Stewart v. Town of Watertown, 38 A.3d 72

Virginia Stewart, elected Watertown town clerk in 2001, remained in office until 2010; she stopped working at town hall in 2006 due to alleged environmental health concerns; town paid limited salary and allowed sick leave through mid-2006 before suspending pay; town pursued removal under § 7-22 but state’s attorney declined to file; Stewart filed suit seeking mandatory salary payments and damages, with claims under mandamus and 42 U.S.C. § 1983; trial court granted partial summary judgment recognizing a salary-incident-to-office right and ordered payment of unpaid salary during nonperformance; on appeal, court reversed parts, held genuine issues of material fact remain, and remanded for counts one and three

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether town clerk's salary is payable during nonperformance of duties as a matter of law	Stewart, as public officer, is entitled to salary during term unless removed	Salary not due unless removed under § 7-22; common-law right not absolute	No; genuine issues of material fact; not automatic entitlement to salary during nonperformance
Whether Sibley v. State controls despite statutory town clerk framework	Common law attaches salary to the office irrespective of performance	Statutes govern; common law does not grant absolute right to pay	Wrong; Sibley does not establish absolute right; statutory scheme and town ordinance govern
Whether town ordinance § 2-82 and § 7-34a/7-34b govern compensation during absence	Compensation package obligates payment irrespective of duties performed	Compensation is limited by town ordinance and applicable statutes; excuse to perform duties may apply	Partial: package governs unless duties excused by conditions or statutory removal; remand necessary for factual development
Whether due process instruction regarding notice/hearing was correctly charged	Trial court erred by not instructing based on prior determinations	Prior determinations not controlling; essential facts for count two require trial evidence	Plaintiff's cross-appeal failed; trial court’s count-two instruction upheld as proper given contested facts

Sibley v. State, 89 Conn. 682 (1915) (salary as creature of statute; not guaranteed absolute pay to public officers)
Farrell v. Bridgeport, 45 Conn. 191 (1877) (public officers hold office by trust; pay follows duty)
Keegan v. Thompson, 103 Conn. 418 (1925) (officers hold office by statute; payment tied to office, not contract)
McDermott v. New Haven, 107 Conn. 451 (1928) (salary incident to office; wrongful suspension/expulsion may entitle salary during period)
Murach v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 196 Conn. 192 (1985) (public office is a trust; duties and compensation linked to public office)
Watertown v. Stewart implied reference, Not applicable as separate reporter (2012) (discusses statutory scheme for town clerk compensation)