D. H. R. Const. Co., Inc. v. Donnelly
| Decision Date | 29 April 1980 |
| Citation | 429 A.2d 908,180 Conn. 430 |
| Court | Connecticut Supreme Court |
| Parties | D. H. R. CONSTRUCTION CO., INC. v. Thomas J. DONNELLY et al. |
Lester Katz, Hartford, for appellant (plaintiff).
Richard F. Banbury, Hartford, with whom, on the brief, was Elliott B. Pollack, Hartford, for appellee (defendant Raffaela R. Donnelly).
Before LOISELLE, BOGDANSKI, PETERS, HEALEY and PARSKEY, JJ.
The plaintiff instituted an action on a note against the defendants Thomas J. Donnelly and Charles Regulbuto. In a second count the plaintiff alleged that while the defendant Thomas J. Donnelly was indebted to the plaintiff, he "caused to be conveyed" to the defendant Raffaela R. Donnelly (hereinafter Raffaela) certain real property located at 1400 Main Street, South Windsor, without consideration and with the intent to avoid his debts. On May 9, 1978, a judgment in the amount of $14,168 was entered for the plaintiff against Thomas Donnelly and Charles Regulbuto on the first count. On December 18, 1978, the trial court granted Raffaela's motion for summary judgment as to the second count on the ground that Thomas Donnelly "did not own the property and did not transfer it to Raffaela." From the summary judgment rendered, the plaintiff has appealed.
On appeal, the plaintiff contends that: (1) the affidavits submitted by the defendant Raffaela in support of the motion for summary judgment do not negate the existence of all issues of material fact; and (2) summary judgment is inappropriate in cases involving a claim of fraudulent conveyance.
In its affidavits and other documents, the plaintiff alleged that Thomas was indebted to the plaintiff in the amount of $18,000 at the time he made a gift to his wife of $30,000 which he had recently borrowed from a business associate; that he made this gift to Raffaela for the purpose of buying the 1400 Main Street property and constructing a house thereon; that title was put in Raffaela's name alone because Thomas wanted it that way; that Thomas co-signed a mortgage note for $50,000 on the Main Street property; that he was paying $523 monthly on the mortgage; and that he was making monthly payments of $249.08 for taxes and $66.67 for insurance on the mortgaged property.
As already noted, the plaintiff in its complaint alleged that Thomas "caused to be conveyed" the Main Street property to his wife, Raffaela. While Raffaela does claim that the property in question was not conveyed to her by Thomas, the plaintiff maintains that she has not met the issue of whether Thomas caused the property to be conveyed to her.
Section 52-552 of the General Statutes provides that "(a)ll fraudulent conveyances, suits, judgments, executions or contracts, made or contrived with intent to avoid any debt or duty belonging to others, shall, notwithstanding any pretended consideration therefor, be void as against those persons only ... to whom such debt or duty belongs." The terms of this statute are broad enough to include every transaction by which creditors may be defrauded; it is not the nature or form of the transaction but the presence of fraud which brings a case within the prohibition of the statute. Within the purview of the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act, moreover, the term conveyance by definition includes every payment of money, assignment, release, transfer, lease, mortgage, or pledge of tangible or intangible property, and also the creation of any lien or encumbrance. 1
We conclude that there is no inherent difference between the act of a debtor conveying his property to another without consideration and that of a debtor causing the title to the property purchased to be placed in the name of another, where the object of such transfer is to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors. When a spouse purchases land or other property under the circumstances as alleged in this case, the burden is on the purchasing spouse to show that the funds were not furnished by the debtor spouse. Only to the extent that the purchase price was provided by the defendant Raffaela is her claim upon the subject property protected against her...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Miller v. United Technologies Corp.
...of proof is on the moving party and the standards of summary judgment are strictly and forcefully applied. D.H.R. Construction Co. v. Donnelly, 180 Conn. 430, 434, 429 A.2d 908 (1980). We note that summary judgment is not well suited to the disposal of complex cases; United Oil Co. v. Urban......
-
Nash v. Stevens
...real doubt as to the existence of any genuine issue of material fact.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) D.H.R. Construction Co. v. Donnelly, 180 Conn. 430, 434, 429 A.2d 908 (1980). Additionally, I disagree with the majority's conclusion that the handwritten note the plaintiff, Carol Ann......
-
Ascuitto v. Farricielli
...facts which, under applicable principles of substantive law, entitle him to a judgment as a matter of law; D.H.R. Construction Co. v. Donnelly, 180 Conn. 430, 434, 429 A.2d 908 (1980); and the party opposing such a motion must provide an evidentiary foundation to demonstrate the existence o......
-
Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. Jones
...a matter of law." Practice Book § 384; 9 Mingachos v. CBS, Inc., 196 Conn. 91, 111, 491 A.2d 368 (1985); D.H.R. Construction Co. v. Donnelly, 180 Conn. 430, 434, 429 A.2d 908 (1980). Despite the fact that Jones entitled her motion "Motion For Summary Judgment," we conclude that both the sub......