Brenda SNELL v. NORWALK YELLOW CAB, INC., et al.

212 A.3d 646 · Connecticut Supreme Court · decided 2019-08-13 · a3d 212

PALMER, J.
The plaintiff, Brenda Snell, brought this negligence action against the defendants, Johnley Sainval, a taxicab driver, his employer, Norwalk Yellow Cab, Inc. (Yellow Cab), and Vito Bochicchio, Jr., the sole shareholder of Yellow Cab, seeking damages for serious injuries she sustained when she was struck by a taxicab that had been stolen from Sainval by two teenagers after Sainval left the vehicle unattended with the key in the ignition in a Norwalk neighborhood known to have a higher than average crime rate. A jury trial ensued at which the defendants claimed, inter alia, that the conduct of the two thieves was a superseding cause that relieved Sainval of any liability to the plaintiff for his alleged negligence. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury, in response to interrogatories submitted to it by the trial court, found that Sainval was negligent in leaving the taxicab unattended with the key in the ignition; that, in light of the surrounding neighborhood, it was reasonably foreseeable that the vehicle would be stolen and operated in an unsafe manner; and that Sainval's negligence was a proximate cause of some or all of the plaintiff's injuries. The jury also found, nevertheless, that the defendants were not liable for the plaintiff's injuries because the accident that occurred was not within the scope of the risk created by Sainval's negligence.
The plaintiff thereafter filed a motion to set aside the verdict and for a new trial claiming, inter alia, that the jury's finding that Sainval's negligence constituted a proximate cause of the accident was legally inconsistent with its finding that the accident was outside the scope of the risk created by Sainval's negligence. The court denied the motion and rendered judgment in accordance with the jury's verdict. The plaintiff then appealed to the Appellate Court, claiming that (1) it was improper for the trial court to instruct the jury on the doctrine of superseding cause, (2) even if the doctrine were properly submitted to the jury, the court's instructions and interrogatories misled the jury, and (3) the trial court improperly denied the plaintiff's motion to set aside the verdict and for a new trial on the ground that the jury's verdict was irreconcilable with its responses to the interrogatories. Snell v. Norwalk Yellow Cab, Inc. , 172 Conn. App. 38, 41, 158 A.3d 787 (2017). The Appellate Court rejected the plaintiff's claims; id., at 41-42, 158 A.3d 787 ; and we granted the plaintiff's petition for certification to appeal, limited to the following issues: (1) "Did the Appellate Court correctly determine that the judgment of the trial court should be affirmed on the basis that the doctrine of superseding cause applies in cases in which the conduct of a third party is criminally reckless?" Snell v. Norwalk Yellow Cab, Inc. , 325 Conn. 927, 927-28, 169 A.3d 232 (2017). And (2) "Did the Appellate Court correctly determine that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied the plaintiff's motion to set aside the verdict and for a new trial?" Id., at 928, 169 A.3d 232. Although we answer the first question in the affirmative, we answer the second in the negative and, accordingly, reverse the judgment of the Appellate Court.
The opinion of the Appellate Court sets forth the following relevant facts, which the jury reasonably could have found, and procedural history. "On December 3, 2009, Sainval, who was employed by Yellow Cab as a taxicab driver, was operating a taxicab owned by Yellow Cab in Norwalk. In the early evening, he drove the taxicab to Monterey Village, a housing complex located in an area of the city with significant criminal activity. Sainval parked the taxicab and went inside one of the apartments, leaving the taxicab unlocked and unattended with the keys in the ignition.
"Two teenagers, Shaquille Johnson and Deondre Bowden, who that afternoon had been consuming alcohol and smoking marijuana, noticed the parked taxicab. Although they initially intended to steal anything of value that they could find inside the unlocked taxicab, once they observed the keys in the ignition, the two teens decided to steal the taxicab and to go on a 'joy-ride.' They drove the taxicab from Norwalk to Stamford, making one brief stop in between, with each of the teens taking a turn driving the vehicle.
