Kaminski v. Semple

Excerpt

The plaintiff inmate sought, inter alia, a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief in connection with the alleged failure of the defendant state employees to conduct a criminal investigation into abuse that he alleged had been inflicted on him by a correction officer. The defendants moved to dismiss the plaintiff's complaint on the ground that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the plaintiff lacked standing to assert a claim that was based on the alleged failure to conduct a criminal investigation. The defendants also claimed that the plaintiff's claims were barred by sovereign immunity and statutory (§ 4-165) immu- nity. The trial court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss, conclud- ing that the defendants were entitled to sovereign immunity and immu- nity pursuant to § 4-165, and that the plaintiff lacked standing as to his claim that the defendants failed to investigate the alleged abuse. The trial rendered judgment for the defendants, and the plaintiff appealed to this court, claiming, inter alia, that because he had sued all of the defendants in their individual capacities, the trial court improperly con- cluded that they were entitled to sovereign and statutory immunity. Held that the judgment of the trial court was affirmed in part and the appeal was dismissed in part as moot, the plaintiff on appeal having failed to challenge the trial court's determination that he lacked standing to raise certain of his claims as to certain defendants, and because the trial court's memorandum of decision fully addressed the arguments raised in this appeal, this court adopted the trial court's well reasoned decision as a proper statement of the relevant facts and the applicable law on the issues. Argued December 5, 2019—officially released March 17, 2020