Southport Congregational Church v. Hadley (Bridgeport Superior Court: Docket No. 12-CV-6029522), subsequently appealed to the Connecticut Appellate Court under Docket No. AC 35289 and, thereafter to the Connecticut Supreme Court under Docket No. SC 19398 with decision reported at 320 Conn. 103. Also pending as the Estate of Albert L. Hadley (Fairfield Probate Court – PD09)

This case involved the Estate of Albert Hadley, who is generally regarded as America’s preeminent interior designer. Mr. Hadley, a resident of New York City, owned a country estate in Southport, CT. In his Will, he devised the property to Southport Congregational Church. Prior to his death, however, he entered into a contract to sell the property to Evelyn Winn and executed a codicil/pledge to donate the proceeds from the sale to our client, Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art. Mr. Hadley died after the execution of the contract but before the closing had occurred. Cheekwood claimed that the property transferred to Ms. Winn via the doctrine of equitable conversion. Southport Congregational claimed that equitable conversion didn’t apply because a mortgage contingency clause in the real estate contract was unsatisfied at the time of Mr. Hadley’s death. On January 6, 2016, after years of litigation, the Supreme Court held that the mortgage contingency clause did not preclude the application of equitable conversion following Mr. Hadley’s death. Southport Congregational Church v. Hadley, 320 Conn. 103 (2016).

Estate of Ann L. Pasquale (Dist. of Hamden-Bethany – PD37)

The decedent’s daughter and daughter-in-law made claims against the decedent’s estate seeking over $500,000.00 as compensation and reimbursement for caregiving services provided to the decedent from 2007 to the date of her death on November 2, 2014. Following a two-day evidentiary hearing, the Probate Court issued a Decree which concurred with our argument that services rendered by family members are presumed to be gratuitous and that the claimants failed to overcome that burden and presumption.

Matter of Leroy C. Ferguson and Verna W. Ferguson (Tobacco Valley Probate Court – PD37)

This is a case involving the financial exploitation of senior citizens. After being appointed as conservator of estate for both respondents, an elderly couple from Bloomfield, it was discovered that their son misappropriated hundreds of U.S. Savings Bonds in the names of his parents and was redeeming them for his own personal financial gain. We have taken steps to bring this case to local law enforcement authorities, shut down bank accounts and credit cards, successfully petition for an accounting from the son who previously served as attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney and move for and obtain an order granting our motion for sanctions. More recently, we moved for permission to commence and prosecute a civil action against the son under Public Act 15-236.

Matter of Deborah Banks (Hartford Probate Court – PD01)

Represented mother of intellectually challenged adult daughter. For many years, our client and her son served as plenary guardian and standby plenary guardian, respectively, for Deborah. For just as many years, our client battled fiercely with the State of Connecticut Department of Developmental Services (“DDS”) and the State of Connecticut Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons With Disabilities (“OPA”) regarding her daughter’s placement, treatment and care. DDS/OPA raised unfounded claims of abuse and neglect against our client, which were investigated but ultimately rejected by law enforcement authorities. DDS/OPA then shifted their sights to getting our client and her son removed as guardians. They convinced the court-appointed attorney for Deborah to file a petition for removal of guardians. On June 3, 2010, DDS/OPA finally got their wish. On that date, the Probate Court issued a decree stating that, despite the fact that the Court “does not think the Mother [Patricia Sherman] has hit Deborah [Banks],” it would grant the relief requested in the application and suspend the plenary guardianship of our client and the standby plenary guardianship of her son. Our client filed an appeal from probate.

We endured years of dilatory motion practice and discovery abuses. Sherman v. Kowalyshyn, et al., 2011 WL 803005 (Jan. 28, 2011); Sherman v. Kowalyshyn, et al., 2013 WL 2278974 (May 3, 2013). On May 22, 2014, the Superior Court (Wiese, J.) sustained our client’s appeal and vacated the underlying Probate Court Order concerning her removal. Sherman v. Kowalyshyn, et al., 2014 WL 3360693 (Conn. Super. Ct., J.D. of Hartford, May 22, 2014). In doing so, the Court noted that DDS/OPA did not submit any evidence in support of the petition for removal. Additionally, the Court found that Deborah Banks was not present at the June 3, 2010 probate hearing and the Probate Court failed to make the required findings under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a–675 to justify her absence.

