Northeast Building Supply, LLC v. Morrill

Citations

• 224 Conn. App. 137

Syllabus

The plaintiff, N Co., appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court denying its application for a prejudgment remedy pursuant to statute (§ 52-278a et seq.). N Co.'s proposed complaint alleged common- law and statutory vexatious litigation claims that arose out of an earlier action to which N Co. was not a party. The trial court in the earlier action had rendered judgment for H Co., the plaintiff in that action, and it awarded attorney's fees to H Co. H Co. thereafter changed its name to B Co., and B Co. assigned the judgment obtained in the earlier action and all related claims arising out of such litigation to N Co. The defen- dants named in the present action were either defendants in the earlier action or attorneys and law firms who represented those defendants. The court in the present action thereafter denied N Co.'s application, concluding that its proposed vexatious litigation claims were barred by the doctrine of collateral estoppel and that the payment of any judgment rendered against the law firm defendants would be adequately secured by insurance. Held that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over N Co.'s application for a prejudgment remedy, as N Co. lacked standing to bring the application predicated on its vexatious litigation claims: N Co.'s claims fell squarely within the category of tort claims that may not be assigned, as its alleged damages included, inter alia, claims of injuries to H Co.'s business reputation and attorney's fees necessary for the defense of claims against H Co., which were personal in nature and accrued only to H Co. and not to N Co.; accordingly, this court reversed the trial court's judgment and directed the trial court to dismiss N Co.'s application. Argued November 14, 2023—officially released March 5, 2024