Morneau v. State

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RICKY A. MORNEAU v. STATE
OF CONNECTICUT ET AL.
(AC 35594)
Gruendel, Lavine and Sheldon, Js.
Argued December 5, 2013—officially released February 4, 2014

(Appeal from Superior Court, judicial district of New
Britain, Pittman, J. [motions to cite in, to dismiss;
judgment]; Wiese, J. [motion to open].)
Ricky A. Morneau, self-represented, the appellant
(plaintiff).
Michael K. Skold, assistant attorney general, with
whom, on the brief, was George Jepsen, attorney gen-
eral, for the appellees (named defendant et al.).
Opinion

PER CURIAM. The plaintiff, Ricky A. Morneau,
appeals from the judgment of the trial court, Wiese, J.,
rendered when the court denied the plaintiff’s motion
to open the judgment, which he filed on October 5,
2012. Previously, on November 25, 2009, the trial court,
Pittman, J., rendered judgment of dismissal in favor
of the defendants, the state of Connecticut and the State
Marshal Commission,1 due to the lack of subject matter
jurisdiction on the ground of sovereign immunity. Judge
Wiese found that the plaintiff’s motion to open the judg-
ment failed to comply with Practice Book § 17-42 and
that the plaintiff had failed to demonstrate that any
exception to the four month limitation in that rule was
applicable. See General Statutes § 52-212a.3 On the basis
of our review of the record, the briefs of the parties
and their oral arguments in this court, we conclude that
Judge Wiese did not abuse his discretion in denying the
plaintiff’s motion to open the judgment, which was filed
almost three years after the judgment was rendered.
We, therefore, affirm the judgment of the trial court.
The judgment is affirmed.
1
The defendants Timothy Bennett and John Harvey, administrator of the
estate of Albenie Gagnon, are not parties to this appeal.
2
Practice Book § 17-4 (a) provides: ‘‘Unless otherwise provided by law
and except in such cases in which the court has continuing jurisdiction,
any civil judgment or decree rendered in the superior court may not be
opened or set aside unless a motion to open or set aside is filed within
four months succeeding the date on which notice was sent. The parties
may waive the provisions of this subsection or otherwise submit to the
jurisdiction of the court.’’ (Emphasis added.)
3
General Statutes § 52-212a provides in relevant part: ‘‘Unless otherwise
provided by law and except in such cases in which the court has continuing
jurisdiction, a civil judgment . . . rendered in the Superior Court may not
be opened or set aside unless a motion to open or set aside is filed within
four months following the date on which it was rendered . . . .’’ (Emphasis
added.); but see Nelson v. Charlesworth, 82 Conn. App. 710, 713, 846 A.2d
923 (2004) (judgment may be opened after four month limitation if judgment
was obtained by fraud or mutual mistake).