Marafi v. El Achchabi

Citations

• 225 Conn. App. 415

Syllabus

The defendant appealed to this court from the summary judgment rendered by the trial court in favor of the plaintiff on his claims of fraudulent misrepresentation, statutory theft and unjust enrichment. After meeting in 2001, the parties became involved in a romantic relationship. Despite this ongoing relationship, the defendant married A in 2007. Later in 2007, when the plaintiff gave birth to a child, S, she told the plaintiff, who was present for the birth, that he was S's biological father. She then filed for divorce from A. In 2009, the defendant had a DNA test done that conclusively established that A was S's biological father, but she did not share this result with the plaintiff. After the defendant's marriage to A was dissolved, she married the plaintiff in 2013. The defendant then began a romantic relationship with B in 2014. She gave birth to another child, N, in 2015 and again represented to the plaintiff, who was present for the birth, that he was the biological father. In 2016, B submitted to DNA testing, which confirmed that N was his biological daughter. Between 2007 and 2015, the plaintiff transferred more than $187 million to the defendant pursuant to the belief that S and N were his children. Following the dissolution of his marriage to the defendant, the plaintiff commenced the present action, alleging, inter alia, fraudu- lent misrepresentation, statutory theft, and unjust enrichment. The defendant did not file an answer to the complaint but later admitted in an interrogatory that she knew that A and B were the biological fathers of her children from the time she was first aware of her pregnancies. Thereafter, the plaintiff filed a motion for summary judgment; the defen- dant did not file an objection or appear at the hearing on the motion. The court rendered judgment for the plaintiff and awarded him damages of more than $500 million, and the defendant appealed to this court. Held: 1. The trial court properly determined that no genuine issue of