The story of The Charter Oak, one of our Doses of Connecticut Legal History, has been revised and updated. The Charter Oak is the first in a series of doses that the law librarians plan on revising so stay tuned for updates in the future.

• Posted in:
• Did You Know?,
• Legal History

Three new Office of Legislative Research (OLR) reports were issued on August 11, 2016. They are:

Small Claims and Landlord-Tenant Cases – 2016-R-0142 – “Summarize how Connecticut handles small claims or landlord-tenant cases, such as the use of mediation or other alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and a sampling of practices from other states.”

Private Disability Insurance in Connecticut – 2016-R-0144 – “Explain disability insurance, including benefit and elimination periods. Describe the major laws and regulations governing disability insurance in Connecticut. Explain how disability insurance in Connecticut differs from workers’ compensation insurance.”

Spending Cap Definitions – 2016-R-0137 – “Summarize legislative proposals that define the spending cap’s terms.”

• Posted in:
• FYI,
• Legal Research

Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut has launched an online, free legal aid portal for low-income Connecticut residents to ask their civil legal questions and receive free, brief legal advice from Connecticut pro bono attorneys. Beginning August 22, 2016, Connecticut residents with access to the Internet will have the opportunity to login to "Connecticut Justice Online Anytime" to:

• Register and create a user profile;
• Ask a confidential civil legal question;
• Receive free legal advice from a licensed Connecticut attorney via the confidential website

Visit https://ct.freelegalanswers.org/ for additional information.

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• Did You Know?,
• FYI,
• Self-Help

SC19465 - Estate of Rock v. University of Connecticut (Workers' compensation; "The threshold jurisdictional issue in this appeal is whether the plaintiff, Estate of James Rock, has standing under the Workers’ Compensation Act (act), General Statutes § 31-275 et seq., to seek benefits for temporary total disability and permanent partial disability, as well as reimbursement for, inter alia, medical expenses, when the deceased employee, James Rock (decedent), did not file a claim for benefits…The plaintiff appealed to the Appellate Court, and we transferred the appeal to this court pursuant to General Statutes § 51-199 (c) and Practice Book § 65-1. On appeal, the plaintiff challenges the standing determination but not the commissioner’s denial of the motion to substitute the administrator of the decedent’s estate as the claimant and the request to change the case caption.")

AC37303 - Wiblyi v. McDonald’s Corp. (Workers' compensation; "We conclude that the board improperly remanded the matter with direction that the commissioner, essentially, reconsider his findings on the ground that there were 'ambiguities in the record . . . .’'")

AC37304 - Wiblyi v. McDonald’s Corp. (Workers' compensation; "The defendant McDonald’s Corporation appeals from the decision of the Workers’ Compensation Review Board (board) finding error in the decision of the Workers’ Compensation Commissioner (commissioner). On appeal, the defendant claims that the board improperly concluded, as a matter of law, that the equitable doctrine of laches was not available as a defense to the motion to preclude filed by the plaintiff, John M. Wiblyi, Jr. We disagree and, accordingly, affirm the decision of the board.”)

• Posted in:
• Recent Opinions,
• Workers' Compensation Law

AC37939 - Tutson v. Commissioner of Correction (Habeas; "The petitioner claims that the second habeas court erred by (1) concluding that there was no reasonable probability that the result of the habeas appeal from the first habeas court’s denial of his petition for certification to appeal would have been different and (2) declining to presume that the petitioner was prejudiced by his prior habeas appellate counsel’s failures to raise an issue on his petition for certification to appeal from the first habeas court’s ruling. We affirm the judgment of the second habeas court.")

AC36974- Dumas v. Commissioner of Correction (Habeas; " The petitioner, Nyron Dumas, appeals following the denial of his petition for certification to appeal from the judgment of the habeas court dismissing in part and denying in part his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. He claims that the habeas court abused its discretion in denying his petition for certification to appeal and, as to the merits, improperly denied a count of his habeas petition for failure of proof. We disagree with the petitioner and agree with the result reached by the habeas court, but on an alternative ground.")

• Posted in:
• Habeas Corpus Law,
• Recent Opinions