McCullough v. Rocky Hill

Syllabus

The plaintiff appealed from the trial court's judgment granting the defen- dant town's motion to strike the plaintiff's substitute complaint seeking declaratory relief with respect to certain real property taxes assessed by the town. He claimed, inter alia, that the court improperly granted the motion to strike the plaintiff's complaint in its entirety. Held: This court dismissed as moot the portion of the plaintiff's appeal challenging the trial court's judgment rendered on the stricken complaint, as this court could not afford the plaintiff any practical relief consistent with the relief requested in his substitute complaint, and the plaintiff failed to demonstrate that his claim was reviewable under the capable of repetition, yet evading review exception to the mootness doctrine. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in awarding attorney's fees to the town pursuant to the statute (§ 12-140) governing the recovery of reasonable attorney's fees incurred by a municipality in defending a civil action brought as a result of a tax sale, as the plaintiff failed to provide to this court any basis on which to reach a determination that the trial court could not have reasonably concluded that such fees should be awarded. Argued November 12, 2025—officially released May 19, 2026