"When they reached Stamford, they [encountered] traffic. At that time, Bowden was driving the taxicab. He 'kind of nodded off' and rear-ended the vehicle in front of him. Bowden, who was both 'tipsy' and 'high,' then attempted to flee the scene. In order to maneuver the taxicab around the vehicle he had struck, Bowden drove the taxicab up over the curb of the road and onto the adjoining sidewalk. In doing so, Bowden first hit a fire hydrant before striking the plaintiff with the taxicab.
"The plaintiff sustained severe physical injuries, particularly to her midsection, requiring millions of dollars in medical expenditures as of the time of trial, with additional treatments and surgeries expected. After hitting the plaintiff, Bowden never attempted to stop the vehicle; he and Johnson exited the stolen taxicab while it was still moving and fled the scene on foot, returning home by train. The police later identified the teens as the individuals involved in the hit and run of the plaintiff and arrested them.
"The plaintiff initially commenced this action solely against Sainval and Yellow Cab. Johnson and Bowden were not named by the plaintiff as defendants in the civil action. Although the defendants filed an apportionment complaint against the two teens, the court later granted the plaintiff's motion to strike the apportionment complaint, agreeing with the plaintiff that apportionment was unavailable in the present case because the misconduct of the teenagers was not pleaded as mere negligence but as reckless or intentional conduct. See General Statutes § 52-572h (o ) ('there shall be no apportionment of liability or damages between parties liable for negligence and parties liable on any basis other than negligence including, but not limited to, intentional, wanton or reckless misconduct'); Allard v. Liberty Oil Equipment Co. , 253 Conn. 787, 801, 756 A.2d 237 (2000) (recognizing that § 52-575h [o] was enacted to expressly overrule in part Bhinder v. Sun Co. , 246 Conn. 223, 234, 717 A.2d 202 [1998], in which [this court] had recognized [common-law] extension of statutory apportionment liability for parties whose conduct was reckless, wilful and wanton).
"The operative second amended complaint contains two counts relevant to the issues on appeal. Count one sounds in negligence against Sainval. According to the plaintiff, Sainval acted negligently by leaving his taxicab in an unguarded public parking lot in a high crime area with the keys in the ignition, which created the reasonably foreseeable risk that the taxicab would be stolen and that a thief would drive the taxicab in an unsafe manner and cause injury to a person or to property. Count two alleges that Yellow Cab was vicariously liable for Sainval's negligence on a theory of respondeat superior. Prior to trial, Yellow Cab conceded that it would be liable to the same extent that Sainval was found liable on count one.
"In their amended answer, the defendants, by way of a special defense, raised the doctrine of superseding cause. The defendants pleaded that, '[i]f the plaintiff sustained the injuries and losses as alleged in her complaint, said injuries and losses were the result of the intentional, criminal, reckless and/or negligent conduct of a third party, which intervened to break the chain of causation between [Sainval's] alleged negligence and/or carelessness and the plaintiff's alleged injuries and losses.' " (Footnotes altered; footnote in original, footnotes omitted.) Snell v. Norwalk Yellow Cab, Inc. , supra, 172 Conn. App. at 42-45, 158 A.3d 787.
"[T]he court initially indicated to the parties that it was not inclined to give a superseding cause instruction to the jury because, on the basis of its reading of ... Barry v. Quality Steel Products, Inc. , [263 Conn. 424, 820 A.2d 258 (2003) ], superseding cause was no longer part of our tort jurisprudence except in limited circumstances, specifically, cases involving either an intervening intentional tort, act of nature, or criminal event that was unforeseeable to the defendant. The court suggested that the exception was not at issue in the present case because, under the plaintiff's theory of liability, the intervening theft of the car was entirely foreseeable.
"The defendants, however, argued that the court was focusing on the wrong criminal act. They indicated that it was not necessarily the theft of the taxicab in this case that warranted an instruction on superseding cause but the unforeseeability of the thieves' subsequent criminal conduct, namely, intentionally driving the taxicab up onto a sidewalk to evade responsibility for a rear-end collision and the ensuing criminal assault on the plaintiff. Furthermore, the defendants noted that part of the court's rationale in Barry for abandoning the doctrine of superseding cause in cases alleging that an intervening negligent act or acts contributed to a plaintiff's injuries was that apportionment of liability between tortfeasors was permitted, which would prevent a less culpable defendant from inequitably shouldering full responsibility for injuries that resulted from multiple negligent acts. The defendants contended that, unlike Barry , this case involved intervening actions of other tortfeasors that were not merely negligent but reckless and criminal. In such a case, the defendants argued, apportionment of liability is unavailable by statute; see General Statutes § 52-572h (o ) ; and, thus, the primary policy rationale underlying the abolishment of the doctrine of superseding cause was absent. The court indicated that it would review the case law and give the issue further consideration in light of these arguments.
