Kinkade v. Wiseman, No. Cv 96-0475532s (Dec. 30, 1997)

1997 Conn. Super. Ct. 13266
CourtConnecticut Superior Court
DecidedDecember 30, 1997
DocketNo. CV 96-0475532S
StatusUnpublished

This text of 1997 Conn. Super. Ct. 13266 (Kinkade v. Wiseman, No. Cv 96-0475532s (Dec. 30, 1997)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kinkade v. Wiseman, No. Cv 96-0475532s (Dec. 30, 1997), 1997 Conn. Super. Ct. 13266 (Colo. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This case is unpublished as indicated by the issuing court.]MEMORANDUM OF DECISION ON DEFENDANT'S MOTIONS TO DISMISS:TO STRIKE AND FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT I. Summary of Facts and Procedural History:

The parties to this action are Shawn B. Kinkade (hereinafter the plaintiff') and Dana Wiseman, M.D., P.C. (hereinafter the "defendant"). The plaintiff filed a complaint in this court with a return date of September 10, 1996. According to that pleading, the plaintiff had previously filed charges of discrimination with the Equal Employment and Opportunity: Commission and the State of Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (hereinafter the "CHRO"), against Dana Wiseman on December 20, 1994. The plaintiff alleges that he received a Notice of Right to Sue from the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division on October 5, 1995, and that he filed a complaint thereafter in federal court on December 8, 1995. See 1 United States District of Connecticut, Civil No. 3:95CV2767 (AWT) (hereinafter the "federal court" and "federal claims" or "federal complaint"). The federal complaint alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Federal Rehabilitation CT Page 13267 Act, respectively. against Dana Wiseman, individually, and the Town of East Hartford (hereinafter the "town"). The plaintiff alleges that he received a Release to Sue from the CHRO, on February 29, 1996.

Within a week of receiving the Release to Sue, the plaintiff filed a request to amend his complaint1 in federal court that added allegations based on the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act, Connecticut General Statutes § 46a-51 et seq. (hereinafter "CFEPA). On August 12, 1996, the federal court, Alvin Thompson, U.S.D.J., declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over any of the plaintiffs state law claims and denied the request to amend. The present complaint was brought thereafter with a return date of September 10, 1996.

The claims raised by the plaintiff sound in negligence and discrimination. In support of his claims. the plaintiff alleges that in May of 1994 he had applied to become a firefighter/paramedic with the Town of East Hartford. According to the plaintiff, the chief of the East Hartford Fire Department informed him personally on May 20, 1994, that he was a successful candidate. The plaintiff participated in a physical examination conducted at the town's Health Department on the same day. Several weeks later, the plaintiff received a letter from the town that stated that 23 others had been hired as firefighter/paramedics and that his rank had been reduced regarding his eligibility for future firefighter/paramedic jobs.

The plaintiff alleges that he learned that the defendant had concluded, based on the single physical examination, that the plaintiff was "not qualified" to be a firefighter/paramedic. The defendant allegedly concluded that the plaintiff suffered from low levels of high density lipoprotein and from labile hypertension. The plaintiff alleges that both conditions are treatable. He claims that the defendant violated the CFEPA by summarily concluding that the plaintiff was "Not qualified" to serve as a firefighter/paramedic; by failing to investigate whether, in fact, the plaintiff could perform the responsibilities of the firefighter/paramedic position before reporting to the town that he was unqualified; and that the defendant performed his duties negligently.

On October 10, 1996, the defendant filed a pleading entitled Motions to Dismiss, to Strike and for Summary Judgment on Behalf of Dana Wiseman, M.D., P.C. The combined motions were accompanied CT Page 13268 by verified copies of the complaint, the Endorsement Order issued by the federal court and dated August 12, 1996, a Release to Sue from the CHRO signed on February 29, 1996, and a copy of a Request to Amend Complaint dated March 4, 1996 with a typewritten notation dated August 12, 1996 by Judge Thompson denying the plaintiff's request to amend as it pertained to the proposed additional CFEPA claim. The defendant's motion also attached a notarized Affidavit in Support, signed by Dana Wiseman, M.D.; a copy of a Professional Services Contract between Dana Wiseman, M.D., and the Town of East Hartford; and a copy of a document entitled Medical Requirements for Prospective Firefighter Applicants. Town of East Hartford. A twenty-three page Memorandum of Law in Support of Motions to Dismiss. to Strike and for Summary Judgment on Behalf of Dana Wiseman, M.D., P.C. accompanied the defendant's motions. None of the moving papers separated out the defendant's motions or theories of relief

