Rotophone, Inc. v. Danbury Hospital

535 A.2d 830, 13 Conn. App. 230, 1988 Conn. App. LEXIS 6
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedJanuary 12, 1988
Docket5146
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 535 A.2d 830 (Rotophone, Inc. v. Danbury Hospital) 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
Rotophone, Inc. v. Danbury Hospital, 535 A.2d 830, 13 Conn. App. 230, 1988 Conn. App. LEXIS 6 (Colo. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

Dupont, C. J.

The plaintiffs appeal from the trial court’s granting of summary judgment in favor of the defendant on the two counts of the plaintiffs’ complaint. The plaintiffs Rotophone, Inc., and Delong Answerphone, Inc., operate telephone answering services in the city of Danbury.1 Prior to 1982, the plaintiffs provided telephone answering services to the defendant Danbury Hospital for its staff physicians. In 1982, Dan-bury Hospital commenced operation of a telephone answering service for its medical staff.

The plaintiffs allege in the first count of their complaint that the defendant’s operation of a telephone answering service violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA); General Statutes § 42-110a et seq.; and, in the second count, that the operation constituted a tortious interference with the plaintiffs’ business expectancy. The crux of the plaintiffs’ allegation that CUTPA is being violated is that the defendant, a tax-exempt corporation, is conducting an unrelated trade or business as defined in § 513 of the Internal Revenue Code2 and is, therefore, engag[232]*232ing in unfair competition. The second count of the plaintiffs’ complaint contains allegations that the tortious interference is the solicitation by the defendant of the plaintiffs’ customers and the offering of financial inducements to them to change answering services.

The parties submitted affidavits and counteraffidavits in support of, and in opposition to, the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. The plaintiffs claim that the trial court erred (1) in holding that the plaintiffs’ CUTPA claim is subject to the public interest requirement set forth in Ivey, Barnum & O’Mar a v. Indian Harbor Properties, Inc., 190 Conn. 528, 461 A.2d 1369 (1983), (2) in concluding that the defendant’s answering service was limited to its own medical staff,3 and (3) in holding that the plaintiffs did not state a cause of action on their claim of tortious interference with a business expectancy. We find no error.

A trial court may appropriately grant a motion for summary judgment only when the affidavits and evidence submitted in support of the motion demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact remaining between the parties and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Practice Book § 384; Catz v. Rubenstein, 201 Conn. 39, 48-49, 513 A.2d 98 (1986); Barnes v. Schlein, 192 Conn. 732, 738, 473 A.2d 1221 (1984). Although the party seeking summary judgment has the burden of showing the nonexistence of any material fact, a party opposing summary judgment must substantiate its adverse claim by showing that there is a genuine issue of material fact together with the evidence disclosing the existence of such an issue. Stradav. Connecticut Newspapers, Inc., 193 Conn. 313, 317, 477 A.2d 1005 (1984). In deciding [233]*233a motion for summary judgment, the trial court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Metropolitan Property & Liability Ins. Co., 10 Conn. App. 125, 130, 521 A.2d 1048, cert. denied, 203 Conn. 806, 525 A.2d 521 (1987).

The plaintiffs’ first claim is that the trial court erred in holding that they were required to demonstrate a nexus with the public interest as a prerequisite to recovery under CUTPA. Alternatively, the plaintiffs argue that such an element was present in this case.

Ivey, Barnum & O’Mara v. Indian Harbor Properties, Inc., supra, 537, holds that “suits undertaken pursuant to CUTPA must demonstrate some nexus with the public interest.” The public interest requirement of a private action under CUTPA was subsequently eliminated by the legislature.4 This change, however, was not retroactive in effect. Fortini v. New England Log Homes, Inc., 4 Conn. App. 132, 137 n.1, 492 A.2d 545 (1985).5 Therefore, the trial court did not err in holding that in order to succeed on a CUTPA action commenced prior to June 8, 1984, as this case was, a plaintiff must demonstrate a nexus with the public interest.