"[Subsequently], the court provided counsel with the latest draft of its jury instructions and also with copies of draft interrogatories that the court intended to submit to the jury. The court indicated that the current version of the instructions included a new paragraph that the court had decided to add after further consideration of the case law concerning superseding cause and its discussions with the parties. That paragraph instructed the jury to consider whether the theft of the taxicab and the resulting accident involved intentional acts that were outside the scope of the risk created by Sainval's conduct, and that if the jury found this to be so, then the defendants should not be found responsible for the plaintiff's injuries because the conduct of the two teens would have been the proximate cause of those injuries, thus relieving the defendants of any liability. The court also drafted a new, related interrogatory that asked the jury to state whether the 'accident' that occurred was outside the scope of the risk created by Sainval's act of leaving the keys in the ignition of the taxicab. The court directed the jury to return a verdict for the defendants if the answer to that inquiry was yes.
"Following the close of evidence later that day, the court held a charging conference. At the charging conference, the plaintiff stated that it believed the additional paragraph added by the court to its latest draft instructions was unnecessary and confusing and that, in defining and explaining the concept of proximate cause, the court adequately had covered both foreseeability and whether Sainval's conduct was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff's injuries. The plaintiff also stated that she did not think there was any evidence from which the jury could construe that the teens had intentionally sought to harm her. The court suggested that the additional instruction was necessary to comport with case law, referring in particular to Sullivan v. Metro-North Commuter Railroad Co. , 292 Conn. 150, 971 A.2d 676 (2009). It indicated its belief that foreseeability for purposes of determining negligence and scope of the risk for purposes of applying superseding cause, although closely related, were slightly different concepts. The court agreed that there was nothing in the record to support a finding that the assault on the plaintiff was intentional but noted that the two teens had also engaged in other criminal conduct, including intentionally stealing the taxicab and intentionally fleeing the scene to evade responsibility after striking the plaintiff.
"The defendants noted that, although the court's proposed jury instruction made reference to a special defense, it never identified that defense; in fact, the term 'superseding cause' was never used by the court. The defendants argued that they intended to reference that term in ... closing arguments and that they were entitled to a separate charge addressing their superseding cause defense. The defendants also took the position that, unlike in criminal law, tort law made no meaningful distinction between reckless and intentional conduct, and, thus, they asserted that it was inconsequential whether the criminal assault on the plaintiff was the result of intentional or reckless conduct for purposes of applying the doctrine of superseding cause.
"On December 11, 2014, prior to closing arguments, the plaintiff requested that the court change the order of the proposed interrogatories. The interrogatory that the court had added regarding scope of the risk, which the court indicated related to the special defense of superseding cause, was, at the time, interrogatory number four. Interrogatory number five at that time asked whether the plaintiff had proven that some or all of her injuries were proximately caused by Sainval. The plaintiff argued that because proximate cause was an element of her prima facie case, it made more sense for the jury to answer that interrogatory and fully establish a prima facie case before turning to any consideration of a special defense. According to the plaintiff, this would also negate the need for a retrial in the event there was a defendants' verdict on the special defense that was overturned later on appeal; all that would be required would be a hearing in damages. The defendants did not agree that a switch was necessary. The court nevertheless indicated that it would most likely make the switch and later incorporated the change in the interrogatories it submitted to the jury. The court also indicated that it had made some additional changes based [on] the positions of the parties at the charging conference, including referring to the doctrine of superseding cause by name. "After the parties concluded their closing arguments, the court read its instructions to the jury. The relevant portions of the court's instructions for purposes of the present appeal are those addressing proximate causation, which provided in relevant part as follows: 'Once you've gotten past factual causation, you need to address proximate cause. Proximate cause means that there must be a sufficient causal connection between the act or omission alleged, and any injury or damage sustained by the plaintiff.
