Zimmer v. Town of Essex
| Decision Date | 02 July 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 1230,1230 |
| Citation | 449 A.2d 1053,38 Conn.Supp. 419 |
| Parties | Charles ZIMMER v. TOWN OF ESSEX. |
| Court | Connecticut Superior Court |
Charles L. Flynn, New Haven, for appellant (plaintiff).
John R. McLain, Old Saybrook, for appellee (defendant).
The plaintiff, employed by the defendant as town constable, brought this action seeking the benefits available to regular members of paid police departments under General Statutes § 7-433c, 1 the hypertension and heart disease compensation law. Originally employed in 1967, the plaintiff worked as a fulltime constable until 1977, when he was diagnosed as suffering from ischemic heart disease. During those years, the defendant had no organized police department as defined by General Statutes § 7-274. 2 It employed a resident state trooper to oversee the plaintiff, whose duties included street patrol, traffic regulation, investigation of accidents and making arrests, the routine duties of a police officer.
The plaintiff filed his claim under § 7-433c, which conditions payment of compensation benefits upon regular membership in a paid police department. The defendant contested the plaintiff's claim, averring (1) that he failed to give notice pursuant to General Statutes § 31-294 and (2) that he was not entitled to benefits because he was not a regular member of a paid municipal police department. The compensation commissioner found that the town had the requisite statutory notice of the claim, but dismissed the plaintiff's claim after finding that "he was not a regular member of a paid municipal police department within the meaning of Section 7-433c of the General Statutes." On appeal, the Compensation Review Division affirmed the dismissal after adopting the commissioner's finding.
The plaintiff has appealed to this court, contending that the review division erred by concluding that the claimant was not a paid member of a municipal police department within the meaning of § 7-433c. We do not agree.
General Statutes § 7-433c provides that "a regular member of a paid municipal police department who successfully passed a physical examination on entry into such service, which examination failed to reveal any evidence of hypertension or heart disease, [who] suffers either off duty or on duty any condition or impairment of health caused by hypertension or heart disease resulting in his death or his temporary or permanent, total or partial disability" is entitled to receive workers' compensation benefits. When applying this provision, we are bound to effectuate the intent of the legislature as expressed by the words contained within it; where the terms of a statute are, as here, unambiguous, we cannot speculate as to any unexpressed legislative intent. Baston v. Ricci, 174 Conn. 522, 528, 391 A.2d 161 (1978); Olszewski v. State Employees' Retirement Commission, 144 Conn. 322, 326, 130 A.2d 801 (1957). Applying the express terms of this provision, it is not enough that the plaintiff provided police...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Jones v. TOWN OF REDDING
...of the statute previously had been subject to judicial review by the Appellate Session of the Superior Court in Zimmer v. Essex, 38 Conn.Supp. 419, 449 A.2d 1053 (1982). The board also noted that, even if the defendant was correct that Genesky was a clarification of the scope of § 7-433c, o......
-
Genesky v. Town of East Lyme, No. 17152.
...not a regular member of a paid municipal police department organized pursuant to General Statutes § 7-2745 and Zimmer v. Essex, 38 Conn.Supp. 419, 421, 449 A.2d 1053 (1982).6 The plaintiff thereafter appealed to the In reviewing the plaintiff's claim, the board first addressed the threshold......
-
Morgan v. Town of East Haven
...v. Smith, 194 Conn. 213, 222, 479 A.2d 814 (1984); Moscone v. Manson, 185 Conn. 124, 128, 440 A.2d 848 (1981); Zimmer v. Essex, 38 Conn.Sup. 419, 421, 449 A.2d 1053 (1982) ("[w]hen applying this provision [7-433c], we are bound to effectuate the intent of the legislature as expressed by the......
-
Jones v. Redding, (SC 18445) (Conn. 5/25/2010)
...of the statute previously had been subject to judicial review by the Appellate Session of the Superior Court in Zimmer v. Essex, 38 Conn. Sup. 419, 449 A.2d 1053 (1982). The board also noted that, even if the defendant was correct that Genesky was a clarification of the scope of § 7-433c, o......