Title 52, Title 52: Civil Actions

Sec. 52-216c. Failure to call a witness. Jury instruction prohibited; argument by counsel permitted. No court in the trial of a civil action may instruct the jury that an inference unfavorable to any party's cause may be drawn from the failure of any party to call a witness at su…

Sec. 52-217. Violation of statute by minor. In all actions for recovery of damages for injury to person or property, in which the plaintiff or defendant was a minor under sixteen years of age at the time such cause of action arose, it shall be a question of fact to be submitted t…

Sec. 52-218. Jury may try issues of fact in equitable action. Upon the application of either party, the court may order any issue or issues of fact in any action demanding equitable relief to be tried by a jury of six. (1949 Rev., S. 7937; 1953, S. 3179d; 1971, P.A. 40, S. 6.) Hi…

Sec. 52-219. Claim for damages and equitable relief; separate trials. Whenever an action brought to recover damages and also to obtain equitable relief has been placed upon the docket as a jury case, the determination of the equitable issues raised by the pleadings shall not prev…

Sec. 52-220. Hearing in damages: When to jury. In any action at law in which the defendant suffers a default and there is a hearing in damages, the hearing in damages shall be to a jury of six if either party to the action, within thirty days after the default has been entered, f…

Sec. 52-221. Hearing in damages: Evidence. Notice. (a) In any hearing in damages upon default suffered or after demurrer overruled, the defendant shall not be permitted to offer evidence to contradict any allegations in the plaintiff's complaint, except such as relate to the amou…

Sec. 52-221a. Hearing in damages: Proof of damages on defendant's failure to appear. In any hearing in damages at which the defendant fails to appear in person or by counsel the plaintiff shall be permitted to submit affidavits, duly sworn and acknowledged, of damages and special…

Sec. 52-222. Verdict by nine jurors. Section 52-222 is repealed. (1949 Rev., S. 7971; 1971, P.A. 40, S. 11.)

Sec. 52-223. Jury may be three times returned to consider verdict. The court may, if it judges the jury has mistaken the evidence in the action and has brought in a verdict contrary to the evidence, or has brought in a verdict contrary to the direction of the court in a matter of…

Sec. 52-224. Special verdicts. Jury to assess damages. (a) The court shall determine questions of law referred to it by the jury in a special verdict, which they may give when they entertain doubts respecting points of law arising in the action, or when the parties request it. In…

Sec. 52-225. Judgment on verdict; assessment of damages when judgment rendered other than on verdict. The court shall render judgment on all verdicts of the jury, according to their finding, with costs, unless the verdict is set aside; and in all cases where judgment is rendered …

Sec. 52-225a. Reduction in economic damages in personal injury and wrongful death actions for collateral source payments. (a) In any civil action, whether in tort or in contract, wherein the claimant seeks to recover damages resulting from (1) personal injury or wrongful death oc…

Sec. 52-225b. “Collateral sources” defined. For purposes of sections 52-225a to 52-225c, inclusive: “Collateral sources” means any payments made to the claimant, or on his behalf, by or pursuant to: (1) Any health or sickness insurance, automobile accident insurance that provides…

Sec. 52-225c. Recovery of collateral source benefits prohibited. Unless otherwise provided by law, no insurer or any other person providing collateral source benefits as defined in section 52-225b shall be entitled to recover the amount of any such benefits from the defendant or …

Sec. 52-225d. Payment of damages in lump sum and periodic installments in personal injury, wrongful death and property damage actions. (a) In any civil action wherein the claimant seeks to recover damages resulting from personal injury, wrongful death or damage to property occurr…

Sec. 52-225e. Notice of settlement in excess of ten thousand dollars by insurer to claimant. (a) Upon the payment in settlement of any third-party liability claim in excess of ten thousand dollars where the claimant is a natural person, the insurer shall mail to the claimant noti…

Sec. 52-225f. Transfer of structured settlement payment rights prior to October 1, 2003. (a) For purposes of this section: (1) “Annuity issuer” means an insurer that has issued any insurance contract used to fund periodic payments under a structured settlement; (2) “Expenses” mea…

Sec. 52-225g. Transfer of structured settlement payment rights: Definitions. For the purposes of sections 52-225g to 52-225l inclusive: (1) “Annuity issuer” means an insurer that has issued a contract to fund periodic payments under a structured settlement; (2) “Dependents” inclu…

Sec. 52-225h. Transfer of structured settlement payment rights: Required disclosures to payee. Not less than three days prior to the date on which the payee signs a transfer agreement, the transferee shall provide to the payee a separate disclosure statement, in boldface type at …

Sec. 52-225i. Transfer of structured settlement payment rights: Approval. No direct or indirect transfer of structured settlement payment rights shall be effective and no structured settlement obligor or annuity issuer shall be required to make any payment directly or indirectly …

Sec. 52-225j. Transfer of structured settlement payment rights: Effect. Following a transfer of structured settlement payment rights under sections 52-225g to 52-225l, inclusive: (1) The structured settlement obligor and the annuity issuer shall, as to all parties except the tran…

Sec. 52-225k. Transfer of structured settlement payment rights: Procedure for approval. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, an application under sections 52-225g to 52-225l, inclusive, for approval of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights shall …

Sec. 52-225l. Transfer of structured settlement payment rights: General provisions. (a) The provisions of sections 52-225g to 52-225l, inclusive, may not be waived by any payee. (b) Any transfer agreement entered into on or after October 1, 2003, by a payee who resides in this st…

