Tough v. Ives
| Decision Date | 10 February 1970 |
| Citation | 159 Conn. 605,268 A.2d 371 |
| Court | Connecticut Supreme Court |
| Parties | Patricia A. TOUGH et al. v. Howard S. IVES, Highway Commissioner. |
Richard S. Levin, Hartford and Theodore I. Koskoff, Bridgeport, for appellees (plaintiffs).
Robert L. Trowbridge, Glastonbury, with whom were James T. Healey and Paige J. Everin, Asst. Attys. Gen., for appellant (defendant).
Before KING, C.J., and ALCORN, HOUSE, THIM and RYAN, JJ.
This case came before us for hearing on two motions. The first was a motion by the defendant that this court order the trial court either to render judgment on the verdict returned by the jury or to set that verdict aside. The second was a motion by the plaintiffs to dismiss the defendant's appeal because no final judgment has been entered. Counsel were fully heard on the merits of both motions.
After a trial, the jury on March 14, 1968, returned a verdict for the defendant which the court accepted and ordered recorded. The jury were then discharged. The following day the plaintiffs filed a motion to set aside the verdict. The court has neither granted nor denied that motion but on October 9, 1969, purported to order a mistrial. On October 13, 1969, the defendant filed a motion that the court render judgment on the verdict returned in his favor. The court denied this motion on December 30, 1969.
As the case stands, therefore, a jury verdict was returned, accepted by the court and ordered recorded, but no judgment has ever been entered on that verdict, nor has the court in the past twenty-two months either granted or denied the motion to set aside the verdict.
The rules of practice and procedure explicitly provide: 'The court shall render judgment on all verdicts of the jury, according to their finding, with costs, unless the verdict is set aside * * * .' Practice Book § 258; see also General Statutes § 52-225. 'Unless a verdict is set aside, judgment is entered as a matter of course and interest runs from the date of verdict.' Clime v. Gregor, 145 Conn. 74, 76, 138 A.2d 794.
Until there is a final judgment or the court has granted the motion to set aside the verdict, there is no right of appeal. Practice Book § 600; General Statutes § 52-263; Howarth v. Northcott, 152 Conn. 460, 462, 208 A.2d 540, 17 A.L.R.3d 758. A judge of the Superior Court must not be permitted to hold a case in limbo and thwart appellate review by neglecting or refusing to comply with the clear mandate of § 258 of the Practice Book....
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Tough v. Ives
...to either render judgment on the verdict returned by the jury or set aside that verdict. This court granted the motion; Tough v. Ives, 159 Conn. 605, 268 A.2d 371; and the trial court set aside the verdict and ordered a new trial. The defendant appealed from the order setting aside the verd......
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State v. McCoy
...waiting on whether to vacate conviction and order new trial until court has full record to decide claims); see also Tough v. Ives , 159 Conn. 605, 607, 268 A.2d 371 (1970) (in case in which trial court refused to rule on motion to set aside verdict, case was "remanded to the Superior Court ......
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Russell v. Russell
...The circumstances presented are not simply a matter of a court's inordinate delay in ruling on a matter. See, e.g., Tough v. Ives, 159 Conn. 605, 606, 268 A.2d 371 (1970). Rather, like the trial court in Ahneman, the court here explicitly and on the record in its memorandum of decision rend......
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Control Module, Inc. v. Morello (In re Morello)
...198 A. 259 (1938); Hull v. Thoms, 82 Conn. 386, 391, 73 A. 793 (1909), unless a motion to set aside is later filed. Tough v. Ives, 159 Conn. 605, 606, 268 A.2d 371 (1970). See also Tucker v. American International Group, Inc., 745 F. Supp. 2d 53, 62 (D. Conn. 2010). If a motion to set aside......