ROBINSON , J. The principal issue in this appeal is whether the exhaustion doctrine precludes a party from bringing a declaratory judgment action pursuant to the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act (UAPA); see General Statutes 4-175; 1 addressing matters that are the subject of an administrative agency's pending investigation of that party, prior to the commencement of a contested case hearing in accordance with General Statutes 4-177. 2 The plaintiffs, Financial Consulting, LLC (...
EVELEIGH , J. The state appeals, following our grant of certification, from the judgment of the Appellate Court reversing the judgment of the trial court convicting the defendant, Joel Dort, of burglary in the first degree in violation of General Statutes 53a-101 (a)(2) and kidnapping in the first degree in violation of General Statutes 53a-92 and ordering the trial court to conduct a hearing to determine whether a competency evaluation, as described in General Statutes 54-56d (d), 1...
PALMER , J. Under Sandin v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472 , 483-84, 115 S.Ct. 2293, 132 L.Ed.2d 418 (1995), and Wilkinson v. Austin, 545 U.S. 209 , 222-23, 125 S.Ct. 2384, 162 L.Ed.2d 174 (2005), prison inmates have a protected liberty interest in avoiding certain conditions of confinement if, pursuant to state statute or regulation, they can be subjected to such conditions only if certain procedural requirements are met, and those conditions impose an atypical and significant hardship in...
ESPINOSA , J. Under the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (act), General Statutes 46a-51 et seq., employers may not discriminate against certain protected classes of individuals, including those who are physically disabled. The sole issue in this appeal is whether the act also prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals whom they perceive to be physically disabled. The plaintiff, Mireille Desrosiers, claims that the Appellate Court improperly affirmed the trial...
ESPINOSA , J. The principal issue in this certified appeal is whether a contract between the parties is ambiguous, requiring a trial to determine the parties' intent. The trial court found that the contract at issue unambiguously entitled the plaintiff, Anthony H. Salce, Sr., to judgment as a matter of law, rendered summary judgment in his favor, and awarded, among other relief, postjudgment interest. The Appellate Court affirmed the trial court's judgment. Salce v. Wolczek, 141 Conn....
EVELEIGH , J. The defendant, David B. Terwilliger, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of one count of intentional manslaughter in the first degree with a firearm pursuant to General Statutes 53a-55a and 53a-55. 1 The defendant contends on appeal that (1) his conviction violated his constitutionally protected right against double jeopardy because a reasonable possibility existed that the defendant was acquitted of the offense at an earlier trial,...
ROGERS, C.J. The primary issue that we must resolve in this certified appeal is whether the Appellate Court properly affirmed the judgment of the trial court setting aside the jury verdict in favor of the plaintiffs on the ground that the plaintiffs failed to prove the imminent harm to identifiable persons exception to the defense of governmental immunity. The named plaintiff, Tracey Haynes, individually and as the parent and next friend of Jasmon Vereen, her then minor son, 1 brought this...
VERTEFEUILLE, J. The primary issue that we must resolve in this certified appeal is whether the Appellate Court properly determined as a matter of law that the plaintiff, the city of Hartford, as assignee of the note and mortgage executed by the defendant Brian McKeever, 1 did not take the note and mortgage subject to the defendant's affirmative claims against the assignor, or, instead, the Appellate Court should have recognized and applied an equitable exception to this rule because the...
ROGERS, C.J. The sole issue in this certified appeal 1 is whether the trial court improperly granted the defendants' motion for a stay pending arbitration because the trial court determined, as a matter of law, that a party cannot waive enforcement of an arbitration clause in a contract. The plaintiff, MSO, LLC, appeals from the judgment of the Appellate Court affirming the trial court's decision to stay this action brought against the defendants, 2 Anthony DeSimone and Charles DeSimone, Jr.,...
ROBINSON, J. This appeal arises from two petitions for declaratory rulings that the defendant BNE Energy, Inc. (BNE), submitted to the named defendant, the Connecticut Siting Council (council). In the petitions, BNE sought the council's approval for the construction and operation of three electric generating wind turbines at two separate sites in the town of Colebrook. The plaintiffs, FairwindCT, Inc. (FairwindCT), Stella Somers, Michael Somers and Susan Wagner, were granted party status by...
