March
2012
Vexatious Litigation Remains Viable But Difficult To Prove In Connecticut
In a recent opinion, Honorable Vincent E. Roche, Connecticut Superior Court, Judicial District of Litchfield, confirmed that while a cause of action for vexatious litigation remains viable in Connecticut it is difficult to prove, especially when asserted against counsel. Whether a plaintiff can prevail on such a claim will continue to be highly dependent on the specific facts at issue. See Charlotte Hungerford Hospital v. Kevin E. Creed, et al, Docket No. LLI-CV-09-5006417S. Specifically, in granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants, Judge Roche first rejected the plaintiffs’ invitation to adopt a rule that probable cause does not exist, as a matter of law, in a medical malpractice case, where a sufficient opinion letter is not attached to the complaint as required by Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-190a. He then examined the facts known by the attorney at the time the complaints were filed and concluded that there was probable cause to commence and continue the underlying medical malpractice litigation even though the defendants failed to obtain an appropriate opinion letter from a similar health care provider prior to filing suit and a prior ruling by the Honorable John W. Pickard found that the defendants’ “lack of diligence in selecting an appropriate person or persons to review the case for malpractice [could] only be characterized as blatant and egregious conduct.”