Advance Release Opinions – Supreme Court – July 27

Reviews of Connecticut Supreme Court advance release opinions about attorney discipline and worker’s compensation.

Attorney Discipline

D’Attilo v. Statewide Grievance Committee – D’Attilo started an action in Superior Court (1) seeking a writ of mandamus directing local grievance panels to reverse their dismissals of grievance complaints that D’Attilo had filed against five lawyers; and (2) asking Superior Court to oust the Statewide Grievance Committee and take control of grievances still pending against two other lawyers. Superior Court dismissed the action for lack of standing because D’Attilo was neither statutorily nor classically aggrieved. Supreme Court affirmed, adopting Superior Court’s memorandum of decision.

Worker’s Compensation

Callaghan v. Car Parts International, LLC – Prior to 2011, if an injured worker recovered from a third-party, the employer was entitled to be reimbursed from that recovery for any worker’s compensation benefits that the employer had paid to the injured worker. If any of the recovery remained after reimbursing the employer, the employer enjoyed a “moratorium” on payment of benefits in the future, up to the amount of the remaining recovery. In 2011, the legislature amended the statute, CGS § 31-293(a), to provide that one-third of any recovery from a third-party “shall inure solely to the benefit of the employee.” In other words, the employee is entitled to one-third of any recovery from a third-party. The question on appeal was whether the moratorium applied to that one-third. The Supreme Court confirmed that it does not. The employee gets to keep the one-third regardless of whether the employer pays any future benefits.