Verdon v. Transamerica Insurance

This appeal raises the issue of whether a decrease in the value of an estate caused by legal malpractice is “damage to the property of any person” for purposes of General Statutes § 38-175, 1 the so-called “direct action” statute. The plaintiff recovered a judgment for the diminution of the estate of Alma Bouffard in a negligence action brought against the attorney for the estate. The judgment not having been satisfied, the plaintiff brought this action directly against the defendant Transamerica Insurance Company, the judgment debtor’s malpractice insurer. Transamerica moved to strike the…