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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. ****************************************************** TOWN OF SOUTHINGTON v. COMMERCIAL UNION INSURANCE COMPANY (AC 18088)
Landau, Schaller and Dupont, Js. Submitted on briefs October 18, 2000--officially released February 13, 2001 Counsel

Bradford R. Carver, with whom, on the brief, were Adam G. Cohen and James J. Mercier, for the appellant (defendant). Marjorie S. Wilder, with whom, on the brief, were Thomas A. Rouse and Talbot A. Welles, for the appellee (plaintiff).
Opinion

LANDAU, J. Our Supreme Court remanded this appeal concerning an action on a subdivision surety bond (bond) to this court to resolve the remaining claims of the defendant, Commercial Union Insurance Company. Southington v. Commercial Union Ins. Co., 254 Conn. 348, 369, 757 A.2d 549 (2000). In addition to those claims that the defendant raised in its original appeal to this court,1 our Supreme Court has directed this court to resolve another issue, i.e., ``whether the

plaintiff, [the town of Southington] which acquired the property through foreclosure, was precluded from calling the bond because it had become, in effect, a successor developer of the subdivision.'' Id., 356 n.6. Although many of the issues on remand are not related to whether the plaintiff was a successor developer, we decline to address any of those issues until the trial court has decided the issue identified by our Supreme Court. We therefore remand the case to the trial court for a factual determination of whether the plaintiff ``had become, in effect, a successor developer of the subdivision.'' Id. The facts and procedural history are not in dispute. ``The [plaintiff] brought an action against the defendant for payment under a performance bond that the defendant had posted as surety. Michael J. Martinez was the president, sole director and sole shareholder of A.M.I. Industries, Inc. (AMI). In 1988, AMI applied to the [plaintiff's] planning and zoning commission (commission) for approval of an industrial subdivision in the town on Captain Lewis Drive. At the time, the real property was owned by Southington Land Associates, Inc. (SLA). On October 4, 1988, the commission approved the application subject to AMI's furnishing a $590,000 subdivision or public improvement bond. ``On November 1, 1988, Martinez, as principal, and the defendant, as surety, executed a subdivision bond for the real property, and on February 9, 1989, SLA sold the property to MJM Land Investments, Inc. (MJM). Martinez was the president and sole stockholder of MJM. By April, 1995, Martinez, AMI and MJM had failed to complete the improvements required under the subdivision approval. The [plaintiff] informed the defendant that the subdivision had not been completed and that if it was not completed by October 3, 1995, the [plaintiff] would have to call the bond. Martinez declared personal bankruptcy and the [plaintiff] purchased the real property in a foreclosure auction on June 27, 1995. None of the lots in the subdivision was sold prior to the expiration of the subdivision application. ``When the defendant refused to pay the money that the [plaintiff] claimed under the bond, the [plaintiff] commenced suit alleging, in its amended complaint, breach of contract and negligence and, in the alternative, promissory estoppel and identity/unity of interest, seeking damages of $175,000 to complete the subdivision improvements. The trial court rendered judgment in favor of the [plaintiff] on the breach of contract and negligence counts of the complaint.'' (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Southington v. Commercial Union Ins. Co., supra, 254 Conn. 354

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Connecticut Law