Furthermore, the plaintiffs failed to allege in their complaint, or in their counteraffidavit opposing the motion for summary judgment, any nexus between their CUTPA claim and the public interest. The plaintiffs argue in their brief, however, that the public interest is implicated in this case because the defendant’s [234]*234telephone answering service is not limited to its own medical staff, but is available to the medical community at large. The plaintiffs failed, however, to provide any support for this contention, while the defendant clearly demonstrated the limited nature of its telephone answering service in its affidavit in support of the motion for summary judgment. Indeed, the plaintiffs’ counteraffidavit confirms that the defendant’s answering service is only available to its own medical staff.6 Thus, there is no issue of material fact as to whether the defendant’s telephone answering service is limited solely to its own medical staff. There is, therefore, no merit to the plaintiffs’ claim that if a public interest were required, such an element was present. See Ivey, Barnum & O’Mara v. Indian Harbor Properties, Inc., supra, 540. In the absence of a genuine issue of material fact as to the existence of some nexus between the plaintiffs’ CUTPA claim and the public interest, the trial court correctly granted summary judgment for the defendant.

The plaintiffs finally claim error in the trial court’s granting of summary judgment to the defendant on the plaintiff’s claim of tortious interference with a business expectancy. In order to succeed on such a claim, a plaintiff must do more than show that the defendant’s actions proximately caused a loss to the plaintiffs’ businesses. A cause of action for tortious interference with a business expectancy requires proof that the defendant was guilty of fraud, misrepresentation, intimidation, molestation, or that the defendant acted maliciously. Sportsmen’s Boating Corporation v. Hensley, [235]*235192 Conn. 747, 754, 474 A.2d 780 (1984). A plaintiff is required to plead and eventually to prove at least some improper motive or improper means by the defendant. Blake v. Levy, 191 Conn. 257, 262, 464 A.2d 52 (1983). We agree with the trial court’s conclusion that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate in their affidavits or evidence that there was a genuine issue of material fact to be decided or that, as a matter of law, the defendant had used any improper means or motive in its operation of a telephone answering service.

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

Related

Varley v. First Student, Inc.
Connecticut Appellate Court, 2015
Commissioner of Transportation v. Connemara Court, LLC, Et Al.
2000 Conn. Super. Ct. 8025 (Connecticut Superior Court, 2000)
Connolly v. Digirolamo, No. Cv-95-0379344s (Jul. 15, 1998)
1998 Conn. Super. Ct. 8548 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1998)
Guillemette v. Gaffney, No. Cv 93-0343428s (Aug. 29, 1996)
1996 Conn. Super. Ct. 5864 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1996)
Weber v. Air Express International Corp., No. Cv95 0142974 S (Jul. 24, 1996)
1996 Conn. Super. Ct. 5123-SSS (Connecticut Superior Court, 1996)
Weber v. Air Express Int. Corp., No. Cv95 0142974 S (Jul. 17, 1996)
1996 Conn. Super. Ct. 5163-BBBB (Connecticut Superior Court, 1996)
Kregos v. Latest Line, Inc.
929 F. Supp. 600 (D. Connecticut, 1996)
Cooley v. Cooley, No. Fa 88-0349263 (May 20, 1994)
1994 Conn. Super. Ct. 5460 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1994)
In Re Romance M., No. 92051 (Feb. 23, 1993)
1993 Conn. Super. Ct. 1969 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1993)
Woodcock v. Journal Publishing, No. Cv 89-42904 S (Sep. 29, 1992)
1992 Conn. Super. Ct. 9052 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1992)
Keating v. Jordan, No. 096660 (Sep. 10, 1991)
1991 Conn. Super. Ct. 8196 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1991)
In Re Jason, Tyrone, Justin Romance M., (Jul. 15, 1991)
1991 Conn. Super. Ct. 6347 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1991)
Ganim v. Turechek, No. Cv90-0270099 (Feb. 27, 1991)
1991 Conn. Super. Ct. 1209 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1991)
Sylvia Constr. v. Bjr Constr., Inc., No. 50 92 46 (Jan. 23, 1991)
1991 Conn. Super. Ct. 440 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1991)
Oat v. Whittle, No. 09 34 17 (Jan. 22, 1991)
1991 Conn. Super. Ct. 450 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1991)
Aldrin v. Kaufman Fuel Company, No. Cv 86-0235243 S (Dec. 14, 1990)
1990 Conn. Super. Ct. 4543 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1990)
Yale Univ. School of Medicine v. Wurtzel, No. 27 53 14 (Nov. 9, 1990)
1990 Conn. Super. Ct. 4152 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1990)
Campbell v. Palmer
568 A.2d 1064 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 1990)
Maruca v. Standard
559 A.2d 1167 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 1989)
Lembo v. Schlesinger
543 A.2d 780 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 1988)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
535 A.2d 830, 13 Conn. App. 230, 1988 Conn. App. LEXIS 6, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rotophone-inc-v-danbury-hospital-connappct-1988.