Kellogg v. Middlesex Mutual Assurance Co.

211 Conn. App. 335
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedMarch 22, 2022
DocketAC43421
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 211 Conn. App. 335 (Kellogg v. Middlesex Mutual Assurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kellogg v. Middlesex Mutual Assurance Co., 211 Conn. App. 335 (Colo. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

*********************************************** The “officially released” date that appears near the be- ginning of each opinion is the date the opinion will be pub- lished in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it was released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the be- ginning of all time periods for filing postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the “officially released” date appearing in the opinion.

All opinions are subject to modification and technical correction prior to official publication in the Connecticut Reports and Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event of discrepancies between the advance release version of an opinion and the latest version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest version is to be considered authoritative.

The syllabus and procedural history accompanying the opinion as it appears in the Connecticut Law Journal and bound volumes of official reports are copyrighted by the Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may not be reproduced and distributed without the express written permission of the Commission on Official Legal Publica- tions, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. *********************************************** SALLY KELLOGG v. MIDDLESEX MUTUAL ASSURANCE COMPANY (AC 43421) Moll, Alexander and Flynn, Js.

Syllabus

The plaintiff sought to recover damages from the defendant insurance com- pany for breach of contract, a violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) (§ 42-110a et seq.) arising from a violation of the Connecticut Unfair Insurance Practices Act (CUIPA) (§ 38a-815 et seq.), and promissory estoppel, in connection with a restorationist insur- ance policy issued by the defendant. The plaintiff, the owner of a historic property, had filed a claim pursuant to that policy for loss to her property resulting from a tree falling on her home during a storm. In a prior action, the plaintiff sought to vacate an arbitration award setting the amount of the insured loss to her property. The trial court in that action, Tierney, J., granted the plaintiff’s application to vacate the arbitration award on the basis that it violated the applicable statute (§ 52-418). In the defendant’s appeal from that judgment, Kellogg v. Middlesex Mutual Assurance Co. (326 Conn. 638), our Supreme Court reversed Judge Tierney’s decision and remanded the case with direction to render judg- ment denying the plaintiff’s application to vacate the arbitration award, concluding, inter alia, that Judge Tierney had improperly substituted his judgment for that of the appraisal panel that had decided the amount of the loss. In the present action, commenced during the pendency of the appeal from Judge Tierney’s decision, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s amended complaint, claiming that, in light of the pending appeal, this action was not ripe or, alternatively, was barred pursuant to the prior pending action doctrine. The trial court, Heller, J., denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss. The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff’s second revised and amended complaint, in which it argued that the breach of contract claim was barred pursuant to the doctrine of res judicata and the suit limitation provision of the restorationist policy, the CUTPA/CUIPA claim was time barred and failed as a matter of law, and the promissory estoppel claim was barred pursuant to the suit limitation provision of the policy and failed as a matter of law. The trial court, Hernandez, J., denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, relying entirely on Judge Tierney’s findings in his decision granting the plaintiff’s application to vacate the arbitration award in the prior proceeding, even though that decision already had been reversed by our Supreme Court, and on Judge Heller’s denial of the defendant’s motion to dismiss, pursuant to the law of the case doctrine. On the defendant’s appeal to this court, held: 1. Contrary to the plaintiff’s claim, this court had subject matter jurisdiction to consider the denial of the defendant’s motion for summary judgment in its entirety as an appealable final judgment: the trial court relied on the same rationale in rejecting all of the defendant’s claims raised in its motion for summary judgment, and, consequently, all of the defendant’s claims were inextricably intertwined. 2. The trial court erred in denying the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, as that court improperly relied on Judge Tierney’s findings and Judge Heller’s ruling: the law of the case doctrine did not apply to Judge Tierney’s findings, as they were made in a decision issued in a separate matter concerning the plaintiff’s application to vacate the arbitration award, and, even if the law of the case doctrine were applica- ble, Judge Tierney’s findings became a nullity in light of our Supreme Court’s reversal of Judge Tierney’s decision in Kellogg v. Middlesex Mutual Assurance Co.; moreover, the court’s reliance on Judge Heller’s denial of the defendant’s motion to dismiss was improper because the motion to dismiss and the motion for summary judgment concerned wholly separate claims and involved different legal standards; further- more, under the circumstances of this case, the appropriate remedy was for this court to remand the case for further proceedings and to provide the defendant with another opportunity to pursue its motion for summary judgment, rather than for this court to delve into the merits of the defendant’s claims. Argued September 20, 2021—officially released March 22, 2022

Procedural History

Action to recover damages for, inter alia, breach of contract, and for other relief, brought to the Superior Court in the judicial district of Stamford-Norwalk, where the trial court, Hernandez, J., denied the defen- dant’s motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff’s second revised and amended complaint, and the defen- dant appealed to this court. Reversed; further proceed- ings. Kathleen F. Adams, with whom, on the brief, was Peter J. Ponziani, for the appellant (defendant). Frank W. Murphy, for the appellee (plaintiff). Opinion

MOLL, J. The defendant, Middlesex Mutual Assur- ance Company, appeals from the judgment of the trial court denying its motion for summary judgment on the second revised and amended complaint filed by the plaintiff, Sally Kellogg, in which she raised claims of breach of contract, a violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA), General Statutes § 42- 110a et seq., arising from a violation of the Connecticut Unfair Insurance Practices Act (CUIPA), General Stat- utes § 38a-815 et seq., and promissory estoppel. On appeal, the defendant claims that the court improperly denied its motion for summary judgment because (1) the breach of contract claim was barred pursuant to (a) the doctrine of res judicata and (b) the suit limitation provision of a ‘‘restorationist’’ property insurance policy issued by the defendant, (2) the CUTPA/CUIPA claim (a) was barred pursuant to General Statutes § 42-110g (f), the applicable statute of limitations, and (b) failed as a matter of law, and (3) the promissory estoppel claim (a) was barred pursuant to the suit limitation provision of the policy and (b) failed as a matter of law. We reverse the judgment of the trial court. The following facts, as set forth by our Supreme Court in a prior decision addressing a separate matter involv- ing the parties, and procedural history are relevant to our resolution of this appeal. ‘‘The plaintiff . . . is the owner of a historic property in the city of Norwalk (property). She insured the property through a ‘[r]esto- rationist’ policy issued by the defendant . . . .

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Bluebook (online)
211 Conn. App. 335, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kellogg-v-middlesex-mutual-assurance-co-connappct-2022.