The plaintiff sought, by way of summary process, to regain possession of
certain premises occupied by the defendant. The trial court granted the
plaintiff’s motion for default for failure to plead and rendered a judgment
of possession in favor of the plaintiff. The following day, the defendant
filed a motion to open the judgment, which the court denied one week
later. Notice of the court’s decision denying the motion to open issued
two days after that, and the defendant appealed that same day. There-
after, the plaintiff filed a motion to terminate the appellate stay, which
sought, in substance, a determination that there was not, in fact, an
appellate stay in effect because the defendant had not filed his appeal
within the five day statutory (§ 47a-35) appeal period in summary process
actions and that the filing of the motion to open did not extend the
appeal period. The defendant filed an objection, arguing that the case
was controlled by Young v. Young (249 Conn. 482). Following a hearing,
the court determined that no appellate stay was in effect that would
prevent the execution of the judgment of possession during the pendency
of the appeal. The defendant thereafter filed a timely motion for review
with this court. Held that the case was controlled by Young, and, there-
fore, the defendant’s appeal was timely and, pursuant to § 47a-35 (b),
execution of the judgment of possession was stayed until the final
determination of the cause: because the defendant filed his motion to
open well within the five day appeal period and, pursuant to the applica-
ble rule of practice (§ 63-1 (c) (1)), a motion to open is a motion that,
if granted, would render the judgment ineffective, a new five day appeal
period arose when notice of the court’s decision denying the motion to
open issued, and the defendant filed his appeal on that same day, well
within the new appeal period; accordingly, the defendant’s motion for
review and the relief requested therein were granted, and the trial court’s
order on the plaintiff’s motion to terminate the appellate stay was
vacated.
Considered March 17—officially released April 27, 2021 Procedural History