Gillum v. Yale University

In Gillum v. Yale University, 62 Conn. App. 775, 783, 773 A.2d 986, cert. denied, 256 Conn. 929, 776 A.2d 1146 (2001) the Court affirmed the court's rendering of summary judgment on the ground that the plaintiffs could not bring the action pursuant to 52-592 (a). The plaintiffs in Gillum had filed an action in April, 1991, alleging medical malpractice that had occurred from the fall of 1988 through the winter of 1989. Id. at 777. After the court rendered three judgments of dismissal, one in 1992, another in 1993 and the third in 1997, the plaintiffs in January, 1998, filed an action pursuant to 52-592 (a). Id. at 777-78. In affirming the judgment dismissing that action, we agreed that the case was "beset by lackadaisical behavior by the plaintiffs at every turn. . . . In addition to the fact that the plaintiffs' conduct occasioned three dismissals, which hampered the movement of the case toward a resolution, the plaintiffs further hindered the progress of the case by continually running deadlines to their limits before filing motions to reopen or complying with court orders. Even after the third dismissal, the plaintiffs' counsel failed to communicate promptly to the court an explanation for his conduct. . . . That pattern of conduct, evidenced by the court file, far surpasses mistake, inadvertence or excusable neglect." Id. at 783-84.