Preview:

****************************************************** The ``officially released'' date that appears near the beginning of each opinion is the date the opinion will be published in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it was released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the beginning of all time periods for filing postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the ``officially released'' date appearing in the opinion. In no event will any such motions be accepted before the ``officially released'' date. 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 electronic version of an opinion and the print version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest print version is to be considered authoritative. The syllabus and procedural history accompanying the opinion as it appears on the Commission on Official Legal Publications Electronic Bulletin Board Service and 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 Publications, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. ****************************************************** JAY MCLAUGHLIN v. STANLEY SMORON ET AL. (AC 19651)
Foti, Schaller and Hennessy, Js. Argued November 29, 2000--officially released March 20, 2001 Counsel

Leonard A. Fasano, for the appellants (defendants). Kathryn Calibey, for the appellee (plaintiff).
Opinion

HENNESSY, J. The defendants, Stanley Smoron and Josephine Smoron,1 appeal following the trial court's denial of their motion to open a default judgment. They claim that the court improperly found that (1) a final judgment had been rendered in favor of the plaintiff, Jay McLaughlin, (2) there was no reasonable cause to allow the judgment to be opened as to the defendant Stanley Smoron and (3) there was no reasonable cause to allow the judgment to be opened as to the defendant Josephine Smoron. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. The court reasonably could have found the following facts. On October 23, 1991, the plaintiff was proceeding

eastbound in his automobile on Spring Street in Southington when he collided with a cow that was standing in the middle of the road. The defendants owned the cow and also own a farm adjoining Spring Street. The cow had wandered off their farm and into the road. As a result of the collision, the plaintiff was seriously injured and the cow was killed. The plaintiff brought a negligence action against the defendants seeking damages for the injuries he suffered from the collision with the cow. The defendants failed to appear, and the plaintiff moved for a default judgment, which the court granted. The plaintiff then proceeded to a hearing on the issue of damages and, on August 23, 1995, he was awarded $385,000. On March 29, 1996, the defendants filed a motion to open the August 23, 1995 judgment. That motion, however, was not heard. On April 19, 1996, Stanley Smoron died, and the defendants' counsel withdrew from the case shortly after he had filed the motion to open. More than two years later, on September 8, 1998, the defendants' present counsel reclaimed the March 29, 1996 motion to open the judgment, which the court denied. The defendants then moved for reconsideration, which the court also denied. I The defendants first claim that the court improperly found that a final judgment had been rendered in favor of the plaintiff in this matter. Specifically, the defendants claim that the plaintiff failed to notify them of the August 23, 1995 judgment pursuant to Practice Book

Download McLaughlin v. Smoron.pdf

Connecticut Law