Nassra v. Nassra, 180 Conn. App. 421

Background

Parties divorced after custodial dispute; guardian ad litem Kaschel arranged reunification therapy and supervised visitation beginning in early 2010; N.J. Sarno & Co. provided supervised visitation services via employees including Nicholas Sarno.
The court authorized deducting funds from defendant Nassra’s life insurance to pay fees for Kaschel, Israel (psychologist), and an assistant referenced in a March 18, 2010 order; some N.J. Sarno invoices were paid from escrow, then payments lapsed.
N.J. Sarno ceased services July 29, 2010 for nonpayment and later sought $8,785 for unpaid supervised-visitation invoices.
In 2015 N.J. Sarno filed a motion in the dissolution case for an order of payment; the trial court found an oral contract existed, held the parties jointly and severally liable for $8,785, and denied Nassra’s motion to dismiss for lack of standing.
Nassra appealed, arguing lack of standing, no contract, statute-of-limitations bar, and that the separation agreement/dissolution judgment precluded the award. The Appellate Court affirmed.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (N.J. Sarno)	Defendant's Argument (Nassra)	Held
Standing / subject-matter jurisdiction	N.J. Sarno had standing as the LLC that provided services and was owed fees	N.J. Sarno lacked standing because it was not a party to the dissolution proceedings and was only an assistant to Israel	Court: N.J. Sarno met classical aggrievement—was party to an oral contract and was specially injured—so it had standing and court had jurisdiction
Existence of contract	Oral contract existed: weekly invoices, promises to pay, partial payments, and continued services	No written contract; defendant disputed dates and payment receipts; contended services were provided in different capacity	Court: factual findings supported that an oral contract (executed) existed between N.J. Sarno and Nassra
Statute of limitations	Claim timely under six-year limitations because contract was executed when services were completed	If oral, §52-581 three-year rule applies and claim would be time-barred	Court: contract was executed (services completed July 2010), so six-year statute (§52-576) applies; claim not time-barred
Effect of separation agreement / dissolution judgment	Fees for supervision were not limited to the specific court-ordered supervisor referenced in the judgment; N.J. Sarno sought relief by motion and defendant had notice	Defendant argued the dissolution judgment and incorporated separation agreement resolved payment and court lacked authority to reopen or impose new payment obligations	Court: Kavanah distinguishable; defendant had notice and opportunity to be heard; trial court reasonably ordered equal liability for $8,785

Key Cases Cited

Dow & Condon, Inc. v. Brookfield Dev. Corp., 266 Conn. 572 (discusses subject-matter jurisdiction and standing)
R.S. Silver Enters., Inc. v. Pascarella, 163 Conn. App. 1 (standard of review for standing and factual findings)
Channing Real Estate, LLC v. Gates, 326 Conn. 123 (LLC is distinct legal entity and sues in its own name)
O'Reilly v. Valletta, 139 Conn. App. 208 (party must be party to contract or beneficiary to sue on contract)
Computer Reporting Serv., LLC v. Lovejoy & Assocs., LLC, 167 Conn. App. 36 (factual determinations about oral contracts reversed only if clearly erroneous)
Padawer v. Yur, 142 Conn. App. 812 (LLC may sue on contract where agent acted for LLC)
Bagoly v. Riccio, 102 Conn. App. 792 (distinguishes §52-581 and §52-576; three-year applies to executory contracts)
John H. Kolb & Sons, Inc. v. G & L Excavating, Inc., 76 Conn. App. 599 (contract executed where plaintiff fully performed)
Tierney v. American Urban Corp., 170 Conn. 243 (oral contract executed when plaintiff completed obligations)
Campbell v. Rockefeller, 134 Conn. 585 (same)
Hitchcock v. Union & New Haven Trust Co., 134 Conn. 246 (same)
Kavanah v. Kavanah, 142 Conn. App. 775 (distinguishable; court cannot impose new guardian-ad-litem fees without notice and opportunity)