Opinion
Thе plaintiff, Robert Marut, appeals from the grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant Hunt Leibert Jacobson, P.C. 1 The plaintiff argues that the trial court improperly (1) rendered summary judgment when genuine issues of material fact existed and (2) denied his motion to open that judgment. Wе disagree and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the trial court.
This appeal arises out of a foreclosure action. In early 2008, IndyMac Bank, FSB (IndyMac), commenced a foreclosure action against the plaintiff involving property located at 100 Whitney Strеet in Hartford. Indy-Mac’s counsel in the foreclosure action was the defendant. On May 4, 2009, a judgment of strict foreclosure was rendered in favor of IndyMac. Pursuant to General Statutes § 47a-llb, 2 the defendant issued a certified notice, dated August 25, 2009, to the plaintiff notifying him that he needed to contact the defendant within *766 ten days and to remove his personal property within thirty days of the notice, or that such personal property would be disposed of pursuant to § 47a-llb (d). The certified notice, sent to 100 Whitney Street in Hartford, was returned to the defendant by the post office with a handwritten notation, “Vacant,” and was dated August 27, 2009. A number of prior communications in the foreclosure action were mailed by the defendant to the plaintiff at 979 Farmington Avenue in Berlin, including one dated May 12,2009. 3 At the time the certified noticе was sent to 100 Whitney Street, the plaintiff did not reside there, did not receive mail there, and did not have access to the property. Accordingly, the plaintiff did not receive the letter, the deadline to take action passed, and the plaintiffs personal рroperty was removed and disposed.
As a result, the plaintiff filed this conversion action against IndyMac and the defendant by complaint dated January 8, 2010. The plaintiff claims that the defendant is responsible for changing the locks at 100 Whitney Street and removing the plaintiffs рersonal property. In response, on March 11, 2010, the defendant filed an initial motion for summary judgment, and the plaintiff filed an objection with supporting affidavits and exhibits. On May 21, 2010, the court denied the defendant’s *767 motion for summary judgment. Thereafter, the defendant attempted to engage in discovery. After a number of discovery requests, the only documents provided by the plaintiff to the defendant were a two page summary of the plaintiffs interactions with IndyMac and two e-mails between the plaintiff and IndyMac.
On November 17, 2010, the defendant filed a seсond motion for summary judgment, and a hearing was scheduled for December 6, 2010. The plaintiff received notice on November 30, 2010, and filed a motion for a continuance and an objection to the motion for summary judgment on December 3, 2010, but provided no explanatiоn for his anticipated absence from the hearing. On December 3, 2010, the court denied the plaintiffs continuance request. Thereafter, the plaintiffs counsel faded to appear at the oral argument on December 6, 2010, and the court stated that it would not entertain the plaintiffs objection and treated the motion for summary judgment as unopposed and, therefore, granted the defendant’s motion. 4 The plaintiff subsequently filed a motion to open the December 6, 2010 judgment, which the court denied. This appeal followed. Additional facts will be set forth as necessary.
We begin by setting forth the standard of review. “Pursuant to Practice Book § 17-49, summary judgment shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, affidavits and any other proof submitted show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving рarty is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Such questions of law are subject to plenary appellate review. ... In deciding whether the trial court properly determined that there was no genuine issue of material fact, we review the evidence in the light most favorable to the
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nonmoving party.” (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.)
Faigel
v.
Fairfield
University,
“Once the moving party has presented evidence in support of the motion for summary judgment, the opposing party must present evidence that demonstrates the existence of some disputed factual issue .... It is not enough, however, for the opposing party merely to assert the existence of such a disputed issue. Mere assertions of fact . . . are insufficient to establish the existence of a material fact and, therefore, cannot refute evidence properly presented to the court . . . .” (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
Hodgate
v.
Ferraro,
We now set forth the relevant law of conversion that will guide our analysis. Conversion is an “unauthorized assumption and exercise of the right of ownership over goods belonging to another, to the exclusion of the owner’s rights. ... It is some unauthorized act which deprives another of his property permanently or for an indefinite time; some unauthorized assumption and
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exercise of the powers of the owner to his harm. The essence of the wrong is that the property rights of the plaintiff have been dealt with in a manner adverse to him, inconsistent with his right of dominion and to his harm.” (Intemal quotation marks omitted.)
