Sessa v. Reale

Citations

• 213 Conn. App. 151

Syllabus

The plaintiff appealed to the Superior Court from the decree of the Probate Court denying his application to hear and decide a rejected claim. The plaintiff alleged that certain of his personal property was lost in a fire that destroyed a house owned by an estate that was administered by the defendant. The defendant received insurance proceeds, which included an amount for the personal property loss incurred by the plaintiff. The Probate Court issued a decree permitting the defendant to pay certain of the insurance proceeds to the plaintiff on the condition that he provide an affidavit of ownership for the destroyed items. The plaintiff, however, asserted that he was not notified of the decree and, despite his repeated efforts to obtain payment, the proceeds were never distributed. Following the appointment of a successor administrator to the estate, the plaintiff requested that the defendant act on his claim, which the defendant then rejected in its entirety. Thereafter, pursuant to the applicable statute (§ 45a-364 (a)), the plaintiff presented to the Probate Court an application to hear and decide the rejected claim. The Probate Court denied the application, stating that its prior ruling permitting the payment of certain insurance proceeds to the plaintiff was dispositive of the matter. The plaintiff then filed a complaint for appeal from probate in the Superior Court pursuant to statute (§ 45a- 186). The defendant filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, claiming that the plaintiff was not permitted to file a probate appeal following the denial of his application and, instead, should have commenced suit in accordance with § 45a-364. The Superior Court granted the defendant's motion to dismiss, and the plaintiff appealed to this court. Held: 1. The Superior Court properly granted the defendant's motion to dismiss because the Probate Court's decree was a denial of the plaintiff's applica- tion to hear and decide the rejected claim, and th