E & M Custom Homes, LLC v. Negron, 102 A.3d 707

E & M Custom Homes, LLC sought foreclosure of a mechanic’s lien for construction services on Negrons’ single-family residence.
The Negrons counterclaimed for breach of contract and statutory violations of Conn. Gen. Stat. § 20-417c(4), (6) and (7) (new home construction contractor rules), alleging these violations also violated CUTPA.
The trial court ruled for the Negrons on the lien claim and partly for them on the counterclaim; it later reduced the damages after the plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration.
The Appellate Court affirmed the trial court’s judgment. E & M Custom Homes, LLC v. Negron, 140 Conn. App. 92, 59 A.3d 262 (2013).
The plaintiff sought certification to appeal to the Connecticut Supreme Court on whether the Appellate Court properly affirmed the damages award when the plaintiff claimed the contract amount exceeded the defendants’ claimed damages.
The Connecticut Supreme Court concluded certification was improvidently granted and dismissed the appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Appellate Court properly affirmed the damages award on the counterclaim given plaintiff's contention that contract amount exceeded defendants’ damages	Plaintiff argued the contract balance due exceeded the damages awarded, implying the appellate affirmance was erroneous	Defendants maintained the trial court correctly awarded damages based on breach and statutory violations; amount was proper	Appeal dismissed for improvident certification; Supreme Court did not decide merits

Booth v. Flanagan, 220 Conn. 453 (Conn. 1991) (discusses dismissal where certification was improvidently granted)
Lawler v. Lawler, 212 Conn. 117 (Conn. 1989) (same principle on certification)
E & M Custom Homes, LLC v. Negron, 140 Conn. App. 92 (Conn. App. 2013) (Appellate Court opinion affirming trial court judgment)
E & M Custom Homes, LLC v. Negron, 308 Conn. 912 (Conn. 2013) (certification order to the Supreme Court)