" 'An act or omission is a proximate cause if it was a substantial factor in bringing about or actually causing the injury. That is, if the injury or damage was a direct result, or a reasonable and probable consequence of the defendant's act or omission, it was proximately caused by such an act or omission.
" 'In other words, if an act had such an effect in producing the injury that reasonable persons would regard it as being a cause of the injury, then the act or omission is a proximate cause. In order to recover damages for any injury, the plaintiff must show by a preponderance of the evidence that such injury would not have occurred without the negligence of the defendant.
" 'If you find that the plaintiff complains about an injury which would have occurred even in the absence of the defendant's conduct, or is not causally connected to this accident, you must find that the defendant did not proximately cause that injury.
" 'Under the definitions I have given you, negligent conduct can be a proximate cause of an injury, if it is not the only cause, or even the most significant cause of the injury, provided it contributes materially to the production of the injury, and thus is a substantial factor in bringing it about.
" 'Therefore, when a defendant's negligence combines together with one or more other causes to produce an injury, such negligence is a proximate cause of the injury if its contribution to the production of the injury, in comparison to all other causes, is material or substantial.
" 'When, however, some other causal causes contributes so powerfully to the production of an injury, as to make the defendant's negligent contribution to the injury merely trivial or inconsequential, the defendant's negligence must be rejected as a proximate cause of the injury, for it has not been a substantial factor in bringing the injury about.
" 'Or to put it another way, if you find that the injury would have been sustained, whether or not the defendant had been negligent, his negligence would not have been a proximate cause of the accident. It is your responsibility to determine which, if any, of the injuries and damages claimed by the plaintiff were proximately caused by the conduct of the defendant.
" 'The defendants have claimed that the theft and operation of the car by [Johnson] and [Bowden], and the resulting accident, constituted such an event, an event that was so overpowering in consequence as to render any possible negligence on the part of defendant Sainval relatively insignificant, and therefore not a proximate cause of the injuries sustained by plaintiff.
" 'Foreseeability of the car being stolen, something you would have considered in connection with determining whether [Sainval]
was negligent, also may be considered in this regard. It is for you to decide whether the theft of the car and subsequent manner of operation [were] so overwhelming in significance, or whether they constituted a concurrent proximate cause but not of sufficient magnitude as to render [Sainval's] negligence inconsequential.
" 'To put it another way, if you find that the theft of the car and subsequent driving of the vehicle and resulting accident were intentional acts that were not within the scope of the risk which was created by [Sainval's] conduct, then the defendant[s] could not be found responsible for the injuries to the plaintiff as the conduct of [Johnson] and [Bowden] would have been the proximate cause of the injuries sustained by the plaintiff, thereby relieving the defendant[s] of any liability.
" 'To the extent that you find that the plaintiff has proven, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the negligence of defendant Sainval was a proximate cause of any or all of the injuries and damages claimed to have been sustained by the plaintiff, as I have defined proximate cause to you, you are to proceed to determine the issues as to the amount of damages, following the rules I'm about to give you.'
"Following the jury charge, the court inquired whether the parties had any additional objections to the charge other than those raised at the charge conference.
Neither party raised any additional objections. A written copy of the court's charge was made an exhibit and provided to the jury.
