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******************************************************U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, TRUSTEE v.

GLYNNIS SORRENTINO ET AL.

(AC 36462)
Alvord, Prescott and Pellegrino, Js. Argued February 11—officially released June 23, 2015 (Appeal from Superior Court, judicial district of

Middlesex, Aurigemma, J.) HughD. Hughes, with whom, on the brief, was John J. Carta, Jr., for the appellants (defendants).
Geraldine A. Cheverko, for the appellee (plaintiff).Opinion PRESCOTT, J. In this mortgage foreclosure action, the defendants, Glynnis Sorrentino and Gallery at 85 Main, LLC, appeal from the summaryjudgment on their counterclaims rendered in favor of the plaintiff, U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee for J.P. Morgan Mortgage Acquisition Trust 2006-CH1, Asset Backed Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2006-CH1.1 The defendants claim that the court improperly granted the plaintiff’s motionforsummaryjudgmentwithrespectto four of their five counterclaims because the affidavit and other evidence submitted in support of the motion for summaryjudgment failed to address the factual allegations underlying those counterclaims and, thus, did not demonstrate a lack of a genuine issue ofmaterial fact.2 Theplaintiffargues on appeal, however, thatthe factual allegations in the counterclaims relate to activities that postdate the origination of the loan, the defendant’s default and the plaintiff’s commencement of this foreclosure action, and that, because they do not relate to the making, validity or enforcement of the mortgage, they fail as a matter of law. We agree with the plaintiff and, accordingly, affirm thejudgment ofthe trial court.
The record reveals the following undisputed facts and procedural history. In February, 2006, Sorrentino executed a note in favor of Chase Bank USA, N.A., in the principle amount of $380,000. At the same time, to
secure that note, Sorrentino executed a mortgage in favor of Chase Bank USA, N.A., on property located at 85 Main Street in Essex. In April, 2007, Sorrentino, by way ofa quit claim deed, transferred her interest in the 85 Main Street property to Gallery at 85 Main, LLC, a limited liability company with Sorrentino as its sole member.
In June, 2009, the plaintiff filed the present action, alleging that the note was in default and seeking to foreclose the mortgage.3 On October 12, 2010, the court referred the parties to the foreclosure mediation program. See General Statutes §§ 49-31l through 49-31o. On May 3, 2012, the foreclosure mediator issued a final report indicating that the parties were unable to reach any agreement and referring the matter back to the court. The defendantsfiledananswertotheforeclosure complaint on May 28, 2013, which included eleven special defenses and five counterclaims.
Counterclaims one, two, four, and five, which sounded respectively in equitable estoppel, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unclean hands, and fraud, were all premised on a common set offactual allegations that alleged improper conduct by the plaintiff during the foreclosure mediation proceedings. Specifically, each of those four counterclaims incorporated by reference the following eight paragraphs:‘‘1. Subsequent to the filing of the instant action, plaintiff and defendants engaged in a court annexed mediation program. ‘‘2. Pursuant to the mediation process, defendants provided to plaintiff, on a regular basis, each and every document requested by plaintiff. ‘‘3. Theplaintiffconductedthe mediationprocess in a
manner calculated effectivelyto ensure thatthe subject loan would not qualify for modification. During this process, plaintiff continually requested documents which had already been provided; regularly claimed to have lost or misplaced documents; professed to not understand the sources and amounts ofincome despite repeated, good faith, efforts on the part of defendants to provide this information to plaintiff. Plaintiff, on a regular basis, assured defendants that

