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****************************************************** 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. ****************************************************** THOMAS W. SCHIAPPA ET AL. v. DANIEL J. FERRERO ET AL. (AC 19422)
Foti, Mihalakos and Healey, Js. Argued October 17, 2000--officially released February 20, 2001 Counsel

Theodore R. Tyma, for the appellants (defendants). Neil R. Marcus, with whom, on the brief, was Monte E. Frank, for the appellees (plaintiffs).
Opinion

HEALEY, J. The defendants, Daniel J. Ferrero and Barbara Ferrero, appeal from the judgment of the trial court accepting the report of the attorney trial referee and awarding the plaintiffs, Thomas Schiappa and Joyce Schiappa, title to certain real property that they had acquired by adverse possession, as well as damages for trespass. The dispositive issue on appeal is whether the court improperly referred the case to the same referee for a new trial with the directive that he ``may incorporate the proceedings in the prior trial.''1 We reverse the judgment of the trial court.

The following facts and procedural history are relevant to this appeal. On May 24, 1965, the plaintiffs purchased a residential lot in Trumbull. On March 30, 1994, the defendants purchased the lot bordering the plaintiffs' property on the western side and soon, thereafter, began to use a portion of the property that the plaintiffs had been using as their own since 1965. The plaintiffs brought an action to determine ownership of the disputed property and sought damages for trespass. On September 11 and 12, 1996, the parties tried this action to an attorney trial referee. On January 7, 1997, the referee had not yet filed his report. The defendants' counsel sent a letter to the plaintiffs indicating that the end of the 120 day limit under Practice Book

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Connecticut Law