Sec. 52-226. Trial to the court. Special finding. In any action for legal relief, when the parties join in an issue of fact and the action is tried to the court, the judge of the court may hear and try the issue without a jury, award damages and costs, and grant execution, in the…

Sec. 52-226a. Special finding that action or defense without merit and not in good faith. In any civil action tried to a jury, after the return of a verdict and before judgment has been rendered thereon, or in any civil action tried to the court, not more than fourteen days after…

Sec. 52-227. Judgment for or against some of the parties only. In any civil action in which a cause of action is sustained in favor of or against only a part of the parties thereto, judgment may be rendered in favor of or against such parties only; but any defendant against whom …

Sec. 52-228. Judgment too large; remittitur; correction. If any judgment is rendered, by mistake or clerical error, for a larger sum than is due, the party recovering the judgment may have the amount of the judgment decreased by remittitur to the amount which is due, provided rea…

Sec. 52-228a. Appeal from order of remittitur or additur. In any jury case where the court orders a decrease in the amount of the judgment or an increase in the amount of the judgment, the party aggrieved by the order of remittitur or additur may appeal as in any civil action. Th…

Sec. 52-228b. Setting aside of verdict in action claiming money damages. No verdict in any civil action involving a claim for money damages may be set aside except on written motion by a party to the action, stating the reasons relied upon in its support, filed and heard after no…

Sec. 52-228c. Remittitur when noneconomic damages in negligence action against health care provider determined to be excessive. Whenever in a civil action to recover damages resulting from personal injury or wrongful death, whether in tort or in contract, in which it is alleged t…

Secs. 52-229 and 52-230. Continuance of cases on docket of Superior Court or Court of Common Pleas. Discontinuance of cases in Circuit Court. Sections 52-229 and 52-230 are repealed. (1953, S. 3184d; 1955, S. 3185d; 1959, P.A. 28, S. 116; February, 1965, P.A. 81, S. 2; P.A. 74-18…

Sec. 52-231. Facts on which judgments found to appear on record. Each court shall keep a record of its proceedings and cause the facts on which it found its final judgments and decrees to appear on the record; and any such finding if requested by any party shall specially set for…

Sec. 52-231a. Filing of affidavit re other custody proceedings; visitation rights. Before any court enters any decree in a matter pending before it involving the custody of a minor child or children, an affidavit shall be filed with said court averring that there is no proceeding…

Sec. 52-231b. Entry of order or judgment or approval of settlement that prohibits or restricts disclosure of sexual abuse of minor prohibited. In any action to recover damages for personal injury to a minor, including emotional distress, caused by sexual abuse, sexual exploitatio…

Sec. 52-232. Judge to file memorandum of decision on demurrer. Section 52-232 is repealed. (1949 Rev., S. 7981; P.A. 78-379, S. 26, 27.)

Sec. 52-233. Certification of statutory appeals taken to a judge. Whenever any statutory appeal from the doings of any administrative or quasi-judicial board or person is taken to a judge of the Superior Court, such judge shall certify his doings thereon to the clerk of his court…

Sec. 52-234. Time for entering of justice appeals. Section 52-234 is repealed. (1949 Rev., S. 7966; 1959, P.A. 28, S. 204.)

Sec. 52-235. Reservation of questions of law. (a) The Superior Court, or any judge of the court, with the consent of all parties of record, may reserve questions of law for the advice of the Supreme Court or Appellate Court in all cases in which an appeal could lawfully have been…

Sec. 52-235a. Declaratory judgment to determine orders of priorities. In any action in which order of priorities could be determined under scire facias proceedings, such orders of priorities may be determined by declaratory judgment proceedings. (1959, P.A. 118, S. 1.) Cited. 186…

Sec. 52-235b. Proceedings stayed if attorney unable to appear. If, prior to judgment, an attorney for any reason ceases to be a member of the bar or becomes physically or mentally incapacitated or otherwise disabled so as to prevent him from appearing in court in an action in whi…

Sec. 52-235c. Referral to alternative dispute resolution program. Stay of proceedings in court. The court may, upon stipulation of the parties, refer a civil action to an alternative dispute resolution program agreed to by the parties. The court shall not in any way impact or inf…

Sec. 52-235d. Mediation. Disclosure. (a) As used in this section, “mediation” means a process, or any part of a process, which is not court-ordered, in which a person not affiliated with either party to a lawsuit facilitates communication between such parties and, without decidin…

Sec. 52-235e. Stay of proceedings in action against crime victim during pendency of criminal proceeding. Any civil action brought against a crime victim, as defined in section 1-1k, by a defendant in a criminal proceeding on account of the exercise or intended exercise by such cr…

Sec. 52-235f. Referral to arbitration of civil action involving claim for bodily injury arising out of motor vehicle accident. In any civil action where the party who brought the action is asserting a claim for bodily injury arising out of a motor vehicle accident, the court, at …

Sec. 52-236. Actions on contract; evidence of damages since suit. In any action founded on contract, for the recovery of damages, the plaintiff may offer evidence of any damages that may have accrued from the same cause of action subsequent to the bringing of the action, provided…

Sec. 52-237. Damages in actions for libel. In any action for a libel, the defendant may give proof of intention; and unless the plaintiff proves either malice in fact or that the defendant, after having been requested by the plaintiff in writing to retract the libelous charge, in…