Labow v. Rubin

• Decision Date: 16 May 2006
• Docket Number: No. 25283.,25283.
• Citation: 897 A.2d 136,95 Conn.App. 454
• Court: Connecticut Court of Appeals
• Parties: Myrna LABOW v. Robert RUBIN et al.

897 A.2d 136

95 Conn.App. 454

Myrna LABOW v. Robert RUBIN et al.

No. 25283.

Appellate Court of Connecticut.

Argued December 5, 2005.

Decided May 16, 2006.

Nathalie Feola-Guerrieri, with whom were Myrna LaBow, pro se, and, on the brief, Daniel Shepro, Stratford, for the appellant (plaintiff).

Barbara M. Schellenberg, Bridgeport, for the appellee (named defendant).

Gwen E. Adamson, for the appellee (defendant Ronald LaBow).

SCHALLER, FLYNN and HARPER, Js.^*

SCHALLER, J.

The plaintiff, Myrna LaBow, appeals from the summary judgment rendered by the trial court in favor of the defendants, Robert Rubin and Ronald LaBow.¹ On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the court improperly (1) granted the defendants' motions for summary judgment as to the first count of her amended complaint, which sought to quiet title on the basis of collateral estoppel, (2) concluded that her pending appeal from a partition judgment did not act as a bar to the application of collateral estoppel to her quiet title count, and (3) granted the defendants' motions for summary judgment as to her intentional infliction of emotional distress and conspiracy counts on the basis of the tort statute of limitations contained in General Statutes § 52-577. We disagree and accordingly affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The facts relevant to this appeal are as follows. "On July 9, 1974, [Myrna LaBow] initiated a dissolution of marriage action against her then husband, Ronald LaBow. At that time, the LaBows jointly owned with rights of survivorship, twenty-nine acres of property located in the towns of Weston and Fairfield. The property consists of a twenty-two acre parcel in Weston and an adjacent seven acre parcel in Fairfield.

"On November 5, 1975, while [the dissolution] action was pending, Ronald LaBow transferred his interest in the twenty-two acres in Weston to [a trust with] Richard H. Valentine [acting as] trustee. There is an ongoing dispute between the LaBows as to the validity of that trust, which was set up by Ronald LaBow as settlor. At the time the dissolution decree was issued by the court . . . on August 28, 1978, the twenty-two acres in Weston were in the trust, but Ronald LaBow still had record title to the seven acres in Fairfield. The dissolution decree . . . did not transfer title to or direct the conveyance of either parcel to [Myrna LaBow]. On September 18, 1978, after the dissolution, Ronald LaBow transferred the Fairfield property to Anthony DeVita . . . .

"Subsequently, on July 5, 1979, Valentine, acting as trustee, initiated [a] partition action against [Myrna LaBow] as to the Weston parcel. . . . In 1983, Valentine stepped down as trustee, and Ronald LaBow succeeded him in that capacity. Thereafter, Rubin, a neighbor of the LaBows, purchased the Weston parcel from the trust on January 5, 1985, as well as the Fairfield parcel from DeVita on January 16, 1985. Consequently, since January, 1985, Rubin and [Myrna LaBow] have owned the Weston and Fairfield parcels as tenants in common.

"After Rubin acquired an interest in the properties, [Myrna LaBow] filed a complaint against him, dated November 12, 1985, in which she alleged that the parcels were conveyed to him fraudulently. Subsequently, Rubin joined [the] partition action as a party plaintiff on November 25, 1985, and on June 16, 1989, amended the partition complaint to include the Fairfield property." (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Valentine v. LaBow, 95 Conn.App. 436, 440, ___ A.2d ___ (2006). The record reflects that the plaintiff filed a series of amended special defenses and a multiple count counterclaim, in which she continually challenged the validity of Rubin's ownership interest in the properties. LaBow v. LaBow, 69 Conn.App. 760, 763, 796 A.2d 592, cert. denied, 261 Conn. 903, 802 A.2d 853 (2002).

"On December 16, 1993, Rubin filed a motion for summary judgment with respect to the partition complaint and [Myrna LaBow's] special defenses and counterclaim. . . . [Thereafter] [o]n February 14, 1994, the [court in the partition action] Fuller, J. concluded that all the counts of [Myrna LaBow's] counterclaim were barred by `several' of Rubin's special defenses. . . .

