COMMERCIAL LAW: Connecticut Supreme Court holds that individual liability exists under Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act for owner of limited liability company

Following federal precedent with regard to analogous federal statute, the Connecticut Supreme Court holds that the owner of an LLC who personally participated in and knew of acts that allegedly violated CUTPA could have individual liability under said act.

To have individual liability, the actor must knowingly or recklessly engage in unfair or unscrupulous acts, as contemplated by the statute, in the conduct of a trade or business.  In the case, the owner allegedly directly participated in the wrongful conduct or could control it, specifically, allegedly making financing misrepresentations, allegedly blocking a sewer line for refusing payments not owed and allegedly burying construction debris.

In another aspect of the ruling, the Supreme Court reverses an Appellate Court ruling in the case, with the Supreme Court holding that the defendant did not incur individual capacity liability with regard to breach of contract and breach of implied warranty claims.  The Supreme Court noted that the construction contract was not signed by the owner individually.

Joseph General Contracting v. Quoto, SC 19209 (July 21, 2015)