Estate of Heinz Herrmann (Tolland-Mansfield Probate Court – PD25)

Represented Everyday Democracy, Inc., a local nonprofit charitable organization, in connection with an interpleader action filed by the trustee of the decedent’s 2005 Trust and 2007 Trust. Savings Institute Bank & Trust Co. v. Virginia H. Herrmann, et al., Docket No. X03-HHD-CV-10-6015894-S. The parties, all charities, litigated the issue of whether or not the 2007 Trust operated to revoke the 2005 Trust.

Estate of Judith Andriulli (Greenwich Probate Court – PD54) & Estate of Nixon Henry (Stamford Probate District – PD53)

Represented Progressive Casualty Insurance Company in connection with applications for permission to settle certain doubtful or disputed claims arising from an automobile accident which resulted in a double fatality.

Estate of Selma Kovalik (Berlin Probate Court – PD08)

This is another case involving the financial exploitation of a senior citizen. A few years prior to her death, Selma Kovalik befriended Mary Ann Smolicz, a bank teller at a local bank. Eventually, Kovalik named Smolicz as her attorney-in-fact under a durable power of attorney, and also changed her Will so as to name Smolicz as her executrix. After Kovalik died, her grandchildren realized that her assets had been depleted at an alarming rate in the years leading up to her death. After being retained by Kovalik’s grandchildren, we successfully petitioned the Probate Court to remove Smolicz as Executrix of Kovalik’s Estate and appoint our client as Administratrix, c.t.a. We also filed a petition for accounting regarding Smolicz’s actions as attorney-in-fact under the power of attorney. The Probate Court granted our petition for accounting, but Smolicz completely ignored the Probate Court’s Order. We filed a Motion for Contempt pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 51-33. The Probate Court denied our Motion for Contempt, holding that as a court of limited jurisdiction, it did not have the power to hold someone in contempt. We then filed suit against Smolicz in the Superior Court, asserting claims of breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, statutory theft (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-564) and unjust enrichment. See, Sara Hernandez, Administratrix, c.t.a. of the Estate of Selma Kovalik v. Mary Ann Smolicz, New Britain Superior Court: Docket No. HHB-CV08-4016805-S.

After Smolicz’s attorney filed a motion to withdraw, Smolicz proceeded pro se. Midway through the litigation, Smolicz mysteriously sent the sum of $15,000.00 to the Estate. Smolicz was ultimately defaulted for failure to plead and the case proceeded to a hearing in damages. Following the hearing in damages, the Court (Pittman, J.) entered an award of damages in the amount of $536,765.00 in favor of our client and against Smolicz, calculated as follows:

As to missing cash and accounts, $131,918.00, calculated as $146,918.00, less $15,000 that was paid over by Mary Ann Smolicz; and, as to missing personal property, $25,000.00.

As part of its award, the Court trebled our client’s damages as a result of Smolicz’s theft and awarded punitive damages equal to attorney’s fees. Smolicz died approximately six months after the Court’s ruling. Smolicz’s estate is currently pending in the Region 19 Probate Court. We successfully petitioned the Probate Court to allow our claim arising from the Superior Court’s award of damages. We also successfully petitioned to remove Smolicz’s children as fiduciaries of her estate pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-242. To this day, we continue with our efforts to recover the monies which Smolicz misappropriated from Kovalik.

Matter of Marilyn Plank (Greenwich Probate Court – PD54)

Represented one of the 89-year-old respondent’s daughters in a conservatorship proceeding which involved the issue of the respondent’s domicile and her desire to return to Michigan.

Estate of Norman Holland & Estate of Holly Holland (Windham – Colchester Probate Court – PD28)

Represented Teachers Insurance Company and Horace Mann Insurance Companies in connection with application for permission to settle certain claims arising from an automobile accident which resulted in a double fatality.