Dorfman v. Smith

Summary

The court affirmed dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction of the plaintiff’s claims against her insurer for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and a CUTPA claim predicated on CUIPA. It held that the litigation privilege applied because the challenged conduct principally involved false communications and litigation-related conduct, and the statutory and judicial remedies available for litigation misconduct did not clearly abrogate that privilege. Justice Ecker concurred in part and dissented in part, concluding that the bad-faith and emotional-distress claims should survive and that the court should not reach the privilege issue for the inadequately pleaded CUTPA claim.