AC40704 - Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Fraboni ("This appeal comes to us on a reservation of a legal issue pursuant to General Statutes § 52-235 and Practice Book § 73-1. The stipulation of the parties presents two questions for the advice of this court: (1) '[Except where otherwise provided by statute or other law,] [d]oes the filing of an appeal "after the time to file an appeal has expired" . . . automatically stay the trial court proceedings in a noncriminal case pursuant to Practice Book § 61-11 until the final determination of the cause?' and (2) 'If the answer to the first question is not categorically no, then did the filing of [the] defendant’s appeal in this instance "after the time to file an appeal [had] expired" result in an automatic stay of execution [pursuant to Practice Book § 61-11] which tolled the running of his law day.' We answer both questions in the negative.")

• Posted in:
• Foreclosure Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC40078 - Emeritus Senior Living v. Lepore ("The plaintiff, Emeritus Senior Living a/k/a Brookdale Woodbridge, appeals from the judgment of the trial court in favor of the defendant, Denise Lepore, in this action filed by the plaintiff to collect the unpaid balance due for assisted living services it had provided to the defendant’s now deceased mother, Louise Rolla. The plaintiff claims that the court erred by finding that the residency agreement, to the extent it holds the defendant personally liable, as Rolla’s representative, for unpaid amounts owed by Rolla to the plaintiff, is void and unenforceable because it is (1) unconscionable and (2) against public policy. We agree and, accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Contract Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC40419 - Gianetti v. Dunsby (Tax relief; administrative appeal; subject matter jurisdiction; "The self-represented plaintiff, Charles D. Gianetti, appeals from the judgment of the Superior Court rendered in favor of the defendants, Adam Dunsby, Robert Lesser, and Scott Centrella, in this action concerning the plaintiff's eligibility for tax relief under a municipal ordinance. On appeal, the plaintiff raises a bevy of challenges to the factual findings and evidentiary determinations of the court. In response, the defendants contend, inter alia, that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to entertain the present action. We agree with the defendants and, accordingly, reverse the judgment of the court and remand the case with direction to dismiss the plaintiff's action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.")

• Posted in:
• Administrative Appeal Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC39825 - State v. Hudson (Criminal possession of firearm; altering firearm identification mark; "The defendant, Robert Lee Hudson III, appeals following the judgment of conviction, challenging only the sentence imposed on him by the trial court following his plea of guilty under the Alford doctrine to criminal possession of a firearm in violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 2013) § 53a-217 and altering the identification mark of a firearm in violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 2013) § 29-36. The defendant's plea was entered subject to a Garvin agreement. The sole issue on appeal is whether the court violated the defendant's right to due process when it found that he had violated the Garvin agreement without first conducting a hearing in accordance with State v. Stevens, 278 Conn. 1, 11–13, 895 A.2d 771 (2006), to determine whether probable cause existed to support the defendant's subsequent arrest, which was the basis of the violation. We conclude that the defendant's right to due process was not infringed and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the court.")

AC39358 - State v. Fletcher (Violation of probation; "The defendant, Darryl Fletcher, appeals from the judgment of the trial court revoking his probation pursuant to General Statutes § 53a-32 and sentencing him to a term of incarceration of eighteen months. The defendant claims that he is entitled to a new sentencing hearing because the court improperly relied on a fact that was not part of the record. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

AC38776 - State v. Morice W. (Risk of injury to child; assault in third degree; "The defendant, Morice W., appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered against him after a jury trial, on charges of risk of injury to a child in violation of General Statutes § 53-21 (a) (1) and assault in the third degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-61 (a) (2). On appeal, the defendant claims that he was deprived of a fair trial on those charges due to improper remarks by the prosecutor in her rebuttal closing argument. Although we agree that one of the prosecutor's challenged remarks was improper, we do not conclude that that remark deprived the defendant of a fair trial. We therefore affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