. . . they would qualify for a modification, and that ‘we want you to stay in your home and keep your home’ when, in fact, plaintiff knew that the chances for a modification
were negligible. ‘‘4. Plaintiff, either intentionally or negligently, delayed the mediation process, which resulted in the defendants accruing an exorbitant reinstatement arrearage, which made it impossible for defendants to
even consider reinstating the loan with a lump sum payment. ‘‘5. Plaintiff either negligently or intentionally strung this process along for over one year thereby rendering the possibilities of a modification nonexistent and the entire process a sham. ‘‘6. Plaintiff explicitly and/or implicitly made certain representations to defendants upon which defendants relied; plaintiff knew or should have known that it was notpreparedto offeraloanmodification, but, nevertheless, continued to string defendants along, either expressly or impliedly representing that defendants would be eligible for a loan modification. ‘‘7. At no point during the loan mediation process [were] defendant[s] advised that [they] would not qualify for a modification until [they were] so advised at the last mediation session. ‘‘8. The undersignedwas repeatedlyassuredbyrepresentatives of the plaintiff that all the documents were appropriatelysubmittedand, in [their] opinion, thisloan
was eligible for modification; this occurred repeatedly during the mediation process leading defendants to believe that a loan modification was imminent.’’
Counterclaim three, which, as previously discussed in footnote 2 of this opinion, alleged a violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA), General Statutes § 42-110a et seq., relied on an entirely distinct set of factual allegations. Rather than incorporating the previously quoted paragraphs, the CUTPAcounterclaim alleged as follows: ‘‘The plaintifffailed to provide the defendants with a copy of their mortgage and loan in this transaction. The plaintiff failed to provide a HUD-1 or HUD-1 like statement for the disbursement of the loan funds. The failure to provide such statement handicapped the defendants from exercising their statutory right ofrescission within three days and other deadlines. The failure to provide such astatement also kept them in a state of poor understanding of the obligations theyhadundertaken, resulting intheirgreat distress, injury, and possible loss ofhearth and home.’’ The defendants also alleged that the plaintiff had ‘‘engaged in a continuing course of conduct from the date ofthe closing [up] to and including the institution of this action.’’
Theplaintiffnevermovedto strikeanyofthe counterclaims. On October 10, 2013, however, the plaintifffiled
a motion for summary judgment and a memorandum of law in support of that motion. The plaintiff also submitted documentary evidence and an affidavit in support of its motion. With respect to the foreclosure complaint, the plaintiff sought an order granting summary judgment as to liability only. The plaintiff also challenged the propriety of the defendants’ counterclaims and special defenses.
The defendants filed a memorandum in opposition tothemotionforsummaryjudgmentaswellas asupplemental memorandum, each of which focused almost exclusively on the issue of whether the plaintiff had standing to bring the foreclosure action and whether ithadprovidedevidence supportingstanding. Thememoranda in opposition did not address the substance of the plaintiff’s arguments regarding the legal sufficiency of the various counterclaims. The defendants filed no affidavits oranyotherevidenceinsupportoftheiropposition to summary judgment.
On December 6, 2013, the court, Aurigemma, J ., issued a memorandum of decision granting the plaintiff’s motion for summaryjudgment on the foreclosure complaint as to liability only, and also rendering summaryjudgmentfortheplaintiffonthe defendants’ counterclaims.4 With respect to the judgment rendered on the counterclaims, the court reasoned as follows: ‘‘The defendants’ initial objection to the summaryjudgment doesnotaddress [their] specialdefenses or [their] counterclaims. [Their] supplementalobjectionmentions several Superior Court cases where special defenses similar to those [they have] alleged were not stricken. However, the courtisnotconsideringamotionto strike. In opposition to a motion for summary judgment, the defendants must present some concrete evidence to support [their] defenses and counterclaims.

. . . [They have] failed to do so.

. . . The defendants [have] presented no evidence to support any of [their] arguments.’’ (Emphasis in original.) This appeal followed.The defendants claim on appeal that the court improperly granted the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment with respect to their counterclaims. The defendants argue that the affidavit and other documentary evidence submitted by the plaintiff in support of its motion for summary judgment were unresponsive to the factual allegations that they raised in their counterclaims, and that ‘‘the plaintiff only argued that the counterclaims were improperlyjoinedbecause they did not relate to the making, validity or enforcement ofthe mortgage note or deed.’’ According to the defendants, the plaintifffailed to meet its initial burden of showing
a lack of a genuine issue of material fact and that it
was entitled to judgment as a matter of law, and, thus, contrary to the trial court’s decision, they were not obligated to provide any evidentiary support with their opposition in order to avoid summary judgment.
Itisimportantto clarifyfromthe outsetthat, although the defendants’ arguments in their brief on appeal are directed at all five of their counterclaims, the analysis in the brief is limited to the plaintiff’s alleged failure to submit evidence in support of summaryjudgment with respect to the plaintiff’s conduct during the foreclosure mediation program only. We therefore view the claim
on appeal to be limited to a challenge to the court’s decision on the four counterclaims alleging improper conduct in the mediation program.5 The CUTPA counterclaimdidnotrelyonanyfactsarisingfromthemediation program, and the defendants do not include any additional analysis pertaining to the distinct allegations supporting their CUTPA counterclaim. Accordingly,
even if the defendants intended to bring this claim to challenge the propriety ofthe summaryjudgment decisionwithrespecttoallofthe counterclaims, thebriefing is inadequate with respect to the CUTPA counterclaim, and, thus, we deem it abandoned. See footnote 2 of this opinion.
For the reasons that follow, we conclude that, because there were no disputed issues ofmaterial facts relative to whether the defendants’ mediation counterclaims were legally insufficient—an issue that the defendants clearly understood as having been raised by the plaintiff in its memorandum in support of the motion for summary judgment, but which they wholly failed to address in their opposition to the motion— and because the defendants could not have benefitted from an opportunityto replead their counterclaims, the court properly granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff.
Practice Book § 17-49 provides that summary judgment ‘‘shall be rendered forthwith ifthe pleadings, affidavits and any other proof submitted show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movingpartyis entitledtojudgmentas amatteroflaw.’’ The rules governing summary judgment are equallyapplicable to counterclaims. Practice Book § 17-44.6 ‘‘In decidingamotionforsummaryjudgment, thetrialcourt must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.

