LARISSA MARLAND, ADMINISTRATRIX (ESTATE OF NORMAN MARLAND) v. THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT HEALTH CENTER, et al., SC 20854

Judicial District of Hartford

 Sovereign Immunity; Whether Claims Commissioner Has Authority to Waive Sovereign Immunity after General Statutes § 4-159a Time Period; Whether 2021 Revisions to General Statutes § 4-160 Reflect Legislative Intent to Permit Medical Negligence Cases to Proceed Without Claims Commissioner's Involvement.  In January, 2015, Norman Marland (Marland) passed away unexpectedly due to the alleged negligence of the hospital nursing staff while he was a patient at John Dempsey Hospital (hospital), which is owned and/or operated by the state of Connecticut.  The plaintiff, the administratrix of Marland's estate, filed a notice of claim with the Office of the Claims Commissioner on December 17, 2015, seeking a waiver of sovereign immunity to sue the defendants pursuant to General Statutes § 4-160.  On February 27, 2018, after the claims commissioner sent a letter to the plaintiff apologizing for the failure to resolve the claim within two years of its filing, the commissioner issued a notice that the claim had been reported to the General Assembly pursuant to General Statutes § 4-159a.  In May, 2018, the General Assembly granted the claims commissioner a one-year extension until May, 2019, to act on the plaintiff's claim pursuant to § 4-159a (c) (1).  The claims commissioner, however, did not grant the waiver of immunity until November, 2020.  Thereafter, the plaintiff filed the underlying medical malpractice action against, inter alia, the hospital.  The defendants moved to dismiss the action, claiming that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the waiver granted by the claims commissioner was untimely in that it was issued after the expiration of the one-year extension granted under § 4-159a.  The plaintiff objected, arguing that there is no authority for a Superior Court to reverse the claims commissioner's decision granting a waiver of sovereign immunity.  The plaintiff also argued that the defendants neither appealed that waiver nor asked for reconsideration of the claims commissioner's decision.  The trial court granted the motion to dismiss, finding that "[b]ased on the plain language of § 4-159a, the claims commissioner is barred from issuing an untimely waiver to sue the state."  The court stated that, "[t]o permit the claims commissioner to issue a waiver of sovereign immunity after the expiration of the extension granted by the General Assembly would render the statutory language of § 4-159a and the process set forth therein meaningless."  The plaintiff appealed to the Appellate Court, and the Supreme Court transferred the appeal to itself.  On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the action was improperly dismissed because the claims commissioner has authority to waive sovereign immunity outside the time specified by § 4-159a.  In support of her position, the plaintiff relies on Jakobowski v. State, 219 Conn. App. 839 (2023), wherein the Appellate Court determined that the claims commissioner's failure to act on a notice of claim within the statutory two-year time limit set forth in § 4-159a did not deprive the commissioner of authority to act.  The plaintiff also claims that the enactment of revisions to § 4-160 in 2021 reflects a legislative intent to permit medical negligence cases to proceed in the Superior Court without the claims commissioner's involvement.