AC39744 - State v. Smith (Criminal possession of firearm; possession of weapon in motor vehicle; carrying pistol or revolver without permit; "The defendant, Jacqui Smith, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a trial to a jury, of criminal possession of a firearm in violation of General Statutes § 53a-217 (a) (1), possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle in violation of General Statutes § 29-38 (a), and carrying a pistol or revolver without a permit in violation of General Statutes § 29-35 (a). On appeal, the defendant claims that there was insufficient evidence from which the jury reasonably could have found him guilty of the three crimes. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

AC39685 - State v. Dubuisson (Strangulation in second degree; "The defendant, Walker Wilner Dubuisson, appeals from the judgment of conviction rendered by the trial court, following a jury trial, on the charge of strangulation in the second degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-64bb. The defendant claims that (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and (2) the trial court erred in admitting certain out-of-court statements by the victim under the spontaneous utterance exception to the hearsay rule. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Criminal Law & Procedure,
• Recent Opinions

AC39924 - Federal National Mortgage Assn. v. Farina ("In this summary process action, the plaintiff, Federal National Mortgage Association, appeals from the judgment of dismissal in favor of the defendant Richard Farina. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the trial court improperly concluded that it lacked standing to bring the present action. The plaintiff contends that, pursuant to a judgment of strict foreclosure, title to the subject property vested absolutely in the plaintiff on April 25, 2016, and, therefore, as the owner of the property, it had standing to prosecute the summary process action. The defendant, by contrast, claims that title never passed to the plaintiff in the foreclosure action because an appellate stay was in effect that prevented the law days from passing and, thus, the defendant is still the title holder of the property. We agree with the plaintiff and reverse the judgment of the trial court.")

AC40196 - Kargul v. Smith (" The self-represented defendants, Mika-Ela Smith and Mark DeGale, appeal from the judgment of the trial court rendered in favor of the plaintiffs, Aloysius Kargul and Barbara Greczkowski. On appeal, the defendants claim that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over this summary process action. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

. . . [W]e conclude that when the plaintiffs withdrew the first action against the defendants prior to the commencement of a hearing on its merits, the continuation of the agreement between the parties was restored. Housing Authority v. Hird, supra, 13 Conn. App. 157. The trial court, therefore, did not lack subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiffs' subsequent summary process action.

The judgment is affirmed.")

• Posted in:
• Landlord / Tenant Law,
• Recent Opinions

This notice has been posted to the Connecticut Probate Courts website: In accordance with General Statutes section 45a-77(h), the Probate Court Administrator has adopted standards of practice to provide guidance to Probate Court-appointed conservators. The Probate Court Administrator developed the standards with assistance from the Probate Assembly and professionals in the field of elder justice and conservatorships.

The standards can be viewed by clicking on the link below:

• CT Standards of Practice for Conservators (2018)

• Posted in:
• FYI,
• Probate Law

The Connecticut Law Journal, Volume LXXIX, No. 51, for June 19, 2018 is now available.

Contained in this issue is the following:

• Table of Contents
• Volume 181 Conn. App. Replacement Pages 539 - 540
• Volume 328 Conn. Replacement Pages 930 - 930
• Volume 329: Connecticut Reports (Pages 272 - 293)
• Volume 329: Orders (Pages 903 - 907)
• Volume 329: Cumulative Table of Cases Connecticut Reports
• Volume 182: Connecticut Appellate Reports (Pages 656 - 811)
• Volume 182: Memorandum Decisions (Pages 903 - 903)
• Volume 182: Cumulative Table of Cases Connecticut Appellate Reports
• Miscellaneous Notices
• Supreme Court Pending Cases
• Notices of Connecticut State Agencies

• Posted in:
• Connecticut Law Journal,
• Recent Opinions

SC20088 - Arciniega v. Feliciano (Writ of mandamus; counterclaim; whether party lacked standing to advance counterclaim; statutory aggrievement, discussed; "The question presented to us in this election case, brought under General Statutes § 9-329a, concerns the validity of petitions submitted to qualify a slate of candidates to run for election to the Democratic Town Committee for the sixth district of the city of Hartford. Specifically, it concerns whether election officials are required to reject such petitions if the circulator of the petitions knows or should know that the petitions contain an incorrect address for one of the candidates listed, irrespective of whether the candidate would be qualified to run for the position listed on the petitions under the correct address. We conclude that the threshold and, ultimately, dispositive issue is whether the acceptance of such a petition constitutes a "ruling of an election official," which is an essential predicate to a party's standing to proceed under § 9-329a. We conclude that it does not. Accordingly, the trial court lacked jurisdiction to consider the merits of this claim.")