. . . The party seeking summary judgment has the burden of showing the absence of anygenuine issue [of] materialfacts which, underapplicable principles of substantive law, entitle him to a judgment as a matter of law

. . . and the party opposing such a motion must provide an evidentiary foundation to demonstrate the existence of a genuine issue of material fact.

. . . [I]ssue-finding, rather than issuedetermination, is the key to the procedure.

. . . [T]he trial court does not sit as the trier of fact when ruling
on a motion for summaryjudgment.

. . . [Its] function is not to decide issues of material fact, but rather to determine whether any such issues exist.

. . . Our review of the decision to grant a motion for summary judgmentisplenary.’’ (Citations omitted; internalquotation marks omitted.) Himmelstein v. Windsor, 116 Conn. App. 28, 42–43, 974 A.2d 820 (2009), aff’d, 304 Conn. 298, 39 A.3d 1065 (2012). Although, ordinarily, a challenge to the legal sufficiencyofapleading shouldbe raisedbywayofamotion to strike; see Practice Book § 10-39 (a); our Supreme Courthasheldthatamotionforsummaryjudgmentalso may be used to challenge a pleading’s legal sufficiency provided that the party seeking summaryjudgment can establishas amatteroflawboththatthe cause ofaction alleged is legally insufficient and, more importantly, that any defect in the pleading could not be cured by repleading, whichthe nonmovingpartywould have had
an opportunity to do if the alleged insufficiency had been raisedby way ofamotion to strike.7 SeeLarobina

v. McDonald, 274 Conn. 394, 401, 876 A.2d 522 (2005);

see also Practice Book § 10-44. Ifboth prongs are met, the court may properly grant summary judgment as a matter oflaw. The court inLarobina further explained that ‘‘we will not reverse the trial court’s ruling on a motion for summary judgment that was used to challenge the legal sufficiency of [a pleading] when it is clear that the motion was being used for that purpose and the nonmoving party, by failing to object to the procedure before the trial court, cannot demonstrate prejudice.’’ Larobina v. McDonald, supra, 402.
A counterclaim that has been filed in contravention of our rules of practice is legally insufficient. Section 10-10 of the Practice Book provides in relevant part that ‘‘[i]n any action for legal or equitable relief, any defendant may file counterclaims against any plaintiff

. . . provided that each such counterclaim

. . . arises out ofthe transaction or one ofthe transactions which is the subject of the plaintiff’s complaint

. . . .’’ This courtpreviouslyhasheldthat, ‘‘[i]naforeclosureaction,
a counterclaim must relate to the making, validity or enforcement of the mortgage note in order properly to bejoined with the complaint.’’ JPMorgan ChaseBank,Trusteev. Rodrigues, 109 Conn. App. 125, 133, 952 A.2d 56 (2008); seealsoNewHavenSavingsBankv.LaPlace, 66 Conn. App. 1, 9–11, 783 A.2d 1174 (affirming summary judgment for plaintiff on counterclaims not related to making, validity or enforcement ofmortgage note), cert. denied, 258 Conn. 942, 786 A.2d 426 (2001). Thus, ‘‘[c]onduct on the part of the [foreclosing party] that occurred after the loan documents were executed and not necessarily directly related solely to enforcement of the note

