Title 52 — Title 52: Civil Actions

Sec. 52-175. Entries and memoranda of mentally ill and incapable persons. (a) In the trial of any civil action in which any party is, at the time of the trial, mentally ill or unable to testify by reason of incurable sickness, failing mind, old age, infirmity or senility, the ent…

Sec. 52-175a. Negligence action, construction of acts of blind person. The failure of a blind person to use a service animal or to carry a cane or walking stick which is predominantly white or metallic in color, with or without red tip, shall not be construed as evidence of compa…

Sec. 52-176. Promise to pay barred debt to be in writing. In any action against the representatives of a deceased person, an acknowledgment or promise shall not be sufficient evidence of a new or continuing contract to take the case out of the statute of limitations, unless it is…

Sec. 52-177. Action on bond. Burden of proving value of principal's interest. Whenever, in any action brought upon a bond given in accordance with the provisions of section 52-308, the defendant sets up in his answer, or claims, that the interest of the principal in the bond in t…

Sec. 52-178. Adverse party or officer, agent or employee thereof may be compelled to testify. A party to a civil action or probate proceeding: (1) May compel any adverse party, any person for whose benefit the action or proceeding is instituted, prosecuted or defended, or any off…

Sec. 52-178a. Physical examination of plaintiff, when. In any action to recover damages for personal injuries, the court or judge may order the plaintiff to submit to a physical examination by one or more physicians or surgeons. No party may be compelled to undergo a physical exa…

Sec. 52-179. Seal and its equivalent. All instruments in writing executed by any person or corporation not having an official or corporate seal, purporting and intended to be a specialty or under seal, and not otherwise sealed than by the addition of the word “seal” or the letter…

Sec. 52-180. Admissibility of business entries and photographic copies. (a) Any writing or record, whether in the form of an entry in a book or otherwise, made as a memorandum or record of any act, transaction, occurrence or event, shall be admissible as evidence of the act, tran…

Sec. 52-180a. Admissibility of out-of-state hospital record or bill for treatment. Any and all parts of any hospital record or bill for treatment, or copy thereof, made by a hospital located without this state in connection with the treatment of a patient, if not otherwise inadmi…

Sec. 52-180b. Presumption against admission of evidence of prior criminal conviction of applicant or employee. There shall be a rebuttable presumption against admission of evidence of the prior criminal conviction of an applicant or employee in an action alleging that an employer…

Sec. 52-180c. Admissibility of evidence of sexual misconduct. (a) As used in this section: (1) “Sexual misconduct” means any act that is prohibited by section 53a-70b of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to January 1, 2019, section 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-70c, 53a-71, …

Sec. 52-181. Evidence of death or capture. An official written report or record, or certified copy thereof, that a person is missing, missing in action, interned in a neutral country or beleaguered, besieged or captured by an enemy, or is dead, or is alive, made by any officer or…

Sec. 52-182. Presumption of family car or motorboat in operation by certain person. Proof that the operator of a motor vehicle or a motorboat, as defined in section 15-127, was the husband, wife, father, mother, son or daughter of the owner shall raise a presumption that such mot…

Sec. 52-183. Presumption of agency in motor vehicle operation. In any civil action brought against the owner of a motor vehicle to recover damages for the negligent or reckless operation of the motor vehicle, the operator, if he is other than the owner of the motor vehicle, shall…

Sec. 52-184. Transferred to Chapter 815y, Sec. 46b-168.

Sec. 52-184a. Evidence obtained illegally by electronic device inadmissible. No evidence obtained illegally by the use of any electronic device is admissible in any court of this state. (1967, P.A. 871.) See Sec. 53a-187 et seq re tampering with private communications and eavesdr…

Sec. 52-184b. Failure to bill and advance payments inadmissible in malpractice cases. (a) For the purposes of this section, “health care provider” means any person, corporation, facility or institution licensed by this state to provide health care or professional services, or an …

Sec. 52-184c. Standard of care in negligence action against health care provider. Qualifications of expert witness. (a) In any civil action to recover damages resulting from personal injury or wrongful death occurring on or after October 1, 1987, in which it is alleged that such …

Sec. 52-184d. Inadmissibility of apology made by health care provider to alleged victim of unanticipated outcome of medical care. (a) For the purposes of this section: (1) “Health care provider” means a provider, as defined in subsection (b) of section 20-7b, or an institution, a…

Sec. 52-184e. Admissibility of amount of damages awarded to plaintiff in separate action against different health care provider. (a) For the purposes of this section: (1) “Licensed health care provider” means any health care institution licensed pursuant to the provisions of chap…

Sec. 52-185. Bond or recognizance for prosecution. (a) No bond or recognizance for prosecution is required from a party in any civil action unless the judicial authority, upon motion and for good cause shown, finds that a party is not able to pay the costs of the action and order…

Secs. 52-186 to 52-188. Court may order bond. Member of community defending to give bond. Court may order bond by nonresident defendant in realty action. Sections 52-186 to 52-188, inclusive, are repealed, effective October 1, 2015. (1949 Rev., S. 7932, 7934, 7995; P.A. 82-160, S…

Sec. 52-189. Surety company bond acceptable. Any surety company chartered by this state or authorized to do business herein may be accepted as surety or recognizor upon any bond or recognizance required by law in any civil action or in any proceeding instituted under the statutes…

Sec. 52-190. Action on probate bond. Endorsement of writ. Section 52-190 is repealed, effective October 1, 2015. (1949 Rev., S. 7933; P.A. 82-160, S. 91; P.A. 15-85, S. 27.)

