Parnoff v. Stratford

Citations

• 216 Conn. App. 491

Syllabus

The plaintiff sought to recover damages from the defendant town, its mayor, H, its former tax assessor, F, and its counsel, B Co., for violations of the Freedom of Information Act (§ 1-200 et seq.) and for negligent inflic- tion of emotional distress and violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) (§ 42-110a et seq.) stemming from the defendants' alleged failure to comply with the Freedom of Information Act. The plaintiff sent a letter to F requesting the complete assessor's file for his property located in the town. Two days later, B Co. replied to the request on the town's behalf, indicating that it would review the request to determine whether any exemptions to production applied and noting that the town was committed to providing prompt access to all records subject to disclosure. The plaintiff replied, seeking clarification as to which part of his request might be subject to exemption. Prior to receiv- ing a response, he initiated this action. Approximately four months after receiving the initial request, B Co. provided the plaintiff with the requested records. Instead of withdrawing the action, the plaintiff then filed an amended complaint. The trial court granted the defendants' motions to dismiss the plaintiff's claims of Freedom of Information Act violations because he failed to exhaust his administrative remedies. The plaintiff then filed a second amended complaint, setting forth the same claims as the first amended complaint. The trial court again granted the defendants' motions to dismiss the Freedom of Information Act claims for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. Thereafter, the trial court granted the defendants' motions to strike the plaintiff's CUTPA and negligent infliction of emotional distress claims, concluding that F's and H's activities were exempt from CUTPA pursuant to the applicable statute (§ 42-110c (a) (1)) and that the defendants were not engaged in trade or commerce under CUTPA. The plaintiff then filed a s