• Posted in:
• Recent Opinions

AC39559 - Peters v. United Community & Family Services, Inc. (Medical malpractice; motion to dismiss; personal jurisdiction; sufficiency of opinion letter authored by similar health care provider; "With the intent to deter the filing of frivolous medical malpractice actions, our legislature in 1986 adopted General Statutes § 52-190a, which makes malpractice actions subject to dismissal unless the plaintiff obtains and attaches to the complaint an opinion letter written and signed by a similar health care provider indicating that there appears to be evidence of medical negligence. The meaning and application of this requirement itself has spawned extensive litigation since its enactment. This appeal is the latest iteration of this judicial journey.

The plaintiff, Steven V. Peters, Jr., commenced the underlying action for monetary damages arising out of the alleged negligent performance of maxillofacial surgery. He appeals from the judgment of the trial court dismissing, pursuant to § 52-190a (c), count three of his action directed against the defendant, Edward Reynolds, Jr., DDS, because the opinion letter that the plaintiff attached to the complaint failed to provide that its author is board certified by the appropriate American board in the same specialty as the defendant. The plaintiff claims on appeal that the trial court improperly relied on this court's decision in Gonzales v. Langdon, 161 Conn. App. 497, 128 A.3d 562 (2015), as the basis for its decision to reject the affidavit that he attached to his response to the motion to dismiss, in which he sought to clarify the credentials of the opinion letter's author. We conclude that, because the plaintiff's attempt to cure the defect in the opinion letter came after the relevant statute of limitations had run, the trial court properly granted the motion to dismiss on the basis of an inadequate opinion letter. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Medical Malpractice Law,
• Recent Opinions

SC19778 - State v. Tierinni (Sexual assault second degree; risk of injury to child; "We granted the defendant's petition for certification to appeal, limited to the following questions: (1) "Did the Appellate Court properly conclude that the defendant waived his right to be present at critical stages of the criminal proceedings during arguments on evidentiary objections?" And (2) "If the answer to the first question is `no,' did the trial court's approach to handling evidentiary objections constitute structural error as a violation of the defendant's right to be present during critical stages of the criminal proceedings?" State v. Tierinni, 323 Conn. 904, 150 A.3d 681 (2016).

After examining the entire record on appeal and considering the briefs and oral arguments of the parties before this court, we have determined that the judgment of the Appellate Court should be affirmed. We conclude that the Appellate Court's decision fully addresses the first certified question, as reformulated in this opinion—namely, its conclusion that the defendant had waived any claim regarding his presence at the sidebar conferences by agreeing to the trial court's procedure for handling arguments on evidentiary objections. It would, therefore, serve no purpose for us to repeat the discussion contained in the Appellate Court's decision. Because we answer the first certified question in the affirmative, we do not reach the second question.")

AC39105 - State v. White (Motion to correct illegal sentence; "This case turns on the issue of the appropriate role of assigned counsel in the context of a motion to correct an illegal sentence following State v. Casiano, 282 Conn. 614, 922 A.2d 1065 (2007). The defendant, Antuan White, appeals from the judgment of the trial court denying his motion to correct an illegal sentence. The defendant claims that the trial court erred by (1) declining to appoint counsel to represent him on the merits; (2) denying his motion on the merits; and (3) deciding the merits of the motion to correct, despite having previously considered the merits of the issues during the hearing regarding the appointment of counsel. We disagree and affirm the judgments of the trial court.")