"The following day, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendants. The relevant interrogatories submitted to the jury, and the jury's response[s], are as follows: '1. Did [the] plaintiff ... prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that ... Sainval failed to exercise reasonable care when he left the keys to his taxicab in the vehicle, when he went inside the apartment complex at Monterey Village on the evening of December 3, 2009? [Answer] Yes ... [If the answer is 'YES,' go to interrogatory #2; if the answer is 'NO,' sign and date this form and the defendants' verdict form, and then report that you have reached a verdict.] 2. Did [the] plaintiff prove that it was reasonably foreseeable that a motor vehicle, left in a parking area of Monterey Village with the key in the ignition on the evening of December 3, 2009, might be stolen? [Answer] Yes ... [If the answer is 'YES,' go to interrogatory #3; if the answer is 'NO,' sign and date this form and the defendants' verdict form, and then report that you have reached a verdict.] 3. Did [the] plaintiff prove that it was reasonably foreseeable that if a motor vehicle were to be stolen from the parking area at Monterey Village, it might be in an accident, causing injury? [Answer] Yes ... [If the answer is 'YES,' go to interrogatory #4; if the answer is 'NO,' sign and date this form and the defendants' verdict form, and then report that you have reached a verdict.] 4. Did [the] plaintiff ... prove that some or all of the injuries she sustained on the evening of December 3, 2009, were proximately caused by the negligence of ... Sainval? [Answer] Yes ... [If the answer is 'YES,' go to interrogatory #5; if the answer is 'NO,' sign and date this form and the defendants' verdict form, and then report that you have reached a verdict.] 5. Did [the] defendant[s] prove that the accident that occurred on December 3, 2009 was outside the scope of risk created by [Sainval's] leaving his key in the ignition of a car parked at Monterey Village? [Answer] Yes ....' The directions contained in the interrogatories instructed the jury to return a defendants' verdict if it answered interrogatory five in the affirmative, and, therefore, the jury did not respond to the remainder of the interrogatories submitted. The court accepted the jury's verdict.
"The plaintiff filed a postjudgment motion asking the court to set aside the verdict and to order a new trial. The plaintiff argued that, despite the jury having found that the theft of the taxicab and the subsequent accident resulting in injuries were foreseeable and that Sainval's actions were a proximate cause of her injuries, the jury instructions and attendant interrogatories permitted the jury to simultaneously and inconsistently find that her being struck by the taxicab in the manner that occurred nevertheless was outside the scope of the risk created by Sainval's negligence.
"The court issued a detailed and thorough memorandum of decision denying the plaintiff's motion. The court found that there was no basis for concluding that it should not have submitted the doctrine of superseding cause to the jury in this case or that the resulting verdict and interrogatories were fatally inconsistent. The court explained that it saw 'nothing inherently inconsistent with a jury finding a "standard" proximate cause instruction satisfied, while also later finding superseding cause established when viewed from the [alternative] perspective of a charge on that point.' " (Footnotes added; footnotes omitted.) Snell v. Norwalk Yellow Cab, Inc. , supra, 172 Conn. App. at 46-54, 158 A.3d 787.
On appeal to the Appellate Court, the plaintiff claimed that the doctrine of superseding cause should not have been submitted to the jury because it applies only to superseding acts that were unforeseeable and intended to cause harm, and Bowden's reckless operation of the taxicab satisfied neither of those requirements. Id., at 54-55, 158 A.3d 787. The plaintiff also argued that, even if the superseding cause doctrine were applicable, the trial court's instructions misled the jury by failing to adequately define the phrase "scope of the risk" in the context of determining whether Bowden's actions were a superseding cause of the plaintiff's injuries. Id., at 68-70, 158 A.3d 787. Finally, the plaintiff maintained that the trial court improperly had denied her motion to set aside the verdict and for a new trial on the ground that the jury's finding of a superseding cause was irreconcilable with its finding that Sainval's negligence was the proximate cause of some or all of the plaintiff's injuries. Id., at 71-73, 158 A.3d 787.
The Appellate Court rejected the plaintiff's claims. Id., at 41-42, 158 A.3d 787. With respect to her contention that the doctrine of superseding cause applies only to intervening acts that were intended to cause harm, the Appellate Court explained that when this court abolished the superseding cause doctrine in cases involving intervening acts of negligence, it expressly exempted from its holding, among other types of intervening forces, unforeseeable "criminal event[s]"; Barry v. Quality Steel Products, Inc. , supra, 263 Conn. at 439 n.16, 820 A.2d 258 ; a category that, in the view of the Appellate Court, included the actions of Bowden and Johnson. Snell v. Norwalk Yellow Cab, Inc. , supra, 172 Conn. App. at 64-65, 158 A.3d 787. With respect to the plaintiff's claim that the doctrine should not have been submitted to the jury because it applies only to superseding acts that were unforeseeable, and Bowden's recklessness represented the kind of risk that made Sainval's conduct negligent in the first place, the Appellate Court responded that, "even in cases in which the risk of a third party's intervention is a generally foreseeable consequence of a defendant's actions, it is a question of fact whether the third party's intervening actions fall somewhere within the hazard created by the defendant's negligence, i.e., within the scope of the risk. Only if the answer to that question is so abundantly clear as to be determinable as a matter of law should the court decline to give an instruction on superseding cause. Otherwise, the inquiry is a factual issue that should be presented to and decided by a jury." Id., at 61, 158 A.3d 787.
