Reichert v. Sheridan, 14970

• Decision Date: 23 May 1995
• Docket Number: No. 14970,14970
• Citation: 658 A.2d 96,233 Conn. 251
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court
• Parties: Francis REICHERT v. James J. SHERIDAN, Jr.

Page 96

658 A.2d 96

233 Conn. 251

Francis REICHERT v. James J. SHERIDAN, Jr.

No. 14970.

Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Argued April 20, 1995.

Decided May 23, 1995.

Paul W. Smith, Windsor Locks, for appellant (plaintiff).

Joseph Dieso, Hartford, for appellee (defendant).

Before PETERS, C.J., and CALLAHAN, BORDEN, NORCOTT and PALMER, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

The principal issue in this certified appeal is whether General Statutes § 31-293 of the Workers' Compensation Act ¹ bars the independent action of an employee against a third party tortfeasor if the employee, after proper notice, does not join an action commenced against the tortfeasor by his employer. The plaintiff, Francis Reichert, brought an action to recover damages for the personal injuries that he had sustained when he was struck by a truck driven by the defendant, James J. Sheridan, Jr. The trial court granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment, in which the defendant claimed that the plaintiff's action had abated because of the plaintiff's failure to join an action against the defendant that had earlier been brought by the plaintiff's employer, the town of Suffield. The Appellate Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court; Reichert v. Sheridan, 34 Conn.App. 521, 642 A.2d 51 (1994); and we granted the plaintiff's petition for certification to review the merits of that court's conclusions of law. ²

After examining the record on appeal, and after considering the briefs and arguments of the parties, we conclude that the judgment of the Appellate Court must be affirmed. All the issues on which we granted certification ³ were properly resolved in the thoughtful and comprehensive opinion of the Appellate Court. It would serve no useful purpose for us to repeat the discussion therein contained. ⁴ See Talton v. Warden, 231 Conn. 274, 275-76, 648 A.2d 876 (1994); Sharp v. Wyatt, Inc., 230 Conn. 12, 16, 644 A.2d 871 (1994); Whisper Wind Development Corp. v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 229 Conn. 176, 177, 640 A.2d 100 (1994); Board of Education v. State Board of Education, 228 Conn. 433, 436, 636 A.2d 378 (1994).

The judgment of the Appellate Court is affirmed.

1 General Statutes § 31-293 provides in relevant part: "LIABILITY OF THIRD PERSONS TO EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE. LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY OF ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS. LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY OF INSURERS, SELF-INSURANCE SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS AND UNIONS RELATING TO SAFETY MATTERS. . (a) When any injury for which compensation is payable under the provisions of this chapter has been sustained under circumstances creating in a third person other than the employer a legal liability to pay damages for the injury, the injured employee may claim compensation under the provisions of this chapter, but the payment or award of compensation shall not affect the claim or right of action of the injured employee against the third person, but the injured employee may proceed at law against the third person to recover damages for the injury; and any employer having paid, or having become obligated to pay, compensation under the provisions of this chapter may bring an action against the third person to recover any amount that he has paid or has become obligated to pay as compensation to the injured employee. If either the employee or the employer brings an action against the third person, he shall immediately notify the other, in writing, by personal presentation or by registered or certified mail, of the action and of the name of the court to which the writ is returnable, and the other may join as a party plaintiff in the action within thirty days after such notification, and, if the other fails to join as a party plaintiff, his right of action against the third person shall abate. In any case in which an employee brings an action against a third party in accordance with the provisions of this section, and the employer is a party defendant in the action, the employer may join as a party plaintiff in the action. The bringing of any action against an employer shall not constitute notice to the employer within the meaning of this section. If the employer and the employee join as parties plaintiff in the action and any damages are recovered, the damages shall be so apportioned that the claim of the employer, as defined in this section, shall take precedence over that of the injured employee in the proceeds of the recovery, after the deduction of reasonable and necessary expenditures, including attorneys' fees, incurred by the employee in effecting the recovery...."

2 We granted the plaintiff's petition for certification, limited to the following issues:

"1. Whether the Appellate Court properly interpreted General Statutes § 31-293 of the Workers' Compensation Act in that an employee's independent cause of action against a third party tortfeasor would be barred if he failed to join an action commenced by his employer thirty days after notice that such action was commenced?

"2. Whether General Statutes § 31-293, if it shortens the statute of limitations, violates article first, §§ 10 and 20 of the Connecticut constitution and the fourteenth amendment to the United States constitution?

"3. Whether the notice sent to the plaintiff met the requirements of General Statutes § 31-293 in that the notice (a) was sent...