After being granted additional time within which to respond to the defendant's motions, the plaintiff filed a Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant's Motions to Dismiss, to Strike and for Summary Judgment. Attached to the plaintiffs memorandum were copies of an Affidavit in Support signed by Dana Wiseman, M.C., the Endorsement Order of the federal court, the CHRO Release to Sue, an unsigned uncertified Second Amended Complaint dated March 4, 1996, relating to the federal case, and a copy of an unpublished Superior Court decision. After oral argument was heard, by letters of various dates, both parties briefed additional case law and urged the court to consider it.

The defendant argues that the plaintiff failed to comply with the requirement of C.G.S. § 46a-101(e) that the discrimination suit be commenced within 90 days of receiving the release to sue from the CHRO: that by instituting this action against the wrong defendant the plaintiff has failed to state a claim on which relief may be granted; that the plaintiff's complaint is insufficient because it fails to join a necessary part v and that the negligence claim brought by the plaintiff is barred by the statute of limitations for malpractice and factually unsupportable because the corporate defendant had no dealings with plaintiff and owed no duty to him.

In response to the defendant's motion, the plaintiff argues that the 90 day requirement was tolled by his litigation in federal court, that the defendant corporation, Dana Wiseman, M.D., P.C., is a proper party as the employer of Dana Wiseman, CT Page 13269 M.D., and that the defendant has wrongly applied the malpractice statute of limitations to his negligence claim.

Pleading Standards

Practice Book § 112 sets out an order that must be followed for the filing of pleadings. According to the rule, the motion to dismiss must precede the motion to strike and any answer or special defenses. Practice Book § 112. But a motion to dismiss based on want of subject matter jurisdiction may be raised at any time. Goodson v. State, 232 Conn. 175, 179,653 A.2d 177 (1995). Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the failure to conform to this order will result in a waiver of the pleading that should have been filed first. Practice Book § 113.2 E. Stephenson, Connecticut Civil Procedure (3d Ed. 1997), p. 110. The trial court may, in its discretion, permit the filing of two or more different motions simultaneously, however.Sabin v. Ruffolo, 19 Conn. App. 402, 404, 562 A.2d 1134, 1135 (1989). The court will so allow in this case.

Motion to Dismiss

A motion to dismiss attacks the jurisdiction of the court.Gurliacci v. Mayer

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Chotkowski v. State
690 A.2d 368 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1997)
Connecticut State Oil Co. v. Carbone
415 A.2d 771 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1979)
Meredith v. Police Commission of the Town of New Canaan
438 A.2d 27 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1980)
Sullivan v. Board of Police Commissioners
491 A.2d 1096 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1985)
Concerned Citizens of Sterling v. Town of Sterling
529 A.2d 666 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1987)
Barde v. Board of Trustees
539 A.2d 1000 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1988)
Rowe v. Godou
550 A.2d 1073 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1988)
Demar v. Open Space & Conservation Commission
559 A.2d 1103 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1989)
Savage v. Aronson
571 A.2d 696 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1990)
Liljedahl Bros. v. Grigsby
576 A.2d 149 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1990)
Gurliacci v. Mayer
590 A.2d 914 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1991)
Pratt v. Town of Old Saybrook
621 A.2d 1322 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1993)
RK Constructors, Inc. v. Fusco Corp.
650 A.2d 153 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1994)
Goodson v. State
653 A.2d 177 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1995)
Hilton v. City of New Haven
661 A.2d 973 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1995)
Sadloski v. Town of Manchester
668 A.2d 1314 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1995)
Angelsea Productions, Inc. v. Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities
674 A.2d 1300 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1996)
Waters v. Autuori
676 A.2d 357 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1996)
Stewart v. Tunxis Service Center
676 A.2d 819 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1996)
Doty v. Mucci
679 A.2d 945 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1996)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1997 Conn. Super. Ct. 13266, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kinkade-v-wiseman-no-cv-96-0475532s-dec-30-1997-connsuperct-1997.