Justia Connecticut Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the Appellate Court reversing Defendant's conviction for murder and three counts of capital felony and remanding the case for a new trial, holding that the Appellate Court erred in concluding that a videotape and expert testimony were improperly excluded during trial.Specifically, the Court held (1) Defendant's corpus delicti claim was reviewable on appeal because it was not merely evidentiary, but the Appellate Court properly concluded that there was sufficient evidence to support the conviction; (2) the Appellate Court erred in concluding that the trial court's erroneous exclusion of the videotape was not harmless; and (3) the Appellate Court erred in concluding that the trial court abused its discretion in precluding the expert testimony proffered by Defendant. View "State v. Leniart" on Justia Law

In this breach of contract and negligent infliction of emotional distress action the Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court's judgment affirming the trial court's judgment denying Defendant's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, holding that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict for Plaintiff.This action stemmed from Defendant's handling of Plaintiff's homeowner's insurance claim. The jury returned a verdict for Plaintiff on both counts. Defendant filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, renewing its motion for a directed verdict, arguing that the verdict was not supported by sufficient evidence presented during Plaintiff's case-in-chief. The trial court denied the motion. On appeal, Defendant contended that the so-called waiver rule - which provides that a defendant waives the right to appeal the trial court's denial of the defendant's motion for directed verdict at the close of the plaintiff's case by opting to introduce evidence in its own behalf - is inapplicable to civil cases in which a trial court reserves decision on a motion for directed verdict. The Supreme Court disagreed, holding that a court reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a jury's verdict must consider all of the evidence considered by the jury returning the verdict, not just the evidence presented in the plaintiff's case-in-chief. View "Riley v. Travelers Home & Marine Insurance Co." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the trial court denying the City of Bridgeport's motion for summary judgment on Plaintiff's complaint that the City was negligent by failing to follow a local emergency service plan and permitting a highway defect to exist, namely, snow, holding that the City was immune for its actions pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. 28-13.The trial court rejected the City's argument that this action was barred by common-law governmental immunity and that the City could not invoke the protections of section 28-13 immunity because a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether the City was actively experiencing a civil preparedness emergency at the time of the death in this case. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) an appealable final judgment existed; and (2) there was no genuine issue of material fact with respect to the applicability of section 28-13, and therefore, the trial court should have granted summary judgment. View "Sena v. American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court granting motions to dismiss Plaintiff's state law claims for vexatious litigation and unfair and deceptive business acts or practices during Plaintiff's underlying bankruptcy proceeding, holding that the trial court properly dismissed the claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the claims were preempted by federal bankruptcy law.Plaintiff, who had previously filed a bankruptcy petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court, brought this action asserting claims of vexatious litigation and violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, Conn. Gen. Stat. 42-110a et seq. The trial court dismissed the claims. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Congress implicitly preempted state law actions by occupying the field of bankruptcy law and that, in the field of law, the federal interest is so dominant that federal law is assumed to preclude enforcement of state laws on the subject. View "Metcalf v. Fitzgerald" on Justia Law

In this dissolution of marriage action, the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the appellate court reversing the decision of the trial court awarding appellate attorney's fees to Plaintiff under the bad faith exception to the American rule, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in setting the amount of the fees.On appeal, Plaintiff argued that the appellate court did not accord the proper level of deference in concluding that the trial court's findings lacked sufficient specificity. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case to the appellate court with direction to affirm the trial court's award of attorney's fees, holding that the trial court acted within its discretion in awarding Plaintiff $30,000 in attorney's fees. View "Lederle v. Spivey" on Justia Law

In this medical negligence action, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court rendered in accordance with the court's granting of Defendants' motions to dismiss and for summary judgment, holding that the Court could not reach the merits of Plaintiff's claim that Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-190a is unconstitutional.Plaintiff brought this case against the State and numerous superior court judges, a psychiatrist and his employer, and business entities after his wife committed suicide. The trial court granted judgment for Defendants. On appeal, Plaintiff argued that section 52-190a, which requires a plaintiff to append a good faith certificate and supporting opinion letter to the complaint in cases of medical negligence, is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that because Plaintiff failed to challenge the trial court's threshold conclusions that his claims against Defendants were barred by, among other things, the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel, this Court could not address the single substantive issue that Plaintiff raised and that the judgment of the trial court must be affirmed. View "Traylor v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of murder and risk of injury to a child, holding that none of Defendant's claims of error warranted reversal of his convictions.Defendant was convicted of killing his seven-month-old son in an incident in which Defendant also attempted suicide. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to suppress certain evidence arising from statements that Defendant had made to the police while in the hospital; (2) even assuming that the trial court improperly admitted Defendant's statements made at the hospital in violation of Conn. Gen. Stat. 54-lo because the interview was not recorded, any such error was harmless; and (3) the trial court did not err by precluding Defendant from introducing into evidence Defendant's offer to plead guilty to manslaughter in exchange for twenty-five years' incarceration. View "State v. Tony M." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court determining that a money judgment against Department of Transportation had been satisfied, holding that the Department satisfied its judgment to White Oak Corporation.White Oak was awarded a money judgment in the amount of $8,362,308 against the Department after an arbitration proceeding. The Office of the State Comptroller paid the judgment on behalf of the Department and withheld $1,642,312 for taxes White Oak had owed to the state. White Oak filed a motion asserting that the doctrine of collateral estoppel precluded the comptroller from reducing the payment by any amount for taxes owed because, during a prior arbitration proceeding between the parties, the Department had alleged but failed to prove its claim for taxes owed to the state. The trial court rejected White Oak's claim. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Conn. Gen. Stat. 12-39g imposed a mandatory obligation on the comptroller to reduce the amount paid to White Oak by the amount of taxes owed to the state, as those taxes were not the subject of a timely filed administrative appeal. View "Department of Transportation v. White Oak Corp." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed in part the judgment of the Appellate Court concluding that Defendant failed to establish that his Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses against him was violated at trial, holding that, under the specific circumstances of this case, Defendant established a violation of his right to confrontation.Defendant was found guilty of felony murder, manslaughter in the first degree with a firearm, and other offenses. At trial, the State introduced evidence that Defendant's DNA profile, which had been generated from a post arrest buccal swab, matched the DNA found on evidence from the crime scene. The State, however, did not call as a witness the analyst who processed the buccal swab and generated the DNA profile used in the comparison. On appeal, the Appellate Court concluded that Defendant's Sixth Amendment claim failed because the admission of DNA evidence did not violate Defendant's constitutional right to confrontation. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the generation of DNA's profile was testimonial and that Defendant's Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses against him was violated. View "State v. Walker" on Justia Law

In this negligence action, the Supreme Court reversed the Appellate Court's decision determining that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied Plaintiff's motion to set aside the jury verdict for Defendants and for a new trial, holding that the jury's responses to certain interrogatories were legally inconsistent.Plaintiff brought this action against Johnley Sainval, a taxicab driver, and Sainval's employer seeking damages for serious injuries she sustained when she was struck by a taxicab that had been stolen from Sainval after Sainval left the vehicle unattended with the key in the ignition. The jury found that Sainval was negligent and that Sainval's negligence was a proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries but that Defendants were not liable for Plaintiff's injuries because the accident was not within the scope of the risk created by Sainval's negligence. Plaintiff filed a motion to set aside the verdict and for a new trial, but the trial court denied the motion. The Appellate Court affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the superseding cause doctrine was inapplicable to the present case; but (2) Plaintiff was entitled to a new trial because the interrogatory responses on which the jury verdict was based were inconsistent as a matter of law. View "Snell v. Norwalk Yellow Cab, Inc." on Justia Law