Boccanfuso v. Daghoghi, 337 Conn. 228 (2020)

Citation: Boccanfuso v. Daghoghi, 337 Conn. 228 (2020)
Parent Document: Boccanfuso v. Daghoghi, 337 Conn. 228 (2020)
Jurisdiction: Connecticut (state)
Effective Date: 2020-09-30
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4900130/boccanfuso-v-daghoghi/ ↗

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We are not persuaded by the defendants’ argument
          that conduct is wilful within the meaning of the doctrine
          of equitable nonforfeiture only if it is ‘‘intentional con-
          duct designed to injure . . . .’’ (Internal quotation
          marks omitted.) In support of this argument, the defen-
          dants cite a footnote in 19 Perry Street, LLC v.
          Unionville Water Co., supra 294 Conn. 611, in which
          we stated that ‘‘[w]ilful misconduct has been defined
          as intentional conduct designed to injure for which
          there is no just cause or excuse. . . . [Its] characteris-
          tic element is the design to injure either actually enter-
          tained or to be implied from the conduct and cir-
          cumstances. . . . Not only the action producing the
          injury but the resulting injury also must be intentional.
          . . . [T]he term wilful has [also] been used to describe
          conduct deemed highly unreasonable or indicative of
          bad faith.’’ (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks
          omitted.) Id., 630–31 n.10. Although 19 Perry Street,
          LLC, concerned the doctrine of equitable nonforfeiture,
          we did not confront the question of when a tenant’s
          nonpayment of rent is wilful in the absence of a good
          faith intent to comply with the lease or a good faith
          dispute over the meaning of the lease. Instead, we deter-
          mined that the tenant’s nonpayment had not been wilful
          because it had been accompanied by a good faith intent
          to comply with the lease. See id., 634. We reject the
          suggestion that the generic definition of wilful con-
          tained in 19 Perry Street, LLC, which we borrowed,
          perhaps without adequate consideration, from the tort
          and employment law contexts,10 was intended to serve
          as a definitive statement of the meaning of ‘‘wilful’’ for
          the doctrine of equitable nonforfeiture. Indeed, we have
          previously noted that ‘‘wilful is a word of many mean-
             10
                The footnote in 19 Perry Street, LLC, cited the definitions of wilfulness
          provided in Dubay v. Irish, 207 Conn. 518, 533, 542 A.2d 711 (1988), a tort
          action, and Saunders v. Firtel, 293 Conn. 515, 531, 978 A.2d 487 (2009), an
          appeal construing a number of employment statutes and statutes governing
          limited liability companies. See 19 Perry Street, LLC v. Unionville Water
          Co., supra, 294 Conn. 631 n.10.
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