Summary
The Connecticut Appellate Court dismissed the plaintiff’s appeal challenging a January 2024 custody order as moot. During the appeal, a subsequent June 2024 custody order superseded the challenged order, leaving the appellate court unable to provide practical relief.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the appeal is moot because the challenged custody order has been superseded and no practical relief is available.
Holdings
- The appeal is moot; the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain it and therefore dismisses the appeal.
Key quotations
“It is a well-settled general rule that the existence of an actual controversy is an essential requisite to appellate jurisdiction; it is not the province of appellate courts to decide moot questions, disconnected from the granting of actual relief or from the determination of which no practical relief can follow.” (at 3)
Factual background
The marriage was dissolved in 2012 and the parties' written separation agreement provided joint custody with the child residing primarily with the defendant. After extensive litigation, the trial court issued an August 2022 ex parte order granting the plaintiff sole legal and physical custody. In January 2024 the trial court modified the arrangement, awarding joint custody to the defendant and setting a parenting schedule. Subsequent orders in 2024 superseded that custody order.
Procedural history
The parties dissolved their marriage in 2012. The trial court incorporated the parties' separation agreement granting joint custody with the child residing with the defendant. Subsequent litigation led to an August 2022 order awarding the plaintiff sole custody, a January 2024 order granting joint custody to the defendant, and several motions for reconsideration and amendment. The appellate court held the appeal moot because the January 2024 custody order was superseded by later orders.