Karen v. Loftus

Citations

• 228 Conn. App. 163

Syllabus

The plaintiff appealed following the trial court's denial of her motion to open the dissolution judgment to allow discovery on her claim that the defendant had fraudulently procured an arbitration award that was incorpo- rated into that judgment pursuant to statute (§ 46b-66). The plaintiff claimed that the trial court incorrectly determined that she had failed to establish probable cause to substantiate her fraud allegations. Held: The trial court had subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate the plaintiff's motion to open, even though it was filed outside the applicable statutory (§ 52-420 (b)) time frame. The trial court improperly denied the plaintiff's motion to open the judgment based on fraud, as the plaintiff presented evidence of the defendant's making of false statements or his failure to disclose facts, which was sufficient to establish probable cause to substantiate her claim of fraud, thereby war- ranting discovery and further proceedings. Argued January 29—officially released September 17, 2024