SKINNER v. ANGLIKER5/30/1989
Certification was granted in this case limited to the question: "Did the Appellate Court err in deciding that a discharged employee who initiated an action under Connecticut General Statutes Section 31-51q was not entitled to a trial by jury?" Skinner v. Angliker, 209 Conn. 807, 548 A.2d 438 (1989). We affirm the judgment of the Appellate Court.
The facts relevant to this appeal have been set forth in the opinion of the Appellate Court; Skinner v. Angliker, 15 Conn. App. 297, 544 A.2d 246 (1988); but can be briefly summarized as follows. Shortly after being employed by the department of mental health as a forensic treatment specialist in 1983, the plaintiff allegedly witnessed numerous incidents of verbal and physical abuse of patients by some of the staff members at Whiting Forensic Institute. On October 21, 1983, the plaintiff was discharged after making several complaints regarding that abuse to his supervisors and officials at Whiting. The plaintiff secured employment at another institution soon thereafter.
In January, 1984, the plaintiff filed a complaint in the Superior Court against the defendants, Colin Angliker, the director of the Whiting Forensic Institute, and Audrey M. Worrell, the commissioner of the state department of mental health, in their official capacities, alleging that they had discharged him because he had exercised his first amendment rights and that the defendants' actions were in violation of General Statutes 31-51q. The plaintiff claimed the
case for the jury docket, and the defendants subsequently filed a motion to strike, pursuant to Practice Book 282, arguing that there was no right to a jury trial under 31-51q. The trial court denied the defendants' motion and a jury trial commenced on July 22, 1986. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff awarding him $9000 for present and future loss of earnings, $1 for emotional distress and $26,752.50 for punitive damages. The plaintiff was also awarded $3000 by the trial court for attorney's fees and costs.
On September 30, 1986, the defendants appealed the judgment to the Appellate Court, arguing, in relevant part, that the trial court erred in denying their motion to strike the case from the jury docket. Specifically, the defendants maintained that the plaintiff did not have a right to a jury trial in an action brought against the state pursuant to 31-51q.
Addressing the defendants' claim of error, the Appellate Court correctly set forth the standards used to determine whether a party is entitled to a trial by jury. "The constitution of Connecticut, article first, 19, states that ` he right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.' This particular provision of our constitution has
been consistently construed by Connecticut courts> to mean that if there was a right to a trial by jury at the time of the adoption of the provision, then that right remains intact. See, e.g., Swanson v. Boschen, 143 Conn. 159, 165, 120 A.2d 546 (1959) . . . State v. Mention, 12 Conn. App. 258, 263, 530 A.2d 645 (1987); State v. Weisser, 9 Conn. App. 255, 257, 518 A.2d 655 (1986), cert. denied, 202 Conn. 803, 519 A.2d 1207 (1987)." Skinner v. Angliker, supra, 15 Conn. App. 302; see also United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Spring Brook Dairy, Inc., 135 Conn. 294, 297, 64 A.2d 39 (1949). It is generally held that the right to a jury trial "exists not only in cases in which it existed at common law and at the time of the adoption of constitutional provisions preserving it, but also exists in cases substantially similar thereto. . . ." 47 Am.Jur.2d, Jury 17; Swanson v. Boschen, supra. At common law, "legal claims [were] tried by a jury, equitable
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