No specific laws identified for this ruling.
Trial court rendered partial judgment for plaintiff on breach of contract and CUTPA claims, awarding damages for breach of contract but limiting CUTPA recovery to attorney's fees. On appeal, the court reversed the statute of limitations tolling findings but affirmed liability and remanded for recalculation of damages.
The plaintiff, M Co., which designs and develops prototypes of medical devices, sought to recover damages for breach of contract and unfair trade practices from the defendants, A, a neurosurgeon and inventor, and I Co., which A and a partner had formed to develop medical devices for use in spinal surgery. In November, 2004, L, an owner of M Co., and A entered into a written agreement under which the parties were to share equally any compensation that resulted from the sale and/or licensing of a medical device conceived of by A, or any version thereof, for use in spinal surgery. The parties' one page contract provided that any required funding or financial commitments were to be part of a separate agreement they would negotiate later and that A was to promptly notify M Co. of any compensation he received for the device or any versions thereof. A further agreed that he was not under any contractual agree- ment with any other company concerning the device. At the time the parties entered into the written agreement, they also agreed orally that M Co. would create design drawings and a prototype of the device, and, at that time, A gave M Co. his initial drawings of the device. By early 2005, M Co. had prepared a prototype of the device and successfully installed it in a cadaver. M Co. thereafter utilized a different design and produced another prototype that it gave to A by October, 2005. By that time, A had become dissatisfied with M Co.'s work and continued to work on developing the device on his own without informing M Co. In December, 2005, A applied for a patent on an anterior intervertebral spinal fixation and fusion device that he had developed with the help of his son. A thereafter did not respond in writing to a letter from L in February, 2006, concerning the value of M Co.'s services and, in July, 2007, formed I Co. A also did not respond to e-mails from L in 2008 requesting an update on the project, and, in May, 2008, A and his son, without informing M Co., as
This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.
The plaintiff appealed from the trial court's judgment granting the defen- dants' motions to dismiss her retaliatory discharge action, which alleged a violation of the whistleblower statute (§ 31-51m). The plaintiff, while employed at a pizza restaurant owned by the defendant S Co. and managed by the defendant L, submitted a complaint to the local health district reporting unsanitary conditions at the restaurant. The day after a health inspector visited the restaurant and disclosed that the plaintiff had made the complaint, the defendants terminated her employment. The plaintiff claimed that the trial court erred in determining that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction on the ground that she had failed to exhaust administrative remedies available through the Department of Labor, as required by § 31-51m (c). Held: The trial court improperly granted the defendants' motions to dismiss the plaintiff's retaliatory discharge action on the ground that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction, as the plaintiff's action focused on her employer's con- duct in terminating her employment following her complaint to the health district, the substance of which related to public health, not occupational safety or health. Argued September 9—officially released December 16, 2025
The plaintiff appealed from the trial court's judgment granting the defendant town's motion for summary judgment on her complaint alleging, inter alia, pregnancy discrimination. She claimed that the court erred in its determina- tion that there were no genuine issues of material fact as to her claims. Held: The trial court improperly rendered summary judgment for the defendant on the plaintiff's claim of pregnancy discrimination, as the plaintiff presented sufficient evidence in opposition to the defendant's motion for summary judgment to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether she suffered adverse employment actions when the defendant failed to reinstate her to her original job or an equivalent one and when it failed to promote her following her return from maternity leave, and a rational fact finder could conclude, on the basis of the evidence presented, including the timing and sequence of the alleged adverse employment actions, that the plaintiff pre- sented evidence sufficient to establish a prima facie case of pregnancy discrimination and that the defendant's stated reasons for its actions were a pretext for its unlawful discrimination; accordingly, this court remanded the case for further proceedings on that claim. This court declined to review the plaintiff's claim that the trial court erred in determining that there were no genuine issues of material fact that she was subjected to gender discrimination and in granting the defendant's motion for summary judgment with respect to that claim, as the claim was inadequately briefed. Argued October 15, 2024—officially released November 11, 2025
The plaintiff insured appealed from the trial court's judgment for the defen- dant insurance company on her amended complaint alleging a violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act and a breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in an insurance dispute concerning underinsured motorist benefits. She claimed, inter alia, that the court improp- erly granted the defendant's motion to bifurcate and stay discovery. Held: The trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting the defendant's motion to bifurcate and stay discovery, as the court reasonably could have concluded that bifurcation of the claims served interests of convenience and judicial efficiency and may have negated the need to litigate certain other issues. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the plaintiff's motion for an order of compliance with her discovery requests, as the defendant eventually filed a notice of compliance and the plaintiff did not allege any prejudice resulting from the defendant's delay in complying with her discov- ery requests. This court declined to reach the merits of the plaintiff's claim that the trial court erred with respect to certain legal and factual determinations, as the plaintiff failed to furnish an adequate record for review. The trial court applied a proper legal standard in ruling on the counts of the plaintiff's complaint alleging that the defendant failed to act in good faith pursuant to a provision of CUTPA and that it acted in bad faith in violation of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, as the court reasonably could have concluded, in light of the evidence and the related findings of fact, that the plaintiff failed to satisfy her burden of demonstrating that the defendant had acted in bad faith. Argued October 29, 2024—officially released October 28, 2025
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