The plaintiff sought damages for the alleged deprivation of his due process
rights by the defendant, the statewide bar counsel for the Statewide
Grievance Committee. The plaintiff had filed two grievance complaints
with the committee against R, an attorney. In response to each complaint,
the defendant sent a letter to the plaintiff stating that, after review, it
was decided to dismiss the plaintiff’s complaints without referring them
to a grievance panel because the complaints did not allege facts that,
if true, would violate the rules governing attorney conduct. The plaintiff
alleged that the defendant violated his rights under the federal and state
constitutions by dismissing his grievance complaints against R. The
trial court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss on the ground of
absolute immunity and the plaintiff appealed to this court. Held that
the trial court properly dismissed the plaintiff’s complaint as the defen-
dant was entitled to absolute immunity because his actions in reviewing
complaints of attorney misconduct were taken in a quasi-judicial capac-
ity as part of a statewide grievance proceeding: the defendant acted at
all times pursuant to the statutory (§ 51-90c) authority vested in his
office and in accordance with the applicable rule of practice (§ 2-32),
as the statewide bar counsel has the responsibility to exercise judgment
and discretion, is vested with investigative authority, ascertains and
determines facts, makes decisions affecting the personal or property
rights of private persons, and makes binding orders and judgments to
either dismiss a complaint or refer it to a grievance panel or an arbitration
panel; moreover, because the Office of the Statewide Bar Counsel is
a creature of statute entrusted with the responsibility for reviewing
complaints of attorney misconduct, a sound public policy existed to
recognize the statewide bar counsel’s complete freedom of expression
that a grant of absolute immunity provided; furthermore, the Office of
the Statewide Bar Counsel also acts as an arm of the court to effectuate
its inherent authority to regulate attorney conduct and to discipline
members of the bar.
Argued November 30, 2021—officially released March 8, 2022 Procedural History