Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Fraboni, 182 Conn. App. 811

Plaintiff (Deutsche Bank) obtained a judgment of strict foreclosure against defendant Fraboni; law day was ultimately set for June 28, 2016.
Trial court denied Fraboni’s second motion to open on May 9, 2016 and (pursuant to Practice Book §61-11) an automatic stay applied for the twenty-day appeal period.
Fraboni filed a third motion to open on June 24, 2016 and filed an untimely appeal from the May 9 denial on June 27, 2016; plaintiff moved to dismiss that appeal and the appellate court dismissed it and denied permission to file late.
After appellate dismissal, parties disputed in the trial court whether Fraboni’s late appeal had revived an automatic appellate stay and therefore tolled the June 28 law day.
The trial court reserved two legal questions to the Appellate Court under §52-235 / Practice Book §73-1: (1) whether an appeal filed after the appeal period automatically stays noncriminal proceedings under Practice Book §61-11; and (2) whether Fraboni’s late appeal tolled his law day under §61-11.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a noncriminal automatic stay under Practice Book §61-11 is (re)initiated by an appeal filed after the appeal period has expired	§61-11 means the automatic stay exists until the appeal period expires and only a timely appeal continues the stay; a late appeal does not create a new automatic stay	§61-11’s second sentence (“If an appeal is filed…”) is independent and does not require timeliness; late appeal should therefore create a stay	No — §61-11’s text and structure show the automatic stay exists only until the appeal period expires and only a timely appeal continues the stay; a late appeal does not revive an automatic stay
Whether Fraboni’s late appeal tolled the foreclosure law day (i.e., prevented passage of title)	Because the appeal was untimely and no discretionary stay was obtained, the automatic twenty‑day stay expired and the law day was not tolled	Late appeal nonetheless operated to stay execution and thus tolled the law day	No — Fraboni’s late appeal did not revive the automatic stay or toll the law day; without a timely appeal or granted discretionary stay the law day ran

Connecticut National Mortgage Co. v. Knudsen, 323 Conn. 684 (Conn. 2016) (timely filing of appeal continues automatic stay until final determination)
Farmers & Mechanics Savings Bank v. Sullivan, 216 Conn. 341 (Conn. 1990) (seasonable filing of a notice of appeal operates as a stay of foreclosure proceedings)
First Federal Bank, FSB v. Whitney Development Corp., 237 Conn. 679 (Conn. 1996) (possession and title may be treated separately in foreclosure contexts)
Sovereign Bank v. Licata, 178 Conn. App. 82 (Conn. App. 2017) (automatic appellate stay runs from judgment until appeal period expires; timely appeal continues stay)
Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Pardo, 170 Conn. App. 642 (Conn. App. 2017) (automatic stay protects defendant’s right to file a timely appeal and to redeem)
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Morgan, 98 Conn. App. 72 (Conn. App. 2006) (mortgagor may challenge on appeal an execution of ejectment issued in violation of an appellate stay)