AC39169 - State v. Wynne (Operating motor vehicle while under influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs; "The defendant, Paul Wynne, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered following a jury trial, of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug or both in violation of General Statutes § 14-227a (a) (1). The defendant claims that (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction; and (2) the court abused its discretion in admitting the testimony of the state's expert on drug recognition. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

AC39474 - State v. Papineau (Assault in first degree; conspiracy to commit assault in first degree; "The defendant, Michael J. Papineau, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered following a jury trial, of assault in the first degree with a dangerous instrument in violation of General Statutes § 53a-59 (a) (1), and conspiracy to commit assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-59 (a) (1) and 53a-48. The defendant claims (1) that the trial court erroneously precluded his half brother from testifying about a phone conversation that transpired between the defendant and the defendant's former wife; (2) that the court erroneously precluded him from presenting testimony from the defendant's mother that, prior to the events at issue, he planned to travel to Massachusetts; (3) the court erroneously admitted a printout of text messages that the state failed to authenticate; and (4) the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction of conspiracy to commit assault in the first degree. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Criminal Law & Procedure,
• Recent Opinions

AC39940 - Lyons v. Citron (Summary process; notice to quit; "This is a case involving multiple notices to quit. The defendants in this summary process action, Robert Citron and Gail Citron, appeal from the trial court's judgment of possession in favor of the plaintiff, Cyndi Lyons. On appeal, the defendants claim that the court erroneously rendered judgment for the plaintiff on the ground of nonpayment of rent when the plaintiff prematurely served the defendants with the underlying notice to quit on the day she withdrew her first summary process action, instead of waiting nine days after rent became due to serve the notice, as required by General Statutes § 47a-15a. We agree and, accordingly, reverse the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Landlord / Tenant Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC39366 - Nichols v. Oxford ("The plaintiffs petitioned the trial court, pursuant to General Statutes § 13a-103, for an order directing one of the defendants, the town of Oxford (town), to repair and maintain unimproved sections of a highway, Old Good Hill Road (road), located in the town. The trial court denied the relief sought. The plaintiffs appealed, claiming that the court erred in finding that (1) sections two, three and four of the road did not comprise part of a highway, and (2) even if those sections of the road had once comprised part of a highway, they since have been abandoned. We conclude that the court properly found that sections two, three and four of the road have been abandoned, and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Recent Opinions

AC40896 - Sikorsky Financial Credit Union, Inc. v. Pineda ("The plaintiff, Sikorsky Financial Credit Union, Inc., appeals from the judgment of the trial court denying its motion for postmaturity postjudgment interest. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the trial court improperly denied the motion in light of General Statutes § 37-1 and our Supreme Court’s decision in Sikorsky Financial Credit Union, Inc. v. Butts, 315 Conn. 433, 108 A.3d 228 (2015). We agree and, accordingly, reverse the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Contract Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC38834 - Hall v. Hall ("In this amended appeal, the plaintiff, Hugh F. Hall, appeals from the trial court’s judgment of civil contempt rendered against him because he, in violation of an order of the court, unilaterally withdrew funds from a joint bank account and deposited them into his personal savings account, and because the parties placed the funds in an account that did not meet the requirements of the court order. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the court (1) improperly held him in contempt although he allegedly relied on the advice of counsel when he withdrew the funds, and (2) improperly denied the parties’ joint motion to open and vacate the judgment of contempt. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Family Law,
• Recent Opinions

Friday, June 15th

• New London Law Library closes at 4:15 p.m.

Monday, June 18th

• Middletown Law Library opens at 10:45 a.m.
• New London Law Library will be closed.
• Putnam Law Library closes at 3:00 p.m.

• Hartford Law Library closes at 1:00 p.m.
• Torrington Law Library closes at 4:30 p.m.
  

• MIddletown Law Library closes at 12:30 p.m.
• Putnam Law Library will be closed.
• Rockville Law Library will be closed.

Friday, June 22nd

• New London Law Library will be closed.

