Castle v. DiMugno

Citations

• 199 Conn. App. 734

Syllabus

The plaintiff trustee sought to collect on a promissory note executed by the defendant and to foreclose a mortgage on certain real property securing the defendant's obligations under the note. In accordance with a stipulation entered into by the defendant and her former husband, D, which was incorporated into the judgment dissolving their marriage, D transferred his interest in the property to the defendant and the defen- dant executed a promissory note in the amount of $160,000 in favor of D. The note provided that it was payable by the defendant until the sale of the property or her death and that, if the property were transferred, the unpaid principal with accrued interest would become due and payable at the option of the holder of the note. Thereafter, the plaintiff, as trustee, brought an action against D for, inter alia, breach of fiduciary duty for actions he had taken as the original trustee of the trust. The trial court rendered judgment in favor of the plaintiff and, following its granting of the plaintiff's motion for postjudgment modification of a prejudgment attachment that had been granted in her favor, ordered that the plaintiff could ''garnish'' the note from the defendant and that a copy of the original note was to be turned over to her. D never turned over the original note to the plaintiff. The defendant subsequently quitclaimed title to the property to her daughter for no consideration and retained a life use of the property. The plaintiff then filed a judgment lien on the property, claiming that the defendant's transfer of the prop- erty to her daughter triggered her obligation to pay the note in full. After the defendant did not respond to the plaintiff's demand that she make full payment on the note, the plaintiff commenced the present two count action. The trial court rendered summary judgment in favor of the defendant on both counts of the complaint, and the plaintiff appealed to this court. Held that the plaintiff lacked standing to enforce