The mission of the Connecticut Judicial Branch is to serve the interests of justice and the public by resolving matters brought before it in a fair, timely, efficient and open manner.
AC42570 - Rider v. Rider (Quiet title; fraud; breach of fiduciary duty; "This appeal stems from a family dispute among a father and his two sons. In an effort to revive his claims to ownership of a campground parcel, the plaintiff, Patrick Rider, has created an appellate argument reminiscent of Frankenstein's monster, as he has stitched together aspects of
four separate
matters: a probate proceeding, a bankruptcy action, a separate 2017 civil
action (2017 action) and the underlying action in an effort to reverse the
judgment of the trial court. The plaintiff appeals from the judgment of the
trial court granting the motions to dismiss filed by the defendants, Brian
Rider, individually and in his capacities as the executor and conservator of
the estate of Leigh H. Rider, Jr. (Leigh Rider), Lake Williams Campground,
Inc., Lake Williams Campground Association, Inc. (Association), Charles D. Houlihan,
Jr., and Franklin G. Pilicy. The plaintiff and Brian Rider are the sons of
Leigh Rider. On appeal, the plaintiff presents, for the first time, a
collateral challenge to the appointment by the Probate Court of North Central
Connecticut (Probate Court) of Brian Rider as conservator for Leigh Rider and
the subsequent conveyance of a campground property from the conserved Leigh
Rider to the Association. The plaintiff further contends that the trial court
improperly dismissed his complaint on the ground that he lacked standing. We
affirm the judgment of the trial court.")
AC43008 - Jeweler v. Wilton (Declaratory judgment; "This case concerns the reconfiguration of lot lines in an existing resubdivision. The plaintiffs, Richard S. Jeweler and Derry Music Company, own seven parcels of land situated between Millstone Road and Hickory Hill Road in Wilton. They brought this action seeking a declaratory judgment that certain boundary line adjustments among those parcels do not require subdivision approval under General Statutes § 8-18. The trial court concluded that the boundary line adjustments proposed by the plaintiffs did not constitute a subdivision pursuant to § 8-18, but did constitute a resubdivision thereunder. We disagree with the latter conclusion and, accordingly, reverse in part the judgment of the trial court.")
AC42069 - Crouzet v. First Baptist Church of Stonington (Environmental contamination; real property; "The plaintiff, David Crouzet, appeals from the judgment of the trial court rendered in favor of the defendants, First Baptist Church of Stonington and Second Congregational Church of Stonington, following a trial to the court in a factually complex case involving environmental contamination. The question underlying all of the plaintiff's claims on appeal is what was the cause of the oil contamination in and around the plaintiff's residence and, in particular, to what extent fuel oil that leaked from the underground storage tank on the defendants' property migrated onto the plaintiff's property and infiltrated the plaintiff's basement. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the court's finding of a secondary source of contamination in his basement is clearly erroneous and that the court's decision is based on speculation and is legally unsound. We agree and, accordingly, reverse the judgment of the trial court.")
AC42683 - Godbout v. Attanasio (Official misconduct pursuant to statute (§ 12-170); motor vehicle tax assessment; "In this statutory civil action brought pursuant to General Statutes § 12-170, the plaintiff, David Godbout, appeals from the judgment of the trial court dismissing the action against the defendants, all of whom are individual members of the East Lyme Board of Assessment Appeals (board). In his action, the plaintiff sought to recover monetary relief pursuant to § 12-170 on the basis of alleged misconduct by the defendants related to his motor vehicle tax assessment appeal. The plaintiff claims that the court improperly concluded that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of his action because he (1) failed to exhaust his administrative remedies with the Freedom of Information Commission (FOIC) before filing his action in Superior Court and (2) failed to allege sufficient facts in his complaint demonstrating that each of the defendants had engaged in some unlawful act, or had failed to perform a necessary act, related to the tax assessment appeal. Although we agree with the plaintiff with respect to his first claim, we disagree with the second. We also conclude that the form of the judgment is incorrect in that, rather than granting the motion to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds, the court should have rendered judgment in favor of the defendants.")
AC41792 - Pfister v. Madison Beach Hotel, LLC (Real property; permanent injunction; "The defendants Madison Beach Hotel, LLC, and Madison Beach Hotel of Florida, LLC, appeal from the trial court's judgment granting a permanent injunction in favor of the plaintiffs Cecilia Pfister, Margaret P. Carbajal, Katherine Spence, Emile J. Geisenheimer, Susan F. Geisenheimer, Henry L. Platt, Douglas J. Crowley, and 33 MBW, LLC. Specifically, the defendants claim that the trial court erred in holding that their use of a town owned parcel of land to host public concerts violates the zoning regulations of the town of Madison. We agree with the defendants and, accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court.")
AC39630 - Petrucelli v. City of Meriden (Zoning; municipal blight citation; anti-blight ordinance; "The petitioner, Arthur Petrucelli, appeals from the judgment of the trial court rendered in favor of the respondent, the city of Meriden (city), following a de novo hearing held on his petition to reopen an assessment entered against him by a citation hearing officer for violation of the city's anti-blight ordinance. On appeal, the petitioner claims that the court (1) abused its discretion by precluding, in whole or in part, two of his witnesses from testifying, (2) erroneously concluded that the city had not violated his due process rights, (3) erroneously concluded that the city's anti-blight ordinance was not unconstitutionally vague as applied to him, and (4) erroneously concluded that there was sufficient evidence establishing his noncompliance with the anti-blight ordinance. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")
AC42251 - Vaicunas v.
Gaylord ("The plaintiffs, David Vaicunas and Joseph Kobos, appeal from
the judgment rendered by the trial court in favor of the defendants, Regina R.
Gaylord, Kevin McGuire, Deborah Foster, John McGuire, and Scott McGuire, on the
count of the complaint alleging undue influence exerted on Helen Rachel in
amending The Helen K. Rachel Revocable Trust Indenture. The plaintiffs also
appeal from the judgment of the trial court rendered after it granted the
motion by the defendants to set aside the jury’s verdict in favor of Vaicunas
on the count for adverse possession of certain real property owned by Helen
Rachel. On appeal, Vaicunas claims that the court improperly set aside the jury
verdict with respect to adverse possession, and both plaintiffs claim that the
court (1) abused its discretion by declining to admit the plaintiffs’ offer of
evidence as to the character of Helen Rachel, which was relevant to their claim
for undue influence and (2) improperly charged the jury on the law of undue
influence. We conclude that the trial court properly set aside the verdict on
the claim for adverse possession and, as to the plaintiffs’ claim of undue
influence, we reject their assertions of evidentiary and instructional error on
the part of the court. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.")
SC202208, SC202209 – Schwerin v. Ratcliffe (“The primary issue in these appeals is whether the trial court properly determined the correct generation to serve as the root for the per stirpes distribution of two family trusts.")