Buck v. Morris Park, Inc.
| Decision Date | 30 December 1965 |
| Citation | 216 A.2d 187,153 Conn. 290 |
| Court | Connecticut Supreme Court |
| Parties | Elizabeth F. BUCK v. MORRIS PARK, INC. Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut |
James T. Healey, Hartford, with whom, on the brief, was Frank T. Healey, Jr., Waterbury, for appellant (defendant).
Robert H. Alcorn, New Haven, with whom were Francis R. Cassidy, Jr., New Haven, and, on the brief, Arthur T. Connor, New Haven, for appellee (plaintiff).
Before KING, C. J., and MURPHY, SHANNON, HOUSE and BARBER, JJ.
The plaintiff obtained a judgment of strict foreclosure of a $35,000 mortgage on the defendant's property, which the defendant failed to redeem before the expiration of its period of redemption on July 15, 1964. Upon motion of the plaintiff, three disinterested appraisers were appointed by the court, and they, under oath, within ten days after the time limited for redemption, appraised the mortgaged property and made written report thereof to the court as required by General Statutes § 49-14. The defendant filed a remonstrance to the acceptance of the report which the court, after hearing, overruled. The report was accepted, and a supplemental judgment was rendered for the deficiency between the total amount due on the mortgage debt with costs and fees and the appraised value of the property. The defendant has appealed from that judgment.
The defendant claims that General Statutes § 49-14 is unconstitutional in that it makes no provision for notice of the meeting of the appraisers to be given to the mortgagor so that the latter may introduce evidence and be heard on the question of value, thus depriving the mortgagor of its property without due process of law in violation of the federal and state constitutions. In support of this contention, the defendant avers that the appraisers should conduct a hearing and hear evidence in a manner similar to the procedure followed by referees and committees in assessing damages for the taking of land by the highway commissioner for highway purposes and for the condemnation of land for other public uses. General Statutes §§ 13a-76, 48-12. In this it is mistaken. The purpose and manner of appraising ad determining the value of property as a quasi-judicial act on a motion for a deficiency judgment is entirely distinct and different from the judicial act of a committee in assessing the amount of damages in eminent domain. So far as the dicta in Antman v. Connecticut Light & Power Co., 117 Conn. 230, 239, 167 A. 715, can be construed to the contrary, it is overruled. An appraiser sets a value on property at his estimate of what it is worth. Beach v. Town of Trumbull, 133 Conn. 282, 290, 50 a.2d 765; Cocheco Mfg. Co. v. Town of Strafford, 51 N.H. 455, 482; McAdams v. Bolsinger, Ohio Prob., 129 N.E.2d 878. The appraisers determine the value of property upon their own experience and judgment. Consequently, they are not required to hear evidence or to give notice of the meeting at which they make the appraisal. Vincent v. German Ins. Co., 120 Iowa 272, 278, 94 N.W. 458.
General Statutes § 49-14 provides that the appraisal made thereunder shall be final and conclusive as to the value of the mortgaged property. Upon a remonstrance being filed, the power of the court to review the question of value is limited to questions of law. Equitable Life Assurance Society of United States v. Slade, 122 Conn. 451, 456, 190 A. 616. The constitutional due process requirements are satisfied where the complainant has had...
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Society for Sav. v. Chestnut Estates, Inc.
...Moreover, this particular statute was upheld against a similar constitutional attack only fourteen years ago; Buck v. Morris Park, Inc., 153 Conn. 290, 216 A.2d 187 (1965), appeal dismissed, 385 U.S. 2, 87 S.Ct. 33, 17 L.Ed.2d 2 (1966); 6 and, a court should overrule its own precedents for ......
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New Haven Sav. Bank v. Valley Investors
...agents doing a public duty; Congress Bank & Trust Co. v. Brockett, 111 Conn. 490, 492, 150 A. 742 (1930); see Buck v. Morris Park, Inc., 153 Conn. 290, 292, 216 A.2d 187 (1965), appeal dismissed, 385 U.S. 2, 87 S.Ct. 33, 17 L.Ed.2d 2; 3 the court did not instruct them to follow any special ......
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Webster Bank v. Zak
...550 (1948), and Antman v. Connecticut Light & Power Co., 117 Conn. 230, 167 A. 715 (1933), overruled in part, Buck v. Morris Park, Inc., 153 Conn. 290, 293, 216 A.2d 187 (1965), appeal dismissed, 385 U.S. 2, 87 S. Ct. 33, 17 L. Ed. 2d 2 (1966). MFR's reliance on such authority, however, is ......
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City of Bristol v. Vogelsonger
...See Antman v. Connecticut Light & Power Co., 117 Conn. 230, 239, 167 A. 715 (1933), overruled on other grounds, Buck v. Morris Park, Inc., 153 Conn. 290, 293, 216 A.2d 187 (1965), appeal dismissed, 385 U.S. 2, 87 S.Ct. 33, 17 L.Ed.2d 2 (1966). If there has been no previous determination of ......