U.S. Bank National Assn. v. Rago

Citations

• 216 Conn. App. 200

Syllabus

The plaintiff bank sought to foreclose a mortgage on certain real property owned by the defendants, F and L, following their default on a promissory note secured by the mortgage. The trial court granted the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment as to liability against the defendants and rendered a judgment of strict foreclosure. The trial court later vacated the summary judgment rendered against L only, as he was a nonap- pearing party. Thereafter, the trial court granted the plaintiff's motion for default against L for failure to plead. On L's appeal from the judgment of strict foreclosure, this court affirmed the judgment and remanded the matter for the purpose of setting new law days. Thereafter, the plaintiff filed a motion to reset the law days. It later filed an updated affidavit of debt, a new appraisal of the property, and an affidavit of the appraiser, although it did not file an accompanying motion requesting that the trial court update the amount of the debt or the fair market value of the property. Following a short calendar proceeding on the motion, which the defendants did not attend as they were not provided with notice, the trial court issued an order reopening, modifying and reentering the judgment of strict foreclosure to increase both the amount of the debt and the fair market value of the property. It also set new law days. On F's appeal to this court, held that the trial court erred in rendering the subsequent judgment of strict foreclosure by making updated findings sua sponte and without providing the parties with adequate notice and an opportunity to be heard: the plaintiff's motion sought only to reset the law days in accordance with this court's remand order, and the trial court exceeded the scope of that motion and the remand order by modifying the judgment to substitute updated fair market value and debt findings; moreover, F was not afforded due process in connection with the trial court's making of the updated findings because he was