. . . properly has been found not to arise out of the same transaction as the complaint.’’ JP Morgan Chase Bank, Trustee v. Rodrigues, supra, 134–35, citingSouthbridgeAssociates, LLCv. Garofalo, 53 Conn. App. 11, 16–21, 728 A.2d 1114, cert. denied, 249 Conn. 919, 733 A.2d 229 (1999). In CitiMortgage, Inc. v. Rey, 150 Conn. App. 595, 605–606, 92 A.3d 278, cert. denied, 314 Conn. 905, 99 A.3d 635 (2014), this court clarified that a proper application of Practice Book § 10-10 inaforeclosure contextrequires consideration of whether a counterclaim has some reasonable
nexusto, ratherthan directlyattacks, the making, validity orenforcement ofthe mortgage andnote. Withthese principles in mind, we turn to the present case. Inits memorandumin support ofsummaryjudgment, the plaintiff argued to the court that each ofthe defendants’ mediation counterclaims was based on the same set of supporting facts; that those supporting facts involved matters that were unrelated to the making, validity and enforcement of the mortgage or note, but instead involved activities ‘‘which are postloan origination, postdefault and postcommencement of the foreclosure action’’; and that, as a result, the counterclaims
were notpart ofthe same transactionthat is the subject of the foreclosure complaint and were improper. We view those arguments as directly challenging whether the counterclaims were properlyjoinedpursuant to the transaction test set forth in Practice Book § 10-10 and, thus, their legal sufficiency. As the trial court stated, the defendants failed to address the substance of the plaintiff’s legal challenges to their counterclaims in eithertheir opposition to the motion for summaryjudgment or their supplemental opposition. The defendants
never argued that it was improper for the court to consider the plaintiff’s insufficiency arguments in adjudicating the motion for summary judgment or that the plaintiff had waived its right to challenge the joinder ofthe counterclaims byfailing to file amotionto strike. Accordingly, none ofthoseissuesisbeforeus onappeal.
The subject matter ofthe underlying complaint is the foreclosure of a mortgage on property located at 85 Main Street in Essex. The relevant transactions forpurposes ofPracticeBook § 10-10 are, therefore, the execution of the note and mortgage, and the subsequent default. See JP Morgan Chase Bank, Trustee v. Rodrigues, supra, 109 Conn. App. 132. Our review of the allegations underlying the defendants’ mediationcounterclaims shows that, even when viewed in a light most favorable to the defendants as the nonmoving party, alltheallegationsunderlyingthose counterclaims
are addressedtotheplaintiff’s improperconduct during the foreclosure mediation program. That program did notbeginuntil afterthe execution ofthe note and mortgage, and afterthe foreclosure action was commenced, and, thus, does not reasonably relate to the making, validity or enforcement of the note or mortgage. Moreover, the defendants have not posited how the factual allegations underlying the counterclaims have anyreasonablenexustothe making, validityorenforcement ofthe mortgage or note, nor can we discern one. See CitiMortgage, Inc. v. Rey, supra, 150 Conn. App. 605–606. Even ifthe defendants were provided with an opportunity to replead, we conclude as a matter oflaw that no permissible corrections could transform the counterclaims so that they comply with the transaction test set forth in Practice Book § 10-10. See footnote 7 of this opinion. Finally, we reject the defendants’ contention that the trial court should have denied the motion for summary judgment because the affidavit and other evidence submitted by the plaintiffwere unresponsive to the factual allegations in its counterclaims. In arguing that the mediation counterclaims were legally insufficient, the plaintiff was not factually disputing any of the specific allegations raised in those counterclaims; rather, the plaintiff was asserting that, even assuming the truth of all facts alleged, the counterclaims were improperly joined and it was entitled to summaryjudgment on the counterclaims as amatteroflaw. Becausetheplaintiff’s argumentsinsupportofsummaryjudgmentwerepurely legal in nature or relied on undisputed facts, it was unnecessary for it to submit evidence directly responding to the factual allegations of the counterclaims in order to prevail on its motion for summary judgment.
We agree with the defendants’ assertion that ‘‘[w]hen documents submitted in support of a motion for summaryjudgment fail to establish that there is no genuine issue ofmaterial fact, the nonmoving party has no obligation to submit documents establishing the existence ofsuch an issue’’;AllstateIns. Co. v. Barron, 269 Conn. 394, 405, 848 A.2d 1165 (2004); see alsoHarveyv. BoehringerIngelheim Corp., 52 Conn. App. 1, 8–9, 724 A.2d 1143 (1999); and we do not approve of any statement by the trial court in its memorandum of decision that could be viewed as setting forth a contrary standard. The fatal problem regarding the defendants’ opposition to summaryjudgmentwas not alack offactual support, but their complete failure to address the legal insufficiency of their counterclaims. Under established case law, counterclaims one, two, four and five were not properly joined with the foreclosure complaint, anopportunity to replead would have been futile, and, therefore, summary judgment properly was rendered by the court.
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.

