Supreme Court of Connecticut
Wheeler v. Beachcroft
January 12, 2016
Summary
The court affirmed the denial of summary judgment, holding that the plaintiffs' public-way and prescriptive-easement claims were not barred by res judicata. The public-way claim was legally and factually distinct from the prior private-easement litigation, and the plaintiffs were not in privity with prior litigants regarding prescriptive rights that depended on each plaintiff's individual use of the lawn. Notice and opportunities to intervene did not cure the absence of privity or adequately inform the plaintiffs that their claims would be precluded.