The Appellate Court also rejected the plaintiff's contention that the trial court's instructions on superseding cause were so misleading as to necessitate a new trial; id., at 68, 158 A.3d 787 ; concluding that, "although perhaps not perfect in all respects, the instructions were sufficient to inform the jury of the doctrine of superseding cause as pleaded and to guide the jury through its deliberation to a proper verdict." Id., at 71, 158 A.3d 787. Finally, the Appellate Court disagreed with the plaintiff that the trial court improperly denied her motion to set aside the verdict and for a new trial on the ground that the jury's response to the fourth interrogatory, that is, that some or all of the plaintiff's injuries were proximately caused by Sainval's negligence, was irreconcilable with its response to the fifth interrogatory, that is, that the accident that occurred was outside the scope of risk created by Sainval's negligence. Id., at 71-73, 158 A.3d 787. In reaching its determination, the Appellate Court relied on the definition of superseding cause set forth in § 440 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts, which "defines a superseding cause as 'an act of a third person or other force which by its intervention prevents the actor from being liable for harm to another which his antecedent negligence is a substantial factor in bringing about .' ... 2 Restatement (Second), Torts § 440, p. 465 (1965)." (Emphasis in original.) Snell v. Norwalk Yellow Cab, Inc. , supra, 172 Conn. App. at 58, 158 A.3d 787.
The Appellate Court also relied on § 442 B of the Restatement (Second) of Torts; id., at 59-61, 158 A.3d 787 ; which states that, "[if] the negligent conduct of the actor creates or increases the risk of a particular harm and is a substantial factor in causing that harm, the fact that the harm is brought about through the intervention of another force does not relieve the actor of liability, except where the harm is intentionally caused by a third person and is not within the scope of the risk created by the actor's conduct ." (Emphasis added.) 2 Restatement (Second), supra, § 442 B, p. 469. Reading §§ 440 and 442 B together, the Appellate Court reasoned that, because the test for proximate cause is whether the defendant's conduct was "a substantial factor" in producing the plaintiff's injury; (internal quotation marks omitted) Ruiz v. Victory Properties, LLC , 315 Conn. 320, 329, 107 A.3d 381 (2015) ; the jury properly could have found both that Sainval's negligence was a proximate cause of the plaintiff's injuries, that is, it was a substantial factor in producing them, and that the accident that occurred was outside the scope of the risk created by Sainval's negligence. Snell v. Norwalk Yellow Cab, Inc. , supra, 172 Conn. App. at 61, 158 A.3d 787 ; see id. ("even in cases in which the risk of a third party's intervention is a generally foreseeable consequence of a defendant's actions, it is a question of fact whether the third party's intervening actions fall somewhere within the hazard created by the defendant's negligence, i.e., within the scope of the risk").
In reaching its determination, the Appellate Court recognized the inherent tension between the Restatement's definition of superseding cause, which this court has never formally adopted, and our statement in Barry that, "[i]f a third person's [negligence] is found to be the superseding cause of the plaintiff's injuries, that [negligence], rather than the negligence of the party attempting to invoke the doctrine of superseding cause, is said to be the sole proximate cause of the injury ." (Emphasis added; internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., at 58-59 and n.15, 158 A.3d 787, quoting Barry v. Quality Steel Products, Inc. , supra, 263 Conn. at 434-35, 820 A.2d 258. The Appellate Court reasoned, however, that, because "[c]omment (b) of § 440 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts clarifies that '[a] superseding cause relieves the actor of liability, irrespective of whether his antecedent negligence was or was not a substantial factor in bringing about the harm' "; (emphasis omitted) Snell v. Norwalk Yellow Cab, Inc. , supra, 172 Conn. App. at 59 n.15, 158 A.3d 787 ; it was reasonable to construe the "sole proximate cause" language in Barry "not as a repudiation of the Restatement's broader definition but simply as a recognition that, in some cases involving a superseding cause, the superseding event may so diminish the impact of the initial negligence of the defendant that that negligence can no longer be viewed as a substantial factor in bringing about the plaintiff's injury, thus transforming the superseding cause into the sole proximate cause of the harm. This iteration of the doctrine, however, does not expressly preclude that, in certain cases factually distinct from that considered by the court in Barry , the impact of the defendant's initial negligence will not be so diminished by the later intervening act as to fully negate the initial negligence as a substantial factor in causing the harm at issue. In such cases, application of the doctrine of superseding cause may nonetheless be justified to prevent an otherwise inequitable determination regarding liability." Id.
