Dombrowski v. New Haven

Citations

• 194 Conn. App. 739

Syllabus

The plaintiff, a retired police officer, appealed to this court from the decision of the Compensation Review Board, which affirmed the decision of the Workers' Compensation Commissioner denying his motion to open a certain stipulation that he and the defendants, the city of New Haven and its workers' compensation administrator, had executed to settle several pending workers' compensation claims related to his employ- ment with the city. The plaintiff had agreed to accept a settlement of his claims for $22,500. On the morning of the stipulation approval hearing before the commissioner, the defendants' counsel presented the plaintiff with the stipulation and a settlement agreement, neither of which the plaintiff had seen before and both of which he signed. The stipulation did not reference the settlement agreement, which required the plaintiff to waive, inter alia, causes of action under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq.). At the stipulation approval hearing, the commissioner canvassed the plaintiff with regard to the stipulation, and approved it after determining that the plaintiff had executed it knowingly and voluntarily. None of the parties asked the commissioner to review or to sign the settlement agreement, and the commissioner did not examine or sign the settlement agreement. After the plaintiff received a $22,500 settlement check, he returned it and sought to open the stipulation pursuant to statute (§ 31-315). He claimed, inter alia, that the stipulation was nugatory on the ground that his execution of the settlement agreement was not knowing and voluntary because the parties had agreed to settle only the workers' compensation claims. The commissioner concluded that opening the stipulation was not warranted because, inter alia, the plaintiff had failed to offer any evidence of fraud, misrepresentation, accident or mistake. The board thereafter affirmed the commissioner's denial of the motion to open, determining that th