Sobocinski v. Statewide Grievance Committee

576 A.2d 532, 215 Conn. 517, 1990 Conn. LEXIS 215
CourtSupreme Court of Connecticut
DecidedJune 26, 1990
Docket13829
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 576 A.2d 532 (Sobocinski v. Statewide Grievance Committee) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sobocinski v. Statewide Grievance Committee, 576 A.2d 532, 215 Conn. 517, 1990 Conn. LEXIS 215 (Colo. 1990).

Opinion

Glass, J.

The dispositive issue in this appeal is whether the statewide grievance committee1 (SGC) is an administrative agency as defined in General Statutes § 4-166 (l)2 of our Uniform Administrative Procedure Act (UAPA). The plaintiff, Nancy L. Sobocinski, has appealed, from a decision of the trial court dismissing her appeal from a decision of the SGC. The trial court held that the SGC is not an administrative agency as defined by § 4-166 (1), and, as a result, dismissed the plaintiffs appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. We agree with the trial court’s determination.

[519]*519The record reveals the following facts. In August, 1984, the plaintiff was injured as a result of a collision between her automobile and an automobile owned and operated by Dennis Edgeworth. The plaintiff retained the services of attorneys Bruce L. Levin and Ernest Teitell, and brought suit against Edgeworth in the federal court in Connecticut. Edgeworth then instituted a negligence action against the plaintiff in Connecticut state court. The Great American Insurance Company, the insurance carrier for the plaintiff, retained attorney William J. Curran to represent its interest and the interest of the plaintiff in the state court negligence action. On February 25,1987, Curran filed an appearance as the plaintiffs attorney in the state court action. Thereafter, Barton J. Craig, who is an attorney and the husband of the plaintiff, wrote Curran requesting that copies of all documents filed in the state court action be forwarded either to the plaintiff or himself. On November 25,1987, the Great American Insurance Company, acting through its adjuster, Charles Vaiciulis, settled the state court action with the attorney representing Edgeworth. Curran then filed a release and withdrawal of the state court action without notifying the plaintiff of the settlement. Curran did, however, notify Levin, her attorney, of the settlement. According to the plaintiff, she first learned of the settlement from Teitell, also her attorney, in December, 1987, on the eve of the jury selection in her action against Edge-worth in the federal court.

On May 6, 1988, the plaintiff filed a complaint with the SGC alleging a violation by Curran of Rules 1.2,3 [520]*5201.3 and 1.4 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys. On May 16,1988, pursuant to General Statutes § 51-90e,* **4 the plaintiffs complaint was'^ref erred to the grievance panel for the Fairfield judicial district. On June 23, 1988, the Fairfield judicial district griev[521]*521anee panel filed a determination of no probable cause in regard to the plaintiffs complaint. On October 20, 1988, contrary to the finding of the Fairfield judicial district grievance panel, the SGC made a determination that there was probable cause that Curran had violated Rules 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 of the Rules of Professional Conduct. On December 14,1988, a reviewing committee of the SGC conducted a hearing based on the probable cause finding of the SGC.* ***5 At this hearing, the [522]*522plaintiff and Craig testified in support of the allegations in the complaint, and Curran and Vaiciulis, the adjuster, testified in opposition to the allegations in the complaint. On February 24,1989, the reviewing committee, in its proposed decision, concluded that Cur-ran was responsible for keeping the plaintiff informed about her case and that, by failing to inform the plaintiff or Craig of the settlement, Curran had violated Rule 1.4. The reviewing committee, however, found insufficient proof of violations of Rules 1.2 and 1.3 The reviewing committee then recommended that the SGC [523]*523reprimand Curran. Thereafter, the plaintiff claims that, unbeknownst to her, Curran filed statements with the SGC opposing the recommendation of the reviewing panel.

On May 1,1989, the statewide bar counsel sent a letter to the plaintiff and Curran informing them that the SGC, at a meeting held on April 20,1989, had decided not to adopt the proposed decision of the reviewing committee, even though the SGC had determined that Curran’s failure to inform the plaintiff of the settlement directly did constitute a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct. The letter concluded: “[I]n reviewing the entire record, including [Curran’s] good faith disclosure of the settlement to [the plaintiff’s] counsel of record on the federal action, and [Curran’s] recognition of the importance of direct attorney-client communication, the Committee concluded that the imposition of discipline on [Curran] for this matter was not warranted. Accordingly, the complaint is hereby DISMISSED by the Statewide Grievance Committee.”