• Posted in:
• Library Notices

SC19810 - State v. Jordan (Assault second degree; self-defense; motion to preclude evidence; certification from Appellate Court; "The primary question we must answer in this certified appeal is whether a criminal defendant claiming self-defense is barred as a matter of law from introducing the victim's convictions for crimes of violence as evidence that the victim initiated the confrontation with the defendant when the conduct giving rise to the victim's convictions occurred subsequent to the charged incident. The defendant, Brian W. Jordan, appeals from the judgment of the Appellate Court, which affirmed his judgment of conviction of assault in the second degree. State v. Jordan, 166 Conn. App. 35, 48, 140 A.3d 421 (2016). We agree with the Appellate Court that, although the trial court improperly determined that such evidence is inadmissible as a matter of law, the defendant has failed to prove that such error ultimately was harmful.")

• Posted in:
• Criminal Law & Procedure,
• Recent Opinions

The Connecticut Law Journal, Volume LXXIX, No. 50, for June 12, 2018 is now available.

Contained in this issue is the following:

• Table of Contents
• Volume 329: Connecticut Reports (Pages 249 - 272)
• Volume 329: Orders (Pages 901 - 903)
• Volume 329: Cumulative Table of Cases Connecticut Reports
• Volume 182: Connecticut Appellate Reports (Pages 488 - 656)
• Volume 182: Memorandum Decisions (Pages 902 - 903)
• Volume 182: Cumulative Table of Cases Connecticut Appellate Reports
• Miscellaneous Notices

• Posted in:
• Connecticut Law Journal,
• Recent Opinions

Tuesday, June 12th

• Bridgeport Law Library will be closing at 4:00 p.m.
• Middletown Law Library will be closing at 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday, June 13th

• New London Law Library will be closed.
• Putnam Law Library will be closed.

Friday, June 15th

• New London Law Library will be closing at 4:15 p.m.
• Rockville Law Library will be closing at 2:00 p.m.

• Posted in:
• Library Notices

The Connecticut Office of Legislative Research has published a number of Acts Affecting special reports for the 2018 regular session. The publications contain summaries of recent acts, organized by subject. They include the Public (or Special) Act number, and include links to their respective bill status pages.

• Acts Affecting Taxes - 2018-R-0142
• Acts Affecting Seniors - 2018-R-0125
• Acts Affecting Environment - 2018-R-0131
• Acts Affecting Municipalities - 2018-R-0135
• Acts Affecting Veterans and the Military - 2018-R-0136
• Acts Affecting Energy and Utilities - 2018-R-0141
• Acts Affecting Animals and Agriculture - 2018-R-0138
• Acts Affecting Real Estate - 2018-R-0139

• Posted in:
• FYI,
• Legal Research,
• New Legislation

AC39515 - Kaplan v. Scheer (Reformation of deed; "This case concerns a settlement agreement pursuant to which (1) the defendants . . . granted the plaintiff . . . an easement for pedestrian and vehicular access to a portion of the plaintiff's driveway that lay on the defendants' property (driveway easement), and (2) the parties exchanged quitclaim deeds. The plaintiff now contends that these deeds were recorded in the wrong order and, as a result, her deed inadvertently conveyed to the defendants a different easement, one that previously had allowed her to cross the defendants' property to access Long Island Sound (water easement). The plaintiff contends that this conveyance was not something the parties bargained for when they reached their agreement. She brought the underlying action seeking to restore the water easement through various equitable remedies; she now appeals from the judgment of the trial court, following a trial to that court, in favor of the defendants. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the trial court (1) misinterpreted the settlement agreement by finding that the alphanumeric prefixes in it were included only for convenience and did not bear upon the parties' intent and (2) improperly rejected her claim of mutual mistake. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

AC39687 - Gartrell v. Hartford (Directed verdict; action for damages for violations of state building code; "The plaintiffs, Joseph Gartrell, 481 Albany Avenue, and Wonder Package, LLC, appeal from the judgment of the trial court granting the motion for a directed verdict in favor of the defendant city of Hartford (city). The plaintiffs claim that the trial court erred in directing a verdict for the city on the basis of the jury's answer to a single interrogatory. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Property Law,
• Recent Opinions