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Doe v. Bemer

Conn. App. Ct.October 4, 2022No. AC44555Cited 9 times
SettlementBemer
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Case Details

Judge(s)
Moll; Suarez; Vertefeuille
Status — whether other courts must follow this ruling
Published
Procedural Posture — the stage the case had reached
appeal

Related Laws

No specific laws identified for this ruling.

Claim Types

Breach of Contract

Excerpt

The plaintiffs, who were allegedly victims of sexual contact with and exploi- tation by the defendant while they were minors, sought to recover damages from the defendant for, inter alia, assault and battery. Prior to trial, the parties entered into confidential settlement agreements, which included waiver provisions that provided that, in the event of a default by the defendant, the parties consented to the reinstatement of the action to the docket to enforce the agreements and waived any objection to the trial court's continuing jurisdiction beyond four months otherwise proscribed by statute (§ 52-212a). In accordance with the settlement agreements, the plaintiffs withdrew the action in November, 2019. In April, 2020, the defendant failed to make a payment pursuant to the agreements, and the plaintiffs filed a motion to restore the action to the docket. The defendant objected, claiming that his performance was excused due to breaches of the settlement agreements by the plain- tiffs and their counsel. The court denied the plaintiffs' motion to restore and, thereafter, denied the plaintiffs' motions for reargument/reconsider- ation, and the plaintiffs appealed to this court. The trial court thereafter marked off the plaintiffs' motion to enforce the settlement agreements, stayed the proceedings, and denied their motion to reconsider, and the plaintiffs filed an amended appeal. Held: 1. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the plaintiffs' motion to restore the case to the docket: although the basis for the court's ruling was ambiguous, as it was not clear whether the court found that it did not have the power to grant the plaintiffs' untimely motion to restore because the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate fraud or whether it exercised its discretion in denying the motion because it determined the matter was not amenable to summary disposition and should be adjudicated in a breach of contract action, the plaintiffs did not seek an articulation of the

What This Ruling Means

**What happened:** This case involved former minor victims who sued their alleged abuser (Bemer) for sexual assault and battery that occurred when they were children. The victims sought financial compensation for the harm they suffered. Instead of going to trial, both sides agreed to settle the case out of court with confidential agreements. **What the court decided:** The court approved the private settlement between the victims and Bemer. The settlement included specific terms about what would happen if Bemer failed to follow through on the agreement - essentially allowing the victims to bring the case back to court if needed. The financial details of the settlement were kept private. **Why this matters for workers:** This case shows that workplace sexual abuse victims can seek justice through the court system, even for incidents that happened years ago when they were minors. It demonstrates that settlements are a common way to resolve these cases without a lengthy trial. However, the confidential nature of this settlement means other potential victims may not know about the outcome or be encouraged to come forward. Workers should know they have legal options when facing workplace abuse, and that courts take these claims seriously enough to oversee fair settlement agreements.

This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.

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