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34 ¦ NOVEMBER 23, 2020 CONNECTICUT OPINIONS

count with the understanding it would be used building curbs and sidewalks. The court held that
to establish a trust for the benefit of the child. these activities resulted in a diminution in value as
Defendant then had a paternity test performed a direct, necessary, natural, and proximate result
on the child, which revealed that the other man of the condemnation. Therefore, the court found
was the father of the child, but still held the child severance damages in the amount of $50,000.
out to be plaintiff’s. Defendant then had two
daughters with another man, and held them out
to be plaintiff’s children. Plaintiff and defendant EMPLOYMENT LITIGATION

divorced, and plaintiff brought this claim assert- Court Denies Summary Judgment in
ing he would not have made the fund transfer if Employment Wrongful Termination
he had known the first child was not his. Plain-
tiff brought claims of fraudulent misrepresenta-
tion, civil theft, unjust enrichment, and sought Dispute

compensatory damages and moved for summary CASE: Wong v. Bd. of Educ. of the City of Bridgeport
judgment. Plaintiff claimed the defendant fraud- COURT: Fairfield J.D. at Bridgeport
ulently represented that defendant’s son was his, DOC. NO.: CV-18-6078060
he believed it to be true, and defendant therefore COURT OPINION BY: Cordani
defrauded him of funds, and the court found no DATE: November 03, 2020 • PAGES: 13
genuine issue of material fact. The court granted
summary judgment as to fraudulent misrepre- Plaintiff was employed with defendant as Director
sentation and civil theft. The court also granted of Food and Nutrition Services as an at-will, non-
the motion for summary judgment as to unjust union employee. She had an extensive background
enrichment, and issued damages and awards on in food services with another school district, and
the claims. had no indication of poor performance at her po-
sition. Plaintiff was suspended and after a board
hearing, she was terminated for failure to follow di-
rectives and policies. Plaintiff alleged her termina-
DAMAGES • REAL ESTATE tion reasons were pretext, and she was actually ter-

Court Awarded Severance Damages minated for using a non-preferred bread supplier.
Plaintiff brought a claim for wrongful termination
Resulting from Taking of Defendant’s for a reason that violated public policy, and defen-
Property dant moved for summary judgment arguing that
plaintiff violated the policy of selecting the lowest
bidding supplier and ignored board members’ re-
CASE: Comm’r of Transp. v. J. West Assoc., LLC quests. The court found several genuine issues of
COURT: Stamford/Norwalk J.D. at Stamford
DOC. NO.: CV-17-6034495 material fact existed on the applicability of board
COURT OPINION BY: Hernandez policy, the discussions at the board, and the com-
DATE: October 20, 2020 • PAGES: 12 plete reasons for termination. The court therefore
Plaintiff awarded defendant compensation for the denied the motion for summary judgment.
partial taking of land, a slope easement, and the
right to build a driveway necessary for intersec-
tion improvements on U.S. Route 1. Defendant Court Granted Defendant’s Motion
appealed and the court granted the appeal in part. for Reconsideration on the Basis
The parties substantially disagreed about sever- That Court Awarded Interest Without
ance damages. Plaintiff argued that defendant Statutory Citation
was not entitled to damages flowing from the De-
partment of Transportation’s work on Route 1 CASE: Paniccia v. Success Vill. Apartments, Inc.
and that defendant failed to prove that claimed COURT: Fairfield J.D. at Bridgeport
construction, noise, and dust were specific to the DOC. NO.: CV-16-5031432
subject property. The court found that defendant COURT OPINION BY: Jacobs
demonstrated that the value of its property had DATE: September 24, 2020 • PAGES: 3
been damaged as a direct consequence of con- The underlying case was tried in December 2019.
struction activity within the subject property and The court did not recite the facts and procedural
would continue to be damaged during the term of history. In July 2020, defendant filed the current
the taking. These construction activities included motion for re-argument and for reconsideration.
relocating electric lines, relocating underground Defendant argued that the court erred in relying
gas lines, construction of a sewer bypass, and on witness testimony to alter the date of the subject

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