Upholding a Connecticut Appellate Court ruling in a case that hinged on what constitutes “fighting words,” the Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a homeowner who threatened to gun down two water company employees on his property.

The Aquarion Water Co. employees entered Laurence Parnoff’s property pursuant to an easement to perform fire hydrant maintenance. The employees went deeper onto the property after finding a cap in a shed and determining that someone had unlawfully tampered with it.