Connecticut Supreme Court News

Court Nixes ‘Wrongful Life’ Framing in Upholding $38M Fertility Malpractice Award

The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that claims involving the evolving field of assisted reproductive technologies can be decided using traditional negligence and medical malpractice principles and do not require consideration as novel “wrongful life” causes of action. The high …

Connecticut High Court Denies Immunity for First Responder Causing Car Accident

The Connecticut Supreme Court has overturned a trial court and ruled that municipalities and government agencies are not entitled to qualified immunity for negligent operation of emergency vehicles. In a case involving a car accident caused by a Bloomfield police …

Setting Range for Emotional Damage Awards Is Not Its Job, Says Connecticut High Court

It is up to the Connecticut legislature, not courts, to set any minimum or maximum controls on damages for emotional stress claims, the Connecticut Supreme Court held in a ruling in which it refused to second-guess a $15,000 award in …

Connecticut High Court Nixes Workers’ Comp for Firefighter With Heart Condition

A firefighter must be shown to have worked 20 or more hours a week to be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits under state law, the Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled in reversing an appeals court and state workers’ compensation officials. …

Connecticut High Court Affirms Ruling Denying State Troopers’ PTSD Claims

Two state troopers who were struck by a car on an interstate exit ramp cannot collect damages for post traumatic stress disorder, but one of them can recover more money because his trial court award was improperly reduced by the …

Conn. Supreme Court Reverses Medical Malpractice Opinion Letter Precedent

For more than a decade, Connecticut courts have been dismissing medical malpractice actions if the plaintiff did not submit a proper certificate and opinion letter from “a similar health care provider” that supports the merits of the claim. The state …

Connecticut Supreme Court Upholds Insurers in Two Covid-19 Business Loss Appeals

The Connecticut Supreme Court has upheld insurers in two cases where claims for business interruption losses blamed on Covid-19 were denied because there was no direct physical damage. One case involved healthcare facilities Connecticut Dermatology Group, Live Every Day, and …

COVID-19 Orders Not an Excuse for Business to Skip Rent, Connecticut Court Rules

Connecticut’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that executive orders issued by Gov. Ned Lamont affecting restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic could not not be used by a Norwalk eatery as an excuse not to pay the rent. The court ruled against …

‘No Contest’ Plea Doesn’t Trigger Criminal Exclusion in Home Policy: Connecticut Court

An insured’s plea of nolo contendere to criminal charges does not trigger a criminal acts exclusion in a homeowners insurance policy governed by state law, the Connecticut Supreme Court recently ruled. A federal court asked the state’s high court to …

Connecticut Court Rules Women-Only Gym Areas Violate State Law Against Gender Bias

Women-only exercise areas in gyms and fitness clubs violate a state law banning discrimination based on gender, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The 6-0 decision written by Chief Justice Richard Robinson overturned a lower court ruling and an earlier …