On appeal following our grant of certification, the plaintiff contends that the Appellate Court incorrectly held that the doctrine of superseding cause applies to criminally reckless conduct. In support of this contention, the plaintiff asserts that the Appellate Court's determination conflicts with § 442 B of the Restatement (Second) of Torts, which this court has adopted, and with the Judicial Branch's model civil jury instruction on superseding causes; Connecticut Civil Jury Instructions 3.1-5, available at http://www.jud.ct.gov/JI/Civil/Civil.pdf (last visited August 5, 2019); both of which, the plaintiff maintains, indicate that, for a third party's conduct to qualify as a superseding cause, he or she must have acted with the specific intent to cause injury. The plaintiff further contends that the Appellate Court incorrectly determined that the trial court properly denied the plaintiff's motion to set aside the verdict and for a new trial on the basis of its determination that an intervening force can be foreseeable for purposes of determining proximate cause but not within the scope of the risk for purposes of applying the superseding cause doctrine. The plaintiff argues that, under this state's well established precedent-precedent on which the trial court's jury instructions were predicated-if Sainval's negligence proximately caused some or all of the plaintiff's injuries, then the accident was, by definition, within the scope of the risk created by his negligence. See, e.g., Sapko v. State , 305 Conn. 360, 373, 44 A.3d 827 (2012) ("[t]he fundamental inquiry of proximate cause is whether the harm that occurred was within the scope of foreseeable risk created by the defendant's negligent conduct" [internal quotation marks omitted] ).
The defendants counter that the Appellate Court correctly determined that the jury's interrogatory responses can be reconciled by applying §§ 440 and 442 B of the Restatement (Second) of Torts, pursuant to which the jury reasonably could have found that Sainval's negligence proximately caused the plaintiff's injuries and that Bowden's and Johnson's actions were a superseding cause of the accident. The defendants further argue that, because superseding cause is a special defense that admits the allegations of a complaint but seeks to establish that the plaintiff cannot prevail; see Coughlin v. Anderson , 270 Conn. 487, 501, 853 A.2d 460 (2004) ("[a]s a general rule, facts must be pleaded as a special defense when they are consistent with the allegations of the complaint but demonstrate, nonetheless, that the plaintiff has no cause of action" [internal quotation marks omitted] ); it makes sense that "a jury must first determine that a defendant's negligence is a proximate cause of a plaintiff's injuries before it can consider whether a superseding cause ... intervened to absolve that negligent defendant of liability for those injuries." For the reasons set forth hereinafter, we conclude, contrary to the contention of the plaintiff, that the superseding cause doctrine is applicable to the present case. We also conclude, however, that the plaintiff is entitled to a new trial because the interrogatory responses on which the jury verdict was based are inconsistent as a matter of law.
