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Legal Briefs
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Business New Haven
1/11/1999
By: BNH
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The Jury Topped 'Em All
Before trial in a recent personal injury case - commonly called a “slip and fall” - in New Haven's Superior Court, Pelletier v. Knollwood Associates, the highest settlement offer made by the defendant landlord was $15,000, while the lowest amount demanded by the plaintiff tenant was $130,000. Not unusual. The main injuries alleged involved the lower back and included a 15 percent permanent partial disability - also not unusual. The medical bills and lost wages of plaintiff school bus driver totaled $120,000; this was neither high nor low. So, how did the jury return a verdict of over half a million dollars in only four and a half hours? We may never know for certain, but one can be relatively sure that defendant's insurance company - Vermont Mutual - will pay closer attention to pretrial negotiations in the future!
Small Claims Court More User-Friendly,
For Now
Small claims courts around the state will soon have a simplified, carbon-less form to deal with, making the process less of a mess. By mid-year, the forms will also be available on an electronic bulletin board for small fees. And, with the success of a Hartford-area pilot program which consolidated four local small claims courts and increased the number of hearing days in the news, additional beneficial revisions are likely. But whether another matter in need of remedy - raising the cap from its current $2,500 - will bring too many cases and lawyers into the process, and thereby destroy the current character of the venue as the common man's “day in court,” is an issue which will be debated when legislation on the issue is introduced this session.
Mashantucket Pequots in the News - Again
In a clear departure from its recent legal victories, the owners of the popular and profitable Foxwoods Resort & Casino were dealt two blows from the courts in as many days last month. In a federal matter, U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny decided that property owned by the tribe cannot now be placed in trust and thus become tax-exempt. While it is not clear exactly how much tax revenue would have been lost by state and local government if the ruling had been in the tribe's favor, a similarly situated hotel pays $400,000 in property taxes alone. Then, in a state case, New London Superior Court Judge D. Michael Hurley decided that the tribe does not enjoy sovereign immunity from a private lawsuit which alleges that its Foxwood Resorts Pequot Towers negligently furnished alcohol to an already intoxicated driver. In that case, Schram v. Ohar, the court, after noting that the tribe is fully regulated by the state of Connecticut regarding alcohol, found that there exists the “right of a private citizen to bring an action against the tribe itself in the area of liquor distribution.” Schram, who was left paralyzed from the waist down as a result of a collision with the Foxwood patron, must first “exhaust his remedies in the tribal court” - that is, finish his lawsuit and any appeals allowed from that suit - before the state court action can proceed.
LAW CALENDAR
The Environmental Law Committee of the New Haven County Bar Association (NHCBA) will hold a luncheon meeting starting at noon on January 21. The Graduates Club, 155 Elm Street, New Haven. $14. Reservations required; call 564-9652 to register.
The NHCBA presents a seminar on Chapters 7 & 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. 4-6 p.m. January 26 at 70 Audubon St., New Haven. $40-$55. Call 562-9652 to register. 2 CLE hours.
Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association (CTLA) presents the last of three Case Strategy and Analysis Service programs. 9 a.m.-noon January 23 at Koskoff, Koskoff & Beider, 350 Fairfield Ave., Bridgeport. $255-$270. Call 860-522-4345 to register. One CLE hour.
CTLA presents a seminar entitled Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Cases. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. January 30 at the Ramada Hotel, 275 Research Pkwy., Meriden. $25-$165. Call 860-522-4345. 4 CLE hours.
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