C. W. v. Warzecha

Citations

• 225 Conn. App. 137

Syllabus

The defendant appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court for the plaintiff on her claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress. Between 2012 and 2015, the plaintiff periodically operated her business that transported special needs children to and from school from her home. Between 2012 and 2015, the defendant, who resided in a nearby home, became concerned that the plaintiff was operating a commercial transportation business from her home after he observed an increase in the number of cars and the amount of traffic in the neighborhood that was associated with the plaintiff's business. In 2015, the defendant complained to his town's zoning department and discovered that the plaintiff did not have a permit to operate her business from her home. After meeting with one or more zoning department officials, the defen- dant began to document his complaints with photos, digital recordings, and a detailed written timeline of the comings and goings of the plaintiff, her family, and others based upon his personal surveillance of the plain- tiff's property. The defendant continuously recorded the plaintiff's resi- dence and took photos of the plaintiff's property from his vehicle using a zoom lens. Although the defendant stopped taking photos of the plain- tiff's property in approximately January or February, 2016, he continued to conduct video surveillance of the plaintiff's home until the time of trial and would regularly review the digital recordings. The defendant submitted his documentation, including his digital recordings, photos, and a surveillance report of what he believed to be the plaintiff's alleged zoning violation, to the town's zoning department. In November, 2015, a zoning enforcement officer issued a cease and desist order to the plaintiff, claiming that the operation of her business violated the town's zoning regulations. In response, the plaintiff contacted the local police department and complained to the defendant's supervisors at