ZARELLA, J. In this certified appeal, we consider whether the plaintiff, Roland Todd White, preserved for appellate review a claim under the malfunction theory of products liability. The malfunction theory allows a plaintiff in a product liability action to rely on circumstantial evidence to support an inference that an unspecified defect attributable to a product seller was the most likely cause of a product malfunction when other possible causes of the malfunction are absent. See generally...
ZARELLA, J. The dispositive issue in the present case, which comes to us upon our acceptance of three certified questions of law from the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut pursuant to General Statutes 51-199b (d), 1 is whether the interest rates applicable to pawnbroker repurchase agreements are governed by the pawnbroker interest rate statute, General Statutes 21-44, or the usury statute, General Statutes 37-4, or whether such agreements are not regulated...
EVELEIGH, J. In this wrongful death action, the plaintiff Karen Dorry, administratrix of the estate of Jerome Dorry (decedent), 1 appeals 2 from the judgment of the trial court dismissing the action against the defendants Mitchell S. Garden, Peter H. Wilson, Jeffrey R. Sanderson, Stella Danica-Aaboe, and Jennifer Carroll. 3 In dismissing the plaintiff's complaint, the trial court concluded that the present action had not been brought within two years of the death of the plaintiff's decedent,...
McDONALD, J. Following our grant of certification, the state appeals from the judgment of the Appellate Court reversing the trial court's judgment of conviction of the defendant, Adam Benedict, of one count of sexual assault in the fourth degree in violation of General Statutes 53a-73a (a)(6). The state claims that the Appellate Court improperly concluded that the trial court violated the defendant's right to confrontation under the sixth and fourteenth amendments to the United States...
ESPINOSA, J. The dispositive issue in this appeal 1 is whether the defendant, Luis Antonio Santana, preserved his claim that statements contained in a search warrant affidavit should have been admitted into evidence under the hearsay exception for a statement by a party opponent pursuant to 8-3(1)(B) of the Connecticut Code of Evidence. 2 The defendant was charged with one count of murder in violation of General Statutes 53a-54a, one count of conspiracy to commit murder in violation of...
NORCOTT, J. In this certified appeal, 1 the petitioner, Oscar Anderson, claims that the Appellate Court improperly affirmed the judgment of the habeas court rejecting his claim that he was entitled to a new trial on the ground that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance. See Anderson v. Commissioner of Correction, 128 Conn.App. 585 , 598, 17 A.3d 1138 (2011). Specifically, the petitioner contends that the Appellate Court improperly concluded that he was not prejudiced by trial...
McDONALD, J. These appeals arise out of a dispute between two specialty food businesses regarding the scope of their obligations under a distribution agreement and the legal effect of oral promises regarding the formation of a joint venture between the businesses. The plaintiffs, Randall Weiss and his company, Gourmet and Specialty Food Works, LLC (Food Works), commenced this action against the defendants, Michael D. Smulders and his company, Garden of Light Natural Food Markets, Inc. (Garden...
EVELEIGH, J. The defendant, Howard M. Buckland, was convicted, following a jury trial, of one count of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor and one count of operating a motor vehicle while having an elevated blood alcohol content, in violation of General Statutes (Supp.2014) 14-227a (a)(1) and (2), respectively. 1 The defendant was also convicted, after a trial to the court, Baldini, J., of speeding in violation of General Statutes 14-219(b)(3)....
ROGERS, C.J. The dispositive issue in this certified appeal is whether a defective highway claim based on the design of Route 44 across Avon Mountain falls within the purview of General Statutes 13a-144, 1 pursuant to which the state has consented to liability for certain injuries caused by a defective highway. The plaintiff, Ellen Stotler, administratrix of the estate of the decedent, Paul A. Stotler III, brought this action pursuant to 13a-144 against the defendant, the Department of...
ROBINSON, J. This appeal requires us to consider whether a property owner's conduct constituted "active interference" for purposes of an exception to a "no damages for delay" clause in a construction contract, which otherwise would preclude a contractor from recovering additional costs for delays caused by the owner, instead giving a contractor additional time to complete the job. The plaintiff, C & H Electric, Inc., appeals 1 from the judgment of the trial court in part for the defendant,...
