Town of Rocky Hill v. SecureCare Realty, LLC, 315 Conn. 265

Summary

The Connecticut Supreme Court considered whether private entities operating a nursing home under contract with the state were an arm of the state entitled to sovereign immunity. The court held that the defendants were not entitled to sovereign immunity under the multifactor test and that the state statute authorizing the facility did not preempt local zoning regulations. The court therefore reversed the trial court’s dismissal of the municipality’s action for declaratory and injunctive relief.

Holdings

1. The defendants were not arms of the state and therefore could not invoke the state's sovereign immunity to defeat the town's action.
2. The phrase "notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes" in § 17b-372a did not expressly preempt municipal zoning regulations.
3. Local zoning regulations were not impliedly preempted because they did not irreconcilably conflict with § 17b-372a or frustrate its objectives.

Questions Presented

1. Whether SecureCare Realty, LLC and iCare Management, LLC were arms of the state entitled to assert sovereign immunity against the town's action to enforce local zoning regulations.
2. Whether General Statutes § 17b-372a expressly or impliedly preempted local zoning regulations applicable to a nursing home established on private property under that statute.
3. Whether the trial court properly dismissed the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction without further proceedings.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded