Title 52, Title 52: Civil Actions

Sec. 52-102b. Addition of person as defendant for apportionment of liability purposes. (a) A defendant in any civil action to which section 52-572h applies may serve a writ, summons and complaint upon a person not a party to the action who is or may be liable pursuant to said sec…

Sec. 52-103. Citation of new parties by judge. Any court, or a judge when the court is not in session, upon motion, may cite in a new party or parties to any action pending before the court or judge, and may include in such citation an order for any proper prejudgment remedy or h…

Sec. 52-104. Joinder of plaintiffs and consolidation of causes. All persons may be joined in one action as plaintiffs in whom any right of relief in respect to or arising out of the same transaction or series of transactions is alleged to exist either jointly or severally when, i…

Sec. 52-105. Numerous parties may be represented by one. When the persons who might be made parties are very numerous, so that it would be impracticable or unreasonably expensive to make them all parties, one or more may sue or be sued or may be authorized by the court to defend …

Sec. 52-106. Executor, administrator or trustee of express trust may sue or be sued alone. An executor, administrator, or trustee of an express trust may sue or be sued without joining the persons represented by him and beneficially interested in the action. (1949 Rev., S. 7828; …

Sec. 52-107. Additional parties may be summoned in. The court may determine the controversy as between the parties before it, if it can do so without prejudice to the rights of others; but, if a complete determination cannot be had without the presence of other parties, the court…

Sec. 52-108. Nonjoinder and misjoinder of parties. An action shall not be defeated by the nonjoinder or misjoinder of parties. New parties may be added and summoned in, and parties misjoined may be dropped, by order of the court, at any stage of the action, as the court deems the…

Sec. 52-109. Substituted plaintiff. When any action has been commenced in the name of the wrong person as plaintiff, the court may, if satisfied that it was so commenced through mistake, and that it is necessary for the determination of the real matter in dispute so to do, allow …

Sec. 52-110. Summoning in of third parties by defendant who counterclaims. When a counterclaim raises questions affecting the interests of third parties, the defendant may, and if required by the court shall, cause the third parties to be summoned in as parties to the action. (19…

Sec. 52-111. Effect of change of parties. A change in parties, made by order of court, shall not impair any previous attachment of the property of any person remaining a defendant in the action, or impair bonds or recognizances of any person remaining a party, either as against h…

Sec. 52-112. Insertion of names of partners in process in action by or against a partnership. (a) In commencing a civil action by or against a partnership, it shall not be necessary to insert the names of the partners in the process, provided the partnership name is stated. The p…

Sec. 52-113. Common counts; bill of particulars. Section 52-113 is repealed. (1949 Rev., S. 7835; P.A. 78-379, S. 26, 27.)

Sec. 52-114. Pleading of contributory negligence. In any action to recover damages for negligently causing the death of a person, or for negligently causing personal injury or property damage, it shall be presumed that such person whose death was caused or who was injured or who …

Sec. 52-115. Pleading charters. All acts of incorporation passed by the General Assembly may be declared on or pleaded as public acts. (1949 Rev., S. 7837.)

Sec. 52-117. Action on probate bond. (a) In any action upon a bond taken in a court of probate, not brought by a representative of the estate in connection with which the bond was given or by some person in his own behalf and that of all other persons interested in the estate, th…

Sec. 52-118. Action by assignee of chose in action. The assignee and equitable and bona fide owner of any chose in action, not negotiable, may sue thereon in his own name. Such a plaintiff shall allege in his complaint that he is the actual bona fide owner of the chose in action,…

Sec. 52-119. Pleading to be according to rules and orders of court. Parties failing to plead according to the rules and orders of the court may be nonsuited or defaulted, as the case may be. (1949 Rev., S. 7841.) See Sec. 51-59 re hours of operation of court clerks' offices. See …

Sec. 52-120. Pleading filed by consent after expiration of time. (a) Whenever any party or parties to a civil action, or his or their attorney, desires to file any pleading or amendment to any pleading which might properly be filed except for the fact that according to the rules …

Sec. 52-121. Pleading may be filed after expiration of time fixed, but prior to hearing on motion for default judgment or nonsuit. Judgment or penalty for failure to plead. (a) Any pleading in any civil action may be filed after the expiration of the time fixed by statute or by a…

Sec. 52-122. Procedure in certain actions not changed. Sections 52-1, 52-45a, 52-45b, 52-91, 52-97 and 52-279 shall not affect flowage petitions, or proceedings in paternity, replevin, summary process, habeas corpus, mandamus, ne exeat, quo warranto, forcible entry and detainer o…

Sec. 52-123. Circumstantial defects not to abate pleadings. No writ, pleading, judgment or any kind of proceeding in court or course of justice shall be abated, suspended, set aside or reversed for any kind of circumstantial errors, mistakes or defects, if the person and the caus…

Secs. 52-124 and 52-125. Plea in abatement; issue of fact; answer over. Amendment after plea in abatement. Sections 52-124 and 52-125 are repealed. (1949 Rev., S. 7846, 7847; 1961, P.A. 517, S. 133; P.A. 78-379, S. 26, 27.)