I
Whether the superseding cause doctrine applies to criminally reckless conduct presents a question of law, over which we exercise plenary review. See, e.g., Barry v. Quality Steel Products, Inc. , supra, 263 Conn. at 433-46, 820 A.2d 258 (reviewing de novo trial court's decision regarding applicability of superseding cause doctrine). To properly analyze this question, it is necessary to review the legal underpinnings of the doctrine. As both the trial court and the Appellate Court observed, few other areas of tort law have consistently proven as challenging for courts to explain and for juries to apply as the principles underlying the doctrines of proximate cause and superseding cause. See, e.g., Cuneo v. Connecticut Co. , 124 Conn. 647, 651-52, 2 A.2d 220 (1938) ("Few subjects have caused more trouble to courts and legal philosophers than [the question of proximate cause]. The cases on the subject are innumerable and the discussions interminable."); Snell v. Norwalk Yellow Cab, Inc. , supra, 172 Conn. App. at 56, 158 A.3d 787 ("although the concepts underlying the doctrine of superseding cause may be easy to identify, their application to the specifics of a particular case can be a far more difficult task"). It is well settled that a negligence action consists of four elements: duty, breach, causation, and actual injury. See, e.g., Murdock v. Croughwell , 268 Conn. 559, 566, 848 A.2d 363 (2004) (identifying essential elements of negligence action). For purposes of this appeal, the defendants do not dispute that Sainval owed a duty to the plaintiff, that he breached that duty, and that the plaintiff was seriously injured. They do dispute, however, that Sainval's negligence caused the plaintiff's injuries. Causation in a negligence action has two components, both of which must be satisfied for the plaintiff to prevail. The first, "[c]ause in fact, occasionally referred to as actual cause, asks whether the defendant's conduct 'caused' the plaintiff's injury. Thus, if the plaintiff's injury would not have occurred 'but for' the defendant's conduct, then the defendant's conduct is a cause in fact of the plaintiff's injury. Conversely, if the plaintiff's injury would have occurred regardless of the defendant's conduct, then the defendant's conduct was not a cause in fact of the plaintiff's injury. [W. Keeton et al., Prosser and Keeton on the Law of Torts] (5th Ed. 1984) § 41, p. 266." Stewart v. Federated Dept. Stores, Inc. , 234 Conn. 597, 605, 662 A.2d 753 (1995). In the present case, it is undisputed that Sainval's conduct was a cause in fact of the plaintiff's injuries because, if he had not left the taxicab unattended with the key in the ignition, the vehicle would not have been stolen and the plaintiff would not have been injured.
The second component of causation is proximate cause. "Philosophically, cause in fact is limitless; but for the creation of this world, no crime or injury would ever have occurred. [W. Keeton, supra, § 41] p. 264. The philosophical sense of causation includes the great number of events without which any happening [of an injury] would not have occurred ... yet the effect of many of them is so insignificant that no ordinary mind would think of them as causes. 2 Restatement (Second), [supra] § 431, comment (a) [p. 429]." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Stewart v. Federated Dept. Stores, Inc. , supra, 234 Conn. at 605, 662 A.2d 753. "Because actual causation ... is virtually limitless, the legal construct of proximate cause serves to establish how far down the causal continuum tortfeasors will be held liable for the consequences of their actions.... The test for proximate cause is whether the defendant's conduct was a substantial factor in producing the plaintiff's injury.... This substantial factor test reflects the inquiry fundamental to all proximate cause questions, namely, whether the harm [that] occurred was of the same general nature as the foreseeable risk created by the defendant's negligence." (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Ruiz v. Victory Properties, LLC , supra, 315 Conn. at 329, 107 A.3d 381.
We often have observed that "[p]roximate cause results from a sequence of events unbroken by a superseding cause, so that its causal viability continued until the moment of injury or at least until the advent of the immediate injurious force.... The terms 'intervening cause' and 'superseding cause' have been used interchangeably.... The Restatement [Second] of Torts makes clear that the doctrine is properly referred to as 'superseding cause,' and that it embodies within it the concept of an 'intervening force.' 2 Restatement (Second), [supra] §§ 440 through 453 [pp. 465-91 ]." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Wagner v. Clark Equipment Co. , 243 Conn. 168, 178-79, 700 A.2d 38 (1997). As we also have explained previously, "[c]auses traced clear to the end [that] become of trivial consequences, mere incidents of the operating cause, may be, in a sense, factors, but are so insignificant that the law cannot fasten responsibility [on] one who may have set them in motion. They are not substantial factors as operative causes. To be factors of this degree they must have continued down to the moment of the damage, or, at least, down to the setting in motion of the final active injurious force [that] immediately produced (or preceded) the damage." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Birnie v. Electric Boat Corp. , 288 Conn. 392, 411, 953 A.2d 28 (2008) ; see also Paige v. St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church Corp. , 250 Conn. 14, 25, 734 A.2d 85 (1999) ("[r]emote or triv

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