Commonwealth Servicing Group, LLC v. Dept. of Banking

Citations

• 351 Conn. 701

Syllabus

In accordance with this court's decision in Persels & Associates, LLC v. Banking Commissioner (318 Conn. 652), for purposes of the provision (§ 36a-671c (1)) of the debt negotiation statutes (§§ 36a-671 through 36a- 671f) that exempts from certain licensing and registration requirements those attorneys who engage in or offer debt negotiation services as an ancillary matter to such attorneys' representation of clients, there is a rebut- table presumption that such attorneys are engaged in the practice of law and, therefore, fall within the Judicial Branch's exclusive authority to regulate the practice of law. The plaintiffs, C Co., a national consumer advocate law firm, and S Co., an affiliate of C Co. that provides various administrative support services to C Co., sought injunctive and declaratory relief in the trial court in response to an ongoing administrative enforcement action that the defendant, the Department of Banking, had brought against S Co. for allegedly engaging in debt negotiation activities without a license to do so, in violation of § 36a- 671 (b). The defendant moved to dismiss the plaintiffs' action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, claiming that the plaintiffs had failed to exhaust their administrative remedies. The trial court denied the defendant's motion to dismiss, concluding that the plaintiffs were not required to exhaust their administrative remedies before asking the court to adjudicate whether the Persels presumption applied to S Co. On appeal from the denial of its motion to dismiss, the defendant claimed that the Commissioner of Banking should have the exclusive authority to make factual findings and to determine, during the course of an administrative proceeding, whether individuals or entities are engaged in the practice of law for purposes of Persels. Held: The trial court properly denied the defendant's motion to dismiss, this court having concluded that the plaintiffs were not required to wait for the Commissioner of Bankin