1 The courtalso grantedsummaryjudgmentasto liabilityonlywithrespect to the foreclosure complaint, and the defendants appealed from that aspect of the court’s decision as well. We later granted a motion to dismiss that portion of the appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, however, because the granting of summaryjudgment as to liability only is not a final judgment. See Danbury v. Hovi, 34 Conn. App. 121, 122–23, 640 A.2d 609 (1994). Nevertheless, because the court’s decision disposed of all counterclaims brought by the defendants against the plaintiff, that aspect of the court’s decision constituted afinaljudgmentforpurposes offiling an appeal. See Practice Book § 61-2.

2 The defendants also raise a separate claim on appeal with respect to counterclaim three, which alleged a violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade PracticesAct (CUTPA), General Statutes § 42-110aet seq. Specifically, the defendants claim that the court improperly granted summaryjudgment

on that counterclaim because, in their view, the plaintiff provided no evidence in support of its motion establishing ‘‘that the loan was part of the purchase of the property rather than a refinance’’ or that ‘‘the note and mortgage were provided to the defendants at any time prior to summary judgment, let alone at or near the time of closing.’’ The defendants fail to state the legal significance ofthose assertions and provide no legal analysis regarding the court’s decision to grant summary judgment with respect to their CUTPA counterclaim. We, therefore, decline to review this additional claim because it is inadequately briefed. See Carmichael v. Stonkus, 133 Conn. App. 302, 307, 34 A.3d 1026 (‘‘[W]e are not required to review claims that are inadequately briefed.

. . . We consistently have held that [a]nalysis, ratherthan mere abstract assertion, is required in orderto avoid abandoning

an issue by failure to brief the issue properly.’’ [Internal quotation marks omitted.]), cert. denied, 304 Conn. 911, 39 A.3d 1121 (2012).

3 The defendants moved to dismiss the foreclosure action for lack of standing, arguing that, despite the allegations to the contrary in the foreclosure complaint, theplaintiffwasnotthe holderofeitherthe note ormortgage at the time the action was commenced. The trial court denied that motion without comment. Attached to the plaintiff’s objection to the motion to dismiss was an affidavit from an officer ofthe mortgage servicing company statingthattheplaintiffwasthe holderofthe note atthe time the foreclosure action was commenced. The defendants continued to raise the issue of standing in their opposition to summaryjudgment. That issue, which relates to the ongoing foreclosure action and not to the defendants’ counterclaims, is not properly before us as a part of the present appeal. See footnote 1 of this opinion.

4 We note that the motion for summary judgment and the memorandum of law in support of the motion for summary judgment did not expressly request that the court renderjudgment on the counterclaims. Nevertheless, in its memorandum in support of the motion, the plaintiff provided legal analysis attacking the validity of the counterclaims, following which the plaintiff asserted that the counterclaims were ‘‘legally wrong, inapplicable

or insufficiently pleaded’’ and that there were ‘‘no issues of material fact’’ withrespecttothem. The defendantsacknowledgedtheplaintiff’s challenges to their counterclaims in their supplemental memorandum in opposition to summary judgment, although they did not respond to the merits of the plaintiff’s arguments. After summaryjudgment was granted, the defendants filed a motion for reconsideration of the decision. The defendants did not argue in their motion for reconsideration that the trial court improperly exceeded the relief sought in the motion for summary judgment. In other words, they did not claim that summary judgment on the counterclaims

was improper because the motion, on its face, was directed only at liability with respect to the foreclosure complaint. The defendants also have not raised that argument as a claim of error on appeal. Accordingly, whether the court correctly construed the motion for summaryjudgment as having been directed at the counterclaims as well as the complaint is not an issue that is properly before us on appeal.

5 The fact that the defendants raised a separate claim of error directed solely at the judgment on the CUTPA counterclaim; see footnote 2 of thisopinion; supports our conclusion that the claim that the plaintiff failed to respond factually to the counterclaims pertains only to the other four counterclaims.

6 Practice Book § 17-44 provides in relevant part that our rules regarding summary judgment ‘‘shall be applicable to counterclaims and cross complaints, sothatanypartymaymove forsummaryjudgmentuponanycounterclaim or cross complaint as if it were an independent action.’’

7 ‘‘The right afforded by Practice Book § 10-44 to file a new pleading following the granting of a motion to strike, however, is limited to making those corrections needed to render the claims set forth in the original pleading legally sufficient. It is not an opportunity to file wholly amended pleadings that assert new legal claims or rely on a wholly unrelated set of facts, permission for which ordinarily could be obtained only in accordance withtheprovisions ofPractice Book § 10-60.’’ GMACMortgage, LLCv. Ford, 144 Conn. App. 165, 180–81, 73 A.3d 742 (2013).