In re Brian C.

Syllabus

The respondent mother appealed from the trial court's judgment for the petitioner, the Commissioner of Children and Families, sustaining an ex parte order granting temporary custody of the respondent's minor child, B, to the petitioner and adjudicating B neglected. The respondent claimed, inter alia, that the trial court improperly admitted hearsay evidence at the hearing sustaining the order of temporary custody. Held: This court dismissed the respondent mother's appeal as moot, as the trial court's order adjudicating B neglected and committing him to the custody of the petitioner superseded the order of temporary custody. The respondent mother's claim that her challenge to the order of temporary custody remained eligible for review under the capable of repetition, yet evading review exception to the mootness doctrine failed under the first required criterion of that doctrine under Loisel v. Rowe (233 Conn. 370), namely, that the challenged action was of such limited duration that a strong likelihood that the substantial majority of cases raising a question about its validity will become moot before appellate litigation can be concluded, as she failed to pursue opportunities to challenge the order of temporary custody, including by failing to request a contested hearing or to pursue an appeal of the trial court's order sustaining the order of temporary custody prior to the adjudication of B as neglected. Argued January 13—officially released May 6, 2026