Rousseau v. Weinstein

Citations

• 204 Conn. App. 833

Syllabus

The plaintiffs, R and D Co., sought to recover damages from the defendants, R's former spouse, P, and P's attorneys and their law firms, for, inter alia, vexatious litigation. R and P were married in 2007, and, in 2010, R commenced a dissolution action. P filed a cross complaint, alleging that she suffered personal financial losses as a result of financial misconduct, fraud, and duress committed by R, acting both individually and through D Co., in connection with several financial investments that she made during their marriage. In 2011, P retained the defendant attorneys to assist with the dissolution action and to file a civil action against the plaintiffs, alleging essentially the same claims of financial misconduct that she had made in the dissolution action. Various other individuals and entities who allegedly aided and abetted the plaintiffs were also named as defendants in the civil action. Following a trial in the dissolu- tion action, the court dissolved the marriage between R and P, found that R had not, either individually or through D Co., engaged in the financial misconduct claimed by P, and ordered P to release and hold the plaintiffs indemnified and harmless from any and all claims pending in the civil action. P appealed the dissolution decision and filed a motion to stay the civil action pending a decision on the appeal, which the court granted. The dissolution decision was affirmed and, a few weeks later, the defendants withdrew the civil action. The plaintiffs then filed this vexatious litigation action against P and her attorneys, alleging that the claims made by the defendants in the civil action were identical to those made in the dissolution action and, therefore, were precluded by the prior pending action doctrine and lacked probable cause. The defendants filed for summary judgment, which the court granted with respect to the defendant attorneys, and the plaintiffs appealed to this court. Held: 1. The prior pending action doctrine was not appl