Cazenovia Creek Funding I, LLC v. White Eagle Society of Brotherly Help, Inc., Group 315, Polish National Alliance

Citations

• 351 Conn. 722

Syllabus

The plaintiff, C Co., sought to foreclose two municipal tax liens for the grand lists of 2012 and 2013 of the city of Bridgeport on real property owned by the defendant. The city purportedly had assigned the tax liens to C Co.'s predecessor in interest, which then allegedly assigned its interest in the liens to C Co. After the defendant filed its answer and several special defenses, C Co. moved for summary judgment as to liability only. The defendant objected to C Co.'s motion, claiming, inter alia, that the Bridgeport City Council had failed to validly assign the liens to C Co. pursuant to the statute ((Rev. to 2015) § 12-195h) allowing for the assignment of liens secur- ing unpaid taxes on real property by a resolution of a municipality's legisla- tive body. The trial court granted C Co.'s motion for summary judgment as to liability, concluding that there was no genuine issue of material fact as to the validity of the assignments and that that determination resolved certain, but not all, of the defendant's special defenses. Subsequently, B Co. was substituted as the plaintiff, and the trial court rendered judgment of foreclosure by sale, from which the defendant appealed to the Appellate Court. Thereafter, the Appellate Court affirmed the trial court's judgment, and the defendant, on the granting of certification, appealed to this court. Held: The Appellate Court correctly determined that the trial court had properly granted C Co.'s motion for summary judgment as to liability on the basis of the trial court's conclusion that there was no genuine issue of material fact as to whether the tax liens at issue had been validly assigned to C Co. in compliance with § 12-195h. To establish the validity of the tax lien assignments, C Co. submitted certified copies of the agendas and minutes from two of the city council's meetings, at which the council approved the assignment of any or all tax liens and authorized the mayor of Bridgeport to enter into any agreements necessar