts, then such appeal may be taken to the superior court for that judicial district in which the city or borough concerned having the largest population according to the last-preceding census is located. The amount of such assessment against any city or borough for which it is liable to the state under the provisions of this section shall be certified to the clerk of such city or borough by the Comptroller as soon as such assessment is made, and the appeal from such assessment provided herein shall be taken by such city or borough within thirty days from the receipt by it of such certificate of assessment by the Comptroller.

(1949 Rev., S. 698; P.A. 76-436, S. 254, 681; P.A. 77-614, S. 139, 610; P.A. 78-280, S. 1, 3, 127; P.A. 80-483, S. 176, 186; P.A. 00-99, S. 23, 154; P.A. 01-195, S. 12, 181.)

History: P.A. 76-436 included references to judicial districts and substituted superior court for court of common pleas, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 77-614 substituted commissioner of revenue services for tax commissioner, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 78-280 deleted references to counties; P.A. 80-483 substituted secretary of the office of policy and management for commissioner of revenue services; P.A. 00-99 deleted provision re liability of city and borough for compensation of sheriff or deputy for suppressing mob or riotous assembly and preserving public peace, effective December 1, 2000; P.A. 01-195 made technical changes for purposes of gender neutrality, effective July 11, 2001.

See Sec. 51-197b re administrative appeals.

Cited. 178 C. 520; 187 C. 147; 208 C. 161; 211 C. 501.

Cited. 28 CA 277.

When municipality not liable. 30 CS 67.

(Return to Chapter
Table of Contents)		 (Return to
List of Chapters)		 (Return to
List of Titles)

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11 cases, 1974–2018 · leading case: Shore v. Town of Stonington, 444 A.2d 1379 (Conn. 1982).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Shore v. Town of Stonington, 444 A.2d 1379 (Conn. 1982). · cites it 16× “Groton, supra, 523-24 (General Statutes § 7-108). [4] In this case, however, there is no analogous statute providing an action against Sylvia under these circumstances.”
Sestito v. City of Groton, 423 A.2d 165 (Conn. 1979). · cites it 15× “The plaintiff sued the defendants under two statutes, General Statutes §§ 7-108 and 7-465. We conclude that there was evidence which could have led the jury reasonably and legally to find the defend *524 ants liable under either or both statutes; and, therefore, the trial court…”
Cimino v. Yale Univ., 638 F. Supp. 952 (D. Conn. 1986). · cites it 13× “In the seventh count of the complaint, plaintiffs invoke Conn.Gen.Stat. § 7-108 which purports to waive governmental immunity for the negligent failure of a municipality to suppress a mob, riotous assembly, or group engaged in disturbing the peace.”
Gordon v. Bridgeport Hous. Auth., 544 A.2d 1185 (Conn. 1988). · cites it 2× “Another exception is where “a statute may specifically provide for a cause of action against an official or a municipality for failure to enforce certain laws, such as those designed to prevent disturbances of the peace by riotous assemblies.”
Evon v. Andrews, 559 A.2d 1131 (Conn. 1989). · cites it 2× “, General Statutes § 7-108 creating municipal liability for damage done by mobs; and third, where the alleged acts involve malice, wantonness or intent to injure, rather than negligence.”
Purzycki v. Town of Fairfield, 708 A.2d 937 (Conn. 1998). · cites it 2× “Other recognized exceptions include the situation where “ ‘a statute may specifically provide for a cause of action against an official or a municipality for failure to enforce certain laws, such as those designed to prevent disturbances of the peace by riotous assemblies.”
Brooks v. Powers, 178 A.3d 366 (Conn. 2018). · cites it 2× “, General Statutes § 7-108 [creating municipal liability for damage done by mobs]; and third, where the alleged acts involve malice, wantonness or intent to injure, rather than negligence.”
Kolaniak v. Bd. of Educ., 610 A.2d 193 (Conn. App. Ct. 1992). · cites it 2× “, General Statutes § 7-108 creating municipal liability for damage done by mobs; and third, where the alleged acts involve malice, wantonness or intent to injure, rather than negligence.”
Windham Cmty. Mem'l Hosp. v. City of Willimantic, 348 A.2d 651 (Conn. 1974). “…consolidated town and city and consolidated town and borough”; § 7-103 refers to a “town, city or borough” officer; § 7-108 refers to “city and borough”; §§ 7-110, 7-113, 7-125b, 7-125c, 7-125d, 7-127a, 7-129, 7-130, 7-131, 7-131? refer to “town, city or borough.” As stated…”
Doe v. United Soc. & Mental Health Servs., Inc., 670 F. Supp. 1121 (D. Conn. 1987). “Section 7-108, Conn.Gen.Stat., as quoted in Sestito v.”
Fifield v. South Hill Ltd. P'ship, 20 F. Supp. 2d 366 (D. Conn. 1998). · cites it 2× “Construing the cross-claim against the background of the complaint, the court found that the plaintiffs claims against the City and the police officers were based on their statutory duties and responsibilities under C.G.S.A. §§ 7-108 and 7-284. These statutory duties and…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.