Phoebe G. v. Solnit

In Phoebe G. v. Solnit, 252 Conn. 68, 77-79, 743 A.2d 606 (1999) the Supreme Court reversed the trial court's judgment, which had dismissed the plaintiff's action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Id., 71-72. The underlying action in Phoebe G. was brought on behalf of the plaintiff through her next friend. Id., 70. Initially, the court noted the general rule that a next friend may not bring an action for a competent person. Id., 77. Relying on its decision in Orsi v. Senatore, supra, 230 Conn. 466-67, the court found that exceptional circumstances may exist in which a next friend may bring an action on behalf of an individual who is under a conservatorship. See Phoebe G. v. Solnit, supra, 77-78. The court then remanded the case to the trial court for a determination of whether exceptional circumstances existed to warrant the next friend's bringing the action on the plaintiff's behalf. Id., 79. In the alternative, the court noted that the plaintiff's attorney could file an appearance on the plaintiff's behalf and that the next friend could withdraw from the case. Id., 79 n.10.