Aetna Life & Casualty Co.
v.
Union Trust Co.,
I
The plaintiff puts forth two arguments as to why genuine issues of material fact exist and, therefore, the defendant’s motiоn for summary judgment should not have been granted. First, the plaintiff argues that the pleadings contain clear and genuine issues of material fact. More specifically, the plaintiff contends that the defendant’s answer, which denies multiple allegations put forth in the comрlaint, creates a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the defendant ever assumed or exercised control over the plaintiffs property. Although it is true that the defendant denied various allegations of the plaintiffs complaint, it is not enough for thе plaintiff merely to assert the existence of a disputed issue without the support of any evidence disclosing the existence of such an issue. See
Pion
v.
Southern New England Telephone Co.,
The plaintiffs second argument concerning the presence of a genuine issue of material fact is that a factual dispute existed as to what was knоwn, by the defendant, to be the plaintiffs “last-known address” for purposes of the notice requirement of § 47a-llb. The plaintiff argues that without the statutory notice properly addressed to the “last-known address” of the plaintiff, the defendant did not have a statutory right to remove or dispose of the plaintiffs personal property. Although this may be true, it is not relevant to the plaintiffs *771 present cause of action for conversion. Whether or not the defendant complied with § 47a-llb is not a condition or element of conversion. Even if thе defendant did not comply with the notice requirement of § 47a-11b, the plaintiffs claim of conversion against this defendant is not advanced in any way. Such a finding does not equate to evidence of control or dominion over the plaintiffs personal property by thе defendant. Therefore, although the question of what exactly the defendant knew to be the plaintiffs “last-known address” might be a disputed fact, it is not material to the plaintiffs claim of conversion.
II
The plaintiffs second claim is that the court improperly denied his motiоn to open the summary judgment decision because he was not afforded oral argument at the hearing on the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. We disagree.
The standard of review on a motion to open a judgment under Practice Book § 17-4 is whether the trial court аbused its discretion. See
Chapman Lumber, Inc.
v.
Tager,
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
Notes
On May 6, 2010, the plaintiff withdrew his action against IndyMac Bank, FSB, leaving Hunt Leibert Jacobson, P.C., as the sole defendant.
General Statutes § 47a-llb (b) provides: “If all the occupants abandon the dwelling unit, the landlord may send notice to each occupant at his last-known address both by regular mail, postage prepaid, and by certified mail, return receipt requested, stating that (1) hе has reason to believe that the occupant has abandoned the dwelling unit, (2) he intends to reenter and take possession of the dwelling unit unless the occupant contacts him within ten days of receipt of the notice, (3) if the occupant does not cоntact him, *766 he intends to remove any possessions and personal effects remaining in the premises and to rerent the premises and (4) if the occupant does not reclaim such possessions and personal effects within thirty days after the notice, they will be dispоsed of as permitted by this section. The notice shall be in clear and simple language and shall include a telephone number and a mailing address at which the landlord can be contacted. If the notices are returned as undeliverable, or the occuрant fails to contact the landlord within ten days of the receipt of the notice, the landlord may reenter and take possession of the dwelling unit, at which time any rental agreement or lease still in effect shall be deemed to be terminated.”
Nothing in the recоrd provides any explanation as to why the defendant would have changed the address it used to correspond with the plaintiff for purposes of the August 25, 2009 certified notice.
The trial court’s order granting the motion for summary judgment stated, in its entirety: “Plaintiffs objection untimely, and his сounsel failed to appear for argument. On the merits, plaintiffs objection failed to rebut defendant’s claim that there is no genuine dispute as to a material fact.”
The defendant attached to its motion for summary judgment all of the documents it received from the plaintiff in response to its discovery requests.
Practice Book § 11-18 (a) states in relevant part: “Oral argument is at the discretion of the judicial authority except as to motions to dismiss, motions to strike, motions for summary judgment, motions for judgment of foreclosure, and motions for judgment on the report of an attorney trial referee and/or hearing on any objections thereto. For those motions, oral argument shall be a matter of right . . . .”