State Marshall Association of Connecticut, Inc. v. Johnson
Decision Date | 06 August 2018 |
Docket Number | HHDCV186086546S |
Court | Connecticut Superior Court |
Parties | STATE MARSHALL ASSOCIATION OF CONNECTICUT, INC. v. Erin JOHNSON in her Official Capacity as Tax Collector for the Town of Canton |
UNPUBLISHED OPINION
The plaintiff, State Marshal Association of Connecticut, Inc. brought the current action against defendant, Erin Johnson in her official capacity as Tax Collector for the Town of Canton, on December 26, 2017. The complaint is comprised of four counts seeking declaratory judgment of Johnson’s statutory authority to contract with law firm Pullman & Comley, LLC ("P & C"), to collect tax payments in the Town of Canton pursuant to General Statutes § § 12-35(a), 12-155, 12-157, and 12-162. On January 3, 2018, Pullman & Comley, LLC, filed a motion to intervene in the action, which was granted by the court. P & C moved to dismiss the plaintiff’s complaint on February 27, 2018, arguing that the plaintiff lacks standing. Johnson joined P & C’s motion to dismiss and adopted its arguments on March 1, 2018. The motion has been fully briefed and oral argument was heard on April 23, 2018.
"A motion to dismiss [for lack of standing] ... properly attacks the jurisdiction of the Court, essentially asserting that the plaintiff cannot as a matter of law and fact state a cause of action that should be heard by the court ... A motion to dismiss tests, inter alia, whether, on the face of the record, the court is without jurisdiction." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Emerick v. Glastonbury, 145 Conn.App. 122, 127, 74 A.3d 512 (2013).
(Internal quotation marks omitted.) Financial Consulting, LLC v. Commissioner of Insurance, 315 Conn. 196, 224-25, 105 A.3d 210 (2014).
(Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., 225-26; Travelers Casualty & Surety Co. of America v. Netherlands Insurance Co., 312 Conn. 714, 727-29, 95 A.3d 1031 (2014); see also Connecticut Business & Industry Association, Inc. v. Commission on Hospitals & Health Care, 218 Conn. 335, 347-48, 589 A.2d 356 (1991).
"A plaintiff has the burden of proof with respect to standing ... To establish aggrievement, first, the plaintiff [must allege] facts which, if proven, would constitute aggrievement as a matter of law, and, second ... [prove] the truth of those factual allegations." (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Emerick v. Town of Glastonbury, supra, 145 Conn.App. 128-29.
Finally "[a]n association [such as the plaintiff] has standing to bring [an action] on behalf of its members when: (a) its members would otherwise have standing to [bring the action] in their own right; (b) the interests it seeks to protect are germane to the organization’s purpose; and (c) neither the claim...
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