"The court, therefore, granted Rubin's motion for summary judgment, but declined to decide whether the partition would be in kind or by sale. Accordingly, further proceedings were ordered for these purposes." Valentine v. LaBow, supra, 95 Conn.App. at 440-41, ___ A.2d ___. Thereafter, in February, 2003, the plaintiff commenced the present quiet title action against Rubin and Ronald LaBow, as an individual and in his capacity as a trustee. On March 29, 2003, an additional hearing was held to determine whether the partition would be in kind or by sale. At the hearing, the plaintiff moved to consolidate the present action with the partition action. The court, Stevens, J., denied the motion and rendered judgment of partition by sale. Id., at 442. The plaintiff subsequently appealed.

On May 12, 2003, Ronald LaBow filed a motion for summary judgment with respect to the plaintiff's complaint in the present action. Specifically, he argued that the plaintiff's complaint was barred by the special defenses of estoppel, res judicata or the statute of limitations contained in § 52-577.

On May 22, 2003, the plaintiff filed an amended, three count complaint. The first count of the amended complaint alleged a cause of action to quiet title to the Weston and Fairfield properties pursuant to General Statutes § 47-31. The plaintiff alleged that the properties were conveyed fraudulently to Rubin and that she was the "sole rightful owner" of the properties. The second and third counts of the amended complaint asserted claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress and conspiracy to defraud, respectively.

On August 28, 2003, Rubin filed a motion for summary judgment with respect to all three counts of the plaintiff's amended complaint. In support of his motion for summary judgment, Rubin argued that the plaintiff's first count was barred by the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel, as well as the doctrine of laches. With respect to counts two and three, Rubin moved for summary judgment on the ground that each was barred by the three year statute of limitations contained in § 52-577.

On March 12, 2004, the court rendered summary judgment as to the first count of the plaintiff's amended complaint, which sought to quiet title, on the basis of collateral estoppel.² Specifically, the court concluded that the issue of title to the Weston and Fairfield properties actually had been litigated and determined in the partition action. The court further concluded that the plaintiff's second and third counts, which alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy, respectively, were barred by several doctrines. With respect to these counts, the court rendered summary judgment in favor of Ronald LaBow on the basis of collateral estoppel and res judicata. The court also rendered summary judgment on these counts in favor of Ronald LaBow and Rubin on the ground that these counts alleged tort claims and, as such, were barred by the three year statute of limitations contained in § 52-577. The court, therefore, granted the defendants' motions for summary judgment as to all counts of the plaintiff's amended complaint. This appeal followed. Additional facts will be provided where necessary.

I

The plaintiff first claims that the court improperly rendered summary judgment as to the first count of her amended complaint, which sought to quiet title, on the basis of collateral estoppel.³ We disagree.⁴

As a preliminary matter, we set forth the applicable standard of review. Practice Book § 17-49 provides in relevant part that summary judgment "shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, affidavits and any other proof submitted show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." "In deciding a motion for summary judgment, the trial court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. . . . Although the party seeking summary judgment has the burden of showing the nonexistence of any material fact . . . a party opposing summary judgment must substantiate its adverse claim by showing that there is a genuine issue of material fact together with the evidence disclosing the existence of such an issue. . . . It is not enough, however, for the opposing party merely to assert the existence of such a disputed issue. Mere assertions of fact . . . are insufficient to establish the existence of a material fact and, therefore, cannot refute evidence properly presented to the court [in support of a motion for summary judgment].. . . Our review of the trial court's decision to grant [a] motion for summary judgment is plenary." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Gagnon v. Housatonic Valley Tourism District Commission, 92 Conn.App. 835, 840-41, 888 A.2d 104 (2006).

"Because res judicata or collateral estoppel, if raised, may be dispositive of a claim, summary judgment may be appropriate. . . . Claim preclusion (res judicata) and issue preclusion (collateral estoppel) have been described as related ideas on a continuum." (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Bouchard v. Sundberg, 80 Conn.App. 180, 186, 834 A.2d 744 (2003).

"Whether the court properly applied the doctrine of collateral estoppel is a question of law for which our review is plenary. . . . The fundamental principles underlying the doctrine of collateral estoppel are well established. The common-law doctrine of collateral estoppel, or issue preclusion, embodies a judicial policy in favor of judicial economy, the stability of former judgments and finality. . . . Collateral estoppel means simply that when an issue of ultimate fact has once been determined by a valid and final...