Sec. 52-190a. Prior reasonable inquiry and certificate of good faith required in negligence action against a health care provider. Ninety-day extension of statute of limitations. (a) No civil action or apportionment complaint shall be filed to recover damages resulting from perso…

Sec. 52-190b. Designation of negligence action against health care provider as complex litigation case. Not later than six months after the filing of an action to recover damages resulting from personal injury or wrongful death, whether in tort or in contract, in which it is alle…

Sec. 52-190c. Mandatory mediation for negligence action against health care provider. Stipulation by mediator and parties. Rules. (a) There shall be mandatory mediation for all civil actions brought to recover damages resulting from personal injury or wrongful death, whether in t…

Sec. 52-191. Precedence of actions in favor of the state. All civil actions brought by or on behalf of the state, including informations on the relation of a private individual, shall have precedence over all other civil actions in respect to the order of trial, except actions up…

Sec. 52-191a. Precedence of certain actions involving zoning ordinances and regulations. Any civil action wherein one of the issues is the interpretation of a zoning ordinance or regulation that is the basis of a pending criminal prosecution under section 8-12 shall be privileged…

Sec. 52-191b. Precedence of proceedings involving planning commissions. Any legal proceeding to which any municipal planning commission is a party shall be considered a privileged matter with respect to the order of trial. (1971, P.A. 274.)

Sec. 52-191c. Precedence of actions involving terminally ill persons. (a) Any civil action to which a terminally ill person is a party shall be privileged in assignment for trial. For the purpose of this section, “terminally ill” means in the final stage of an incurable or irreve…

Sec. 52-192. Precedence of other cases in order of trial. Any objections made to the acceptance of the report of a committee or auditor, or award of an arbitrator, shall be heard and determined promptly and without delay after return of the report or award, unless a continuance i…

Sec. 52-192a. Offer of compromise by plaintiff. Acceptance by defendant. Amount and computation of interest. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, after commencement of any civil action based upon contract or seeking the recovery of money damages, whether or n…

Sec. 52-192b. Offers of judgment. Applicability. Sections 52-192a to 52-195, inclusive, of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to January 1, 2005, shall be applicable to any cause of action accruing prior to October 1, 2005. (P.A. 06-40, S. 1.) History: P.A. 06-40 eff…

Sec. 52-193. Offer of compromise by defendant. In any action on contract, or seeking the recovery of money damages, whether or not other relief is sought, the defendant may, not later than thirty days before trial, file with the clerk of the court a written offer of compromise si…

Sec. 52-194. Acceptance of defendant's offer of compromise. In any action, the plaintiff may, within sixty days after being notified by the defendant of the filing of an offer of compromise, file with the clerk of the court a written acceptance of the offer signed by the plaintif…

Sec. 52-195. Effect of failure to accept defendant's offer of compromise. (a) If the plaintiff does not, within the time allowed for acceptance of the offer of compromise and before the commencement of the trial, file the plaintiff's notice of acceptance, the offer shall be deeme…

Sec. 52-195a. (Formerly Sec. 52-256). Unliquidated damages; tender. Any party upon whom a claim for unliquidated damages is made may tender to the claimant a sum of money in payment thereof, which tender may be pleaded and in all respects be as effectual as a tender in case of a …

Sec. 52-195b. Referral of civil action involving motor vehicle to alternative dispute resolution program. Expedited process case. Privileged case. Section 52-195b is repealed, effective October 1, 2013. (P.A. 93-297, S. 3, 29; P.A. 13-194, S. 15.)

Sec. 52-195c. Time period for payment of settlement amount. (a) When an action to recover damages has been settled, any settling defendant shall tender all sums due from such settling defendant to any settling plaintiff or such plaintiff's agent not later than thirty days after r…

Sec. 52-196. Motion to continue or postpone. Whenever in any action pending in the Superior Court a motion for a postponement or continuance is made by either party and such motion is granted, the court may require the party making the same to pay to the adverse party such sum by…

Sec. 52-196a. Filing of special motion to dismiss based on exercise of certain state or federal constitutional rights in connection with matter of public concern. Court procedure. (a) As used in this section: (1) “Matter of public concern” means an issue related to (A) health or …

Sec. 52-197. Motion for disclosure. Rules. (a) In any civil action, the court, upon motion of either party, may order disclosure of facts or disclosure, production and inspection of papers, books or documents by any party thereto, material to the moving party's cause of action or…

Sec. 52-197a. Transferred to Chapter 368a, Sec. 19a-17b.

Sec. 52-197b. Discovery outside country to be in accordance with treaty or convention or court order. (a) If an applicable treaty or convention including, but not limited to, the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad, provides for discovery outside the United States o…

Sec. 52-198. Disclosure; examination of officer of corporation. If a corporation is party to an action, the opposite party may examine the president, treasurer, secretary, clerk or any director or other officer thereof in the same manner as if he were a party to the suit. (1949 R…

Sec. 52-199. Questions which need not be answered. Self-incrimination. (a) In any hearing or trial, a party interrogated shall not be obliged to answer a question or produce a document the answering or producing of which would tend to incriminate him, or to disclose his title to …

Sec. 52-200. Disclosure not conclusive. When either party in any action has obtained from the other party a disclosure on oath, respecting the matters alleged in any pleading, the disclosure shall not be deemed conclusive, but may be contradicted like any other testimony. (1949 R…

Sec. 52-200a. Defendant's insurance liability policy limits and insurer's duty to indemnify subject to discovery. In any civil action founded upon negligence, both the defendant's insurance liability policy limits and whether or not the insurer has disclaimed its duty to indemnif…

Sec. 52-201. Action on nonnegotiable instruments; defense. Assignment. Section 52-201 is repealed. (1949 Rev., S. 7953; 1959, P.A. 133, S. 10-102.)