Kellogg v. Middlesex Mutual Assurance Co.

Citations

• 211 Conn. App. 335

Syllabus

The plaintiff sought to recover damages from the defendant insurance com- pany for breach of contract, a violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) (§ 42-110a et seq.) arising from a violation of the Connecticut Unfair Insurance Practices Act (CUIPA) (§ 38a-815 et seq.), and promissory estoppel, in connection with a restorationist insur- ance policy issued by the defendant. The plaintiff, the owner of a historic property, had filed a claim pursuant to that policy for loss to her property resulting from a tree falling on her home during a storm. In a prior action, the plaintiff sought to vacate an arbitration award setting the amount of the insured loss to her property. The trial court in that action, Tierney, J., granted the plaintiff's application to vacate the arbitration award on the basis that it violated the applicable statute (§ 52-418). In the defendant's appeal from that judgment, Kellogg v. Middlesex Mutual Assurance Co. (326 Conn. 638), our Supreme Court reversed Judge Tierney's decision and remanded the case with direction to render judg- ment denying the plaintiff's application to vacate the arbitration award, concluding, inter alia, that Judge Tierney had improperly substituted his judgment for that of the appraisal panel that had decided the amount of the loss. In the present action, commenced during the pendency of the appeal from Judge Tierney's decision, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss the plaintiff's amended complaint, claiming that, in light of the pending appeal, this action was not ripe or, alternatively, was barred pursuant to the prior pending action doctrine. The trial court, Heller, J., denied the defendant's motion to dismiss. The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff's second revised and amended complaint, in which it argued that the breach of contract claim was barred pursuant to the doctrine of res judicata and the suit limitation provision of the restorationist policy, the CUTPA/CUIP