Sec. 52-126. Action not abated on account of marriage. An action commenced by a single person shall not abate on account of the person's marriage. The marriage of the person may be noted on the record and the action may then proceed in the same manner as if the action was commenc…

Sec. 52-127. Process not to be drawn or filled out by officer. Any process or complaint drawn or filled out by a state marshal or constable, except in such marshal's or constable's own cause, shall abate; but process shall not abate on account of any alteration between the time o…

Sec. 52-128. Amendment of pleadings by plaintiff; costs. The plaintiff may amend any defect, mistake or informality in the writ, complaint, declaration or petition, and insert new counts in the complaint or declaration, which might have been originally inserted therein, without c…

Sec. 52-129. Amendment of pleadings in appeals from justices. Section 52-129 is repealed. (1949 Rev., S. 7851; 1959, P.A. 28, S. 204.)

Sec. 52-130. Amendment of defects, mistakes or informalities. Parties may amend any defect, mistake or informality in the pleadings or other parts of the record or proceedings. When either party supposes that in any part of the pleadings he has missed the ground of his plea, and …

Sec. 52-131. Amendment of claim against estate of insolvent debtor or deceased person. In any hearing on the estate of an insolvent debtor or a deceased person before commissioners, or before the Superior Court on appeal from the actions of the commissioners, the claimant may ame…

Secs. 52-132 to 52-134. Amendment of ad damnum clause. Relief beyond jurisdiction; transfer of action. Amendment raising damages after appeal from justice. Sections 52-132 to 52-134, inclusive, are repealed. (1949 Rev., S. 7854; 7855, 7862; 1959, P.A. 28, S. 109, 204; 1972, P.A. …

Sec. 52-135. Amendment of pleadings after default or demurrer overruled; costs. The plaintiff, in any cause of action for unliquidated damages in which a default has been entered, or in which a judgment has been rendered upon a demurrer to the complaint overruled, may, at any tim…

Sec. 52-136. Amendment from contract to tort and vice versa. The complaint in an action brought for breach of contract may be amended so as to set forth instead a cause of action founded on a tort, arising from the same transaction or subject of action; and any complaint founded …

Sec. 52-137. Amendment changing the relief sought. If, on the trial upon an issue of fact or of law of an action in which equitable relief is demanded, it appears that the plaintiff is not entitled to equitable relief, but may be entitled to legal relief, the court may allow the …

Sec. 52-138. Amendment calling for legal relief; jury trial. If any complaint is so amended as to call for legal instead of equitable relief, the court shall not proceed to judgment until the defendant has had a reasonable opportunity to put the issue or issues, on which the new …

Sec. 52-139. Set-off of mutual debts; procedure. (a) In any action brought for the recovery of a debt, if there are mutual debts between the plaintiff or plaintiffs, or any of them, and the defendant or defendants, or any of them, one debt may be set off against the other. (b) No…

Sec. 52-140. Set-off by defendant in suit by assignee. In any action brought in his own name by the assignee of a chose in action not negotiable, the defendant, or any of the defendants, may set off, in the manner and to the extent provided in section 52-139, any mutual debt betw…

Sec. 52-141. Set-off in action for trespass or tort. (a) In a civil action for trespass to real or personal property or for a tort, unaccompanied by force, resulting in consequential injury, a defendant may set off against any judgment rendered against him any debt which he holds…

Sec. 52-142. Joint debtors; discharge; set-off. A discharge to one of several joint debtors, purporting to discharge him only, shall not affect the claim of the creditor against the other joint debtors. The other joint debtors may be sued for the debt and may set off any demand w…

Secs. 52-89 and 52-90. Transferred to Chapter 896, Secs. 52-45a and 52-45b, respectively.

Sec. 52-91. Pleadings; contents of complaint. There shall be one form of civil action. The first pleading on the part of the plaintiff shall be known as the complaint and shall contain a statement of the facts constituting the cause of action and, on a separate page of the compla…

Sec. 52-91a. (Formerly Sec. 52-38). Foreclosure. Redemption. Matter in demand. In actions for the foreclosure of title or the redemption of property claimed to be subject to a mortgage or lien, the amount of the debt or liability secured by such mortgage or lien, as described in …

Sec. 52-92. Demurrers to be specific. Section 52-92 is repealed, effective October 1, 2012. (1949 Rev., S. 7814; P.A. 12-133, S. 47.)

Secs. 52-93 to 52-96. Answer; general and special denial. Plaintiff's reply; general and special denial; further pleadings. Pleading over allowed if demurrer overruled. Pleading of counterclaim and set-off. Sections 52-93 to 52-96, inclusive, are repealed. (1949 Rev., S. 7815–781…

Sec. 52-97. Union of legal and equitable causes of action; limitation. In any civil action the plaintiff may include in his complaint both legal and equitable rights and causes of action, and demand both legal and equitable remedies; but, if several causes of action are united in…

Sec. 52-98. Pleadings to allege the material facts in concise form. Section 52-98 is repealed. (1949 Rev., S. 7820; P.A. 78-379, S. 26, 27.)

Sec. 52-99. Untrue allegations or denials; costs. Any allegation or denial made without reasonable cause and found untrue shall subject the party pleading the same to the payment of such reasonable expenses, to be taxed by the court, as may have been necessarily incurred by the o…