Russo v. Thornton

Citations

• 217 Conn. App. 553

Syllabus

The plaintiffs sought to recover damages from the defendants for, inter alia, breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the defendant B's alleged tortious interference with the business expectancies of the plaintiff companies, T Co. and H Co. The decedent, T, founded the plaintiff companies and, following T's death, R was elected as their sole director. While employed by the plaintiff companies, B established the defendant companies, W Co. and D Co., to engage in the same business as the plaintiff companies. B covertly removed equipment and records from the plaintiff companies' place of business and, subsequently, R termi- nated B's employment. Before trial, the court granted the plaintiffs' application for temporary ex parte relief, ordering, inter alia, that the defendants were enjoined from transferring the defendant companies' assets. The court also granted the plaintiffs' motion for a temporary receiver to monitor the defendants' compliance with the terms of the temporary injunction. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiffs against B as to certain counts of the complaint. The remaining counts were tried to the court, which determined that the plaintiffs had not established a prima facie case for a claim under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) (§ 42-110a et seq.) against the defendant companies. The court, in a supplemental memorandum of decision, concluded that B had violated CUTPA and that the plaintiffs were entitled to punitive damages. The court thereafter awarded punitive damages against B in the form of attorney's fees and costs. The plaintiffs filed an application for a financial institution execution directed to B. B filed a motion to vacate the execution and a judgment lien encumbering his real property, arguing that the court had not rendered a final judgment because the temporary injunction and temporary receivership had not been made permanent or further modified, and because there had been no ''formal entry of judgment.'' T