On June 2, 1989, the plaintiff filed an appeal to the Superior Court from the decision of the SGC, claiming that the SGC is an agency of the state of Connecticut as defined in § 4-166 (1), and that she was therefore entitled to appeal its decision pursuant to § 4-183 (b).6 [524]*524The SGC moved to dismiss the plaintiffs appeal, claiming that service on it was improper and that the SGC is not an agency as defined by § 4-166 (1). Curran also filed a motion to dismiss. He claimed that the SGC is an arm of the court and is not an agency as set forth in § 4-166 (1), and that proceedings before the SGC are neither contested nor adversarial, but rather are an investigation by the court into the conduct of one of its officers.

The trial court concluded that the SGC is not an agency under § 4-166 (1). Consequently, the trial court ruled that the plaintiff could not pursue her appeal pursuant to § 4-183, and granted the SGC’s and Curran’s motions to dismiss. The plaintiff appealed to the Appellate Court, and pursuant to Practice Book § 4023, this court transferred the appeal to itself. On appeal, the plaintiff claims: (1) that the trial court should have concluded that §§ “4-166, 4-183 and 51-90 mandate an appeal pursuant to § 4-166 et seq. as the only statutorily approved method by which a citizen may obtain judicial review of an erroneous decision of the [SGC] by means of mailed service of process on the [SGC]”; and (2) that “the trial court’s ruling contravene[d] the public policy motivating the decision of [this] court in Statewide Grievance Committee v. Rozbicki, [211 Conn. 232, 558 A.2d 986 (1989),] which supports [her] claim [525]*525that a citizen may appeal the dismissal of her meritorious complaint by the [SGC] via the mailed service of process provisions of Connecticut’s Uniform Administrative Procedure Act.”

Because we agree with the trial court that the SGC is not an agency within the definition provided in § 4-166 (1), it is unnecessary to consider the other issues raised by the plaintiff on this appeal.

At the time of this appeal, “[ajgency” under § 4-166 (1) was defined as follows: “ ‘Agency’ means each state board, commission, department or officer, other than the legislature, courts,

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

Related

Jones v. Connecticut Medical Examining Board
19 A.3d 1264 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2011)
Disciplinary Counsel v. Villeneuve
14 A.3d 358 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2011)
Lewis v. Slack
955 A.2d 620 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2008)
Statewide Grievance Committee v. Johnson
946 A.2d 1256 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2008)
Brunswick v. Statewide Grievance Committee
931 A.2d 319 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2007)
Daniels v. Statewide Grievance Committee
804 A.2d 1027 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2002)
Connor v. Statewide Grievance Committee
797 A.2d 1081 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2002)
Statewide Grievance Committee v. Brown
786 A.2d 1140 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2001)
Statewide Grievance Committee v. Egbarin
767 A.2d 732 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2001)
Monsky v. Moraghan
47 F. Supp. 2d 280 (D. Connecticut, 1999)
Johnson v. Statewide Grievance Committee
726 A.2d 1154 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1999)
Brignole v. Statewide Grievance Comm., No. Cv 97 0572335s (Dec. 29, 1997)
1997 Conn. Super. Ct. 12874 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1997)
Vlacich v. Sweeny, No. Cv97 034 73 18 (Dec. 4, 1997)
1997 Conn. Super. Ct. 13338 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1997)
Cramer v. Statewide Grievance Committee, No. Cv96-0562467 (Jan. 31, 1997)
1997 Conn. Super. Ct. 375-K (Connecticut Superior Court, 1997)
Beebe v. Beebe, No. 103684 (Oct. 16, 1995)
1995 Conn. Super. Ct. 11687 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1995)
Melnick v. Statewide Grievance Committee, No. 31 95 11 (Jun. 26, 1995)
1995 Conn. Super. Ct. 6487 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1995)
Statewide Grievance Committee v. Harris, No. Cv93 0531164s (Jun. 12, 1995)
1995 Conn. Super. Ct. 7393 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1995)
MacO v. Statewide Grievance Comm., No. Cv940066778 (Jan. 23, 1995)
1995 Conn. Super. Ct. 469-U (Connecticut Superior Court, 1995)
Massameno v. Statewide Grievance Com., No. Cv 92 070 35 64 (Feb. 4, 1994)
1994 Conn. Super. Ct. 1189 (Connecticut Superior Court, 1994)
Weiss v. Statewide Grievance Committee
633 A.2d 282 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1993)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
576 A.2d 532, 215 Conn. 517, 1990 Conn. LEXIS 215, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sobocinski-v-statewide-grievance-committee-conn-1990.