Lubrano v. Brennan Beer Gorman/Architects, LLP

7 Am. Tribal Law 407, 3 G.D.R. 61
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Lubrano v. Brennan Beer Gorman/Architects, LLP. Read the opinion of the Court — 7 Am. Tribal Law 392
Mohegan Gaming Disputes Trial Court·Decided August 2, 2007·No. No. GDTC-T-05-105-TBW·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION RE: DEFENDANT LEHR ASSOCIATES CONSULTING ENGINEERS, LLP’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT and/or MOTION TO DISMISS

WILSON, Judge.

I.

In this action seeking to recover damages for serious personal injuries sustained by the Plaintiff, Joseph Lubrano, suit was brought by the Plaintiff and his wife (“the Plaintiff’) against a number of Defendants, one of whom, “Lehr Associates Consulting Engineers, LLP” has moved for Summary Judgment on the ground that the complaint against it was not brought within the applicable statute of limitations of the Mohegan Torts Code. Alternatively, claiming that the said statute of limitations is substantive, rather than procedural, this Defendant has moved to dismiss for want of jurisdiction. [Hereinafter, the moving Defendant will be referred to in this opinion as “Lehr” or “the Defendant”, but the full names of this Defendant must be kept in mind because of the similarity of this name to another, original, Defendant; the significance of this similarity will become apparent hereafter.]

The Mohegan Torts Code statute of limitation is Mohegan Tribal Code (MTC) § 3-246. At the time that this action was commenced it provided that a civil action shall be brought by filing a complaint pursuant to the procedures set forth in the [410]*410code within two-hundred seventy (270) days of the accrual date.1

The “accrual date,” MTC § 3-245, means “the date on which the injury giving rise to a claim or complaint occurred, or the date on which the injury was or reasonably should have been discovered by the injured party.” In this ease, it is undisputed that the accrual date was June 15, 2004. The time limit for filing a complaint was therefore, March 12, 2005. The civil action that was originally brought in this case was filed in this court on March 9, 2005, therefore, within the time limit established by the code. It was not, however, originally brought against the present moving Defendant, “Lehr Associates Consulting Engineers, LLP” but was brought against eight other named Defendants, including one named “Frank H. Lehr Associates.” Thereafter, on June 17, 2005, the Plaintiff moved to add the moving Defendant, Lehr, pursuant to the Gaming Disputes Court Rules of Civil Procedure (G.D.C.P.), Ch. 5 § 13, together with a third party complaint. The motion was granted on July 27, 2005. Treating the commencement of this action against this moving Defendant as being on June 17, 2005, it was beyond, not only the 270-day time limit of the then current statute of limitations, it was two days late under the revised statute of limitations (which itself did not become effective until five days after that.)

The Defendant Lehr has now moved for a summary judgment and/or to dismiss on the ground that the action against it was untimely. There is no genuine dispute as to the facts of the accrual date or of the commencement of this action. The Plaintiff however, counters that under the Rules of Procedure of this court the Plaintiff was entitled, under § 13 a. and b., to cite in the Defendant Lehr “at any time” (so the Plaintiff argues) as a new party notwithstanding the statute of limitations; and also that under Connecticut’s “Action Against Wrong Defendant” statute C.G.S. § 52-593, the Plaintiff is allowed to bring suit against this Defendant Lehr outside the time limit of the Mohegan Ordinance. The facts and the applicable law will be fully stated in this opinion.

The court concludes that it has jurisdiction under the Constitution of the Mohegan Tribe and under the ordinance establishing this court; that the Mohegan Torts Ordinance is applicable to this action; that the suit against the Defendant Lehr was not timely commenced; that the Plaintiffs arguments as to timeliness are not well founded; and that the Defendant Lehr’s motion should be granted.

II.

A.

The Applicable Law as to the Motion to Dismiss

The Motion under consideration is styled “Motion for Summary Judgment and/or [‘Alternatively’] Motion to Dismiss.” As a Motion to Dismiss, the Motion raised the question of lack of jurisdiction of this court. “Once the question of lack of jurisdiction of a court is raised, it must be disposed of no matter in what form it is presented ... and the court must fully resolve it before proceeding further with the case ... A motion to dismiss is a proper manner of asserting lack of subject matter jurisdiction ...” Ager v. Office of the Director of Regulation, 1 G.D.R. 1, 4, 1 Am. Tribal Law 380, 385 (1997) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). “Whenever it appears after suggestion of the parties or otherwise that the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the court shall dismiss the action.” G.D.C. Rules of [411]*411Civil Procedure § 20 d. (Emphasis added); Accord, Conn. Rules of Civil Procedure Sec. 10-33.2

B.

As to the Motion for Summary Judgment

The motion, treated as one for Summary Judgment, claims that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving Defendant Lehr is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Sec. 49 of the Rules of Civil Procedure of this court contains the provisions relating to, and the standards for action upon, motions for summary judgment.3

The court finds that there is “no genuine issue as to any material fact.” The question whether the moving Defendant Lehr [412]*412“is entitled to judgment as a matter of law” is, under the facts and the law applicable in this case, the same as the question raised by the Defendant Lehr of whether this court lacks jurisdiction. Thus, both alternatives presented by the motion are equivalent. If the action was untimely filed under the Torts Code statute of limitations, and the court therefore lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the Defendant Lehr is entitled to a judgment of dismissal as a matter of law.

III.

Jurisdictional Facts

In paragraph one of the complaint, Plaintiff alleged “Pursuant to Section 3 of the Mohegan Torts Code, Ordinance 2001-07 [MTC Sec. 3-243] the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (sic. Presumably, meaning this court) has jurisdiction over this action.”

The Defendant Lehr’s answer to this paragraph pleaded “insufficient knowledge or information upon which to form a belief and therefore denies the same and leaves the plaintiffs to their proof.”

The Plaintiffs and the Defendant Lehr, in their briefs and arguments on the instant motion, assumed the applicability of the Mohegan Torts Code. For purposes of determining a Motion to Dismiss, the court cannot assume that it has jurisdiction; subject matter jurisdiction must be established before the court may proceed. The complaint and the proceedings on the motion must therefore be analyzed.

The complaint proceeds to allege that the Plaintiff, a resident of Gales Ferry, Connecticut, “was an employee of the Mohegan Sun and/or Sun International in Uncasville, Connecticut.” There is no allegation, or any evidence in the record, that the Plaintiff is a member of the Mohegan Tribe. This court takes judicial notice that the “Mohegan Sun and/or Sun International” is a Mohegan Tribal entity within the meaning of Sec. 3-245 of the Torts Code.4

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Lubrano v. Brennan Beer Gorman/Architects, LLP, 7 Am. Tribal Law 407, 3 G.D.R. 61 (Mo. 2007).

7 Am. Tribal Law 407 (Lubrano v. Brennan Beer Gorman/Architects, LLP) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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Lubrano v. Brennan Beer Gorman/Architects, LLP
7 Am. Tribal Law 392 (Mohegan Gaming Disputes Trial Court, 2007)