Monday, February 11, 2013

Connecticut v. Doehr case brief

Connecticut v. Doehr case brief summary 

501 U.S. 1

PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Petitioners challenged the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit which held that Connecticut's prejudgment remedy provision, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-278e(a)(1), violated the requirements of due process by authorizing prejudgment attachment without prior notice or a hearing.

FACTS:
-On March 15, 1988, petitioner John F. DiGiovanni submitted an application to the Connecticut Superior Court for an attachment in the amount of $ 75,000 on respondent Brian K. Doehr's home in Meriden, Connecticut.
-DiGiovanni took this step in conjunction with a civil action for assault and battery that he was seeking to institute against Doehr in the same court.
-The suit did not involve Doehr's real estate, nor did DiGiovanni have any pre-existing interest either in Doehr's home or any of his other property.

ANALYSIS:
-The Court affirmed the decision of the lower court, which held that Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-278e(a)(1) was violative of the requirements of due process.
-This statute allowed prejudgment attachment without prior notice or a hearing.
-The attachment at issue arose out of an action filed in conjunction with a civil action for assault and battery.

HOLDING:
-The U.S. Supreme Court held that even the temporary or partial impairments to property rights that attachments and similar encumbrances entail were sufficient to merit due process protection and that any significant taking of property by the state was within the purview of the due process clause. -Conn. statute, which allowed for an attachment without notice or a hearing, was therefore in violation of the due process clause.
-Therefore, since the attachment of respondent's property was a one-sided determination which did not afford him notice or an opportunity to dispute, the Court remanded the case for further proceedings.

OUTCOME: The Court affirmed the judgment of the lower court and remanded the case for further proceedings.

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