Moore v. Ferguson

Citations

• 232 Conn. App. 797

Syllabus

The plaintiff appealed from the judgment of the Superior Court denying his motion to open the judgment dismissing his appeal from a Probate Court decree that determined ownership interests in a decedent's limited liability company. He claimed, inter alia, that the Superior Court improperly dis- missed his appeal on the ground that he lacked standing to challenge the Probate Court's decree. Held: This court concluded that, because the plaintiff failed either to appeal the judgment of dismissal or to file his motion to open the judgment within twenty days after the Superior Court dismissed his probate appeal, he could not challenge, on appeal to this court, the merits of the Superior Court's judgment of dismissal, namely, his lack of standing. The Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in denying the plaintiff's untimely motion to open the judgment, as the court reasonably could have concluded that the plaintiff failed to meet his burden of showing that the judgment of dismissal was obtained by fraud on the court. The Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in denying the plaintiff's request for an evidentiary hearing on his motion to open the judgment, as the court reasonably could have concluded that there was no basis to hold such a hearing to allow the plaintiff to present testimony regarding his claim that the limited liability company's operating agreement was fraudulent, the operating agreement having had no bearing on the court's decision to dismiss the plaintiff's probate appeal for lack of standing. Argued March 17–officially released May 27, 2025