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*********************************************** 
MARTIN J. PRAISNER, JR. v. STATE

OF CONNECTICUT

(SC 20315)

Robinson, C. J., and Palmer, McDonald, Mullins,

Kahn, Ecker and Vertefeuille, Js.*

Syllabus

Pursuant to statute ((Rev. to 2013) § 53-39a), ‘‘[w]henever, in any prosecution

of an officer of the Division of State Police . . . or a local police department for a crime allegedly committed by such officer in the course of

his duty as such, the charge is dismissed or the officer is found not

guilty, such officer shall be indemnified by his employing governmental

unit for economic loss sustained by him as a result of such prosecution . . . .’’

The plaintiff, who had been a member of a special police force maintained

by the defendant state of Connecticut for Eastern Connecticut State

University, sought, pursuant to statute ((Rev. to 2013) § 53-39a), indemnification from the state for economic losses that he allegedly had incurred

as a result of federal criminal charges filed against him, but that ultimately were dismissed, for alleged misconduct while he was a member

of that special police force. The state filed a motion to dismiss for lack

of subject matter jurisdiction, claiming that members of a university’s

special police force do not fall within the class of individuals who are

expressly authorized to bring an action against the state pursuant to

§ 53-39a. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss, concluding that

a member of a university’s special police force did fall under the category

of a member of a local police department, as that term is used in § 53-

39a. The trial court subsequently denied the state’s motion for summary

judgment, in which the state renewed its claim that the court lacked

subject matter jurisdiction. Thereafter, the court granted the plaintiff’s

motion for summary judgment as to liability only and, after a hearing

in damages, rendered judgment for the plaintiff, from which the state

appealed to the Appellate Court. The Appellate Court reversed the trial

court’s judgment, concluding that the trial court incorrectly determined

that the plaintiff was authorized to bring the present action pursuant

to § 53-39a. The Appellate Court reasoned that the legislature did not

intend to include members of a university’s special police force within

the definition of ‘‘local police department,’’ as used in § 53-39a, because

the legislature’s explicit inclusion of members of some police forces

within the limited jurisdictional authority in the language of the statute

indicated that its failure to specifically mention members of a university’s

special police force was intentional. The Appellate Court noted that the

university’s special police force was created pursuant to a statute ((Rev.

to 2013) § 10a-142) that provides that such a force has some, but not all,

of the duties, responsibilities and authority of local police departments,

limitations that provided further indication that the legislature understood a university’s special police force to be a separate and distinct

entity from a local police department. The Appellate Court further noted

that § 10a-142 (e) contains an indemnification provision applicable only

to members of a university’s special police force, indicating that the

legislature did not intend the more general provisions of § 53-39a to

apply to such members. On the granting of certification, the plaintiff

appealed to this court. Held that the Appellate Court correctly determined that a member of a university’s special police force is not a

member of a local police department entitled to indemnification under

§ 53-39a, and, because that court’s well reasoned decision correctly

resolved the issue on which certification was granted, any further analysis regarding the interpretation of § 53-39a served no useful purpose;

moreover, the legislative history of a 2017 amendment to § 53-39a, which

eliminated the phrase ‘‘local police department’’ and added the phrase

‘‘any member of a law enforcement unit,’’ indicated that the change was

not clarifying in nature and, thus, one that would retroactively apply

to the plaintiff, but, instead, was a subsequent, substantive change;

furthermore, there was no indication that the legislature enacted the
2017 amendment in direct response to any judicial decision that the

legislature deemed incorrect, as the trial court had not yet rendered

judgment in the present case when that amendment was enacted.

Argued January 13—officially released August 3, 2020**

Procedural History

Action for indemnification for economic losses allegedly incurred by the plaintiff as a result of a federal

criminal action filed against him in his capacity as a

member of a special police force, and for other relief,

brought to the Superior Court in the judicial district of

Hartford, where the court, Hon. Richard M. Rittenband, judge trial referee, denied the defendant’s motion

to dismiss; thereafter, the court, Scholl, J., denied the

defendant’s motion for summary judgment and granted

the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment as to liability; subsequently, after a hearing in damages, the court,

Pittman, J., rendered judgment for the plaintiff, from

which the defendant appealed to the Appellate Court;

thereafter, the court, Pittman, J., granted the plaintiff’s

motion for attorney’s fees and costs, and the defendant

filed an amended appeal with the Appellate Court,

DiPentima, C. J., and Prescott and Elgo, Js., which

reversed the trial court’s judgment, and the plaintiff,

on the granting of certification, appealed to this court.

Affirmed.

Elliot B. Spector, with whom was David Yale, for the

appellant (plaintiff).

Emily V. Melendez, assistant attorney general, with

whom, on the brief, were William Tong, attorney general, and Clare Kindall, solicitor general, for the appellee (defendant).
Opinion

MULLINS, J. The sole issue in this certified appeal

is whether the Appellate Court correctly concluded that

a university police officer is not a member of a ‘‘local

police department’’ entitled to indemnification under

General Statutes (Rev. to 2013) § 53-39a.1 The plaintiff,

Martin J. Praisner, Jr., argues that the Appellate Court

erred in concluding that a university’s special police

force is not a ‘‘local police department’’ for purposes

of § 53-39a, and that the legislature, by limiting coverage

to local police departments, did not intend for university

special police forces to be covered under this statute.

We conclude that the Appellate Court correctly interpreted § 53-39a and, accordingly, affirm the judgment

of the Appellate Court.

The opinion of the Appellate Court sets forth the

following relevant facts and procedural history. At all

relevant times, the defendant, the state of Connecticut,

‘‘maintained a special police force for Eastern Connecticut State University (university). The plaintiff was a

member of that special police force and an employee

of the state. While on duty on September 1, 2008, the

plaintiff was involved in an incident in which he allegedly ‘deployed pepper spray against an intoxicated and

violent prisoner in a converted Sheetrock coat closet,

which was used as a holding cell, and failed to promptly

decontaminate the prisoner.’ Weeks later, the plaintiff

was placed on paid administrative leave by the university. He thereafter applied for a position with the . . .

Department of Correction (department) and was hired

as a correction officer on August 15, 2009.

‘‘On December 1, 2009, the plaintiff was indicted by

the federal government and charged with the crimes

of conspiracy to violate an individual’s civil rights in

violation of 18 U.S.C. § 241 and deprivation of an individual’s civil rights in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242. Following

his arrest, the plaintiff’s employment with the department was terminated. After two federal trials that both

resulted in hung juries, the United States District Court

for the District of Connecticut on August 10, 2011,

granted the government’s motion to dismiss the indictment against the plaintiff.

‘‘The plaintiff subsequently demanded reimbursement from the state for economic losses that he allegedly incurred as a result of his federal prosecution.

When the state declined to do so, the plaintiff commenced the present action. His one count complaint

sought indemnification pursuant to § 53-39a ‘for economic losses sustained . . . as a result of the aforesaid

arrest and prosecution, including the payment of any

legal fees incurred in pursuing these damages.’2

‘‘In response, the state moved to dismiss the action

for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. In the memorandum of law that accompanied [the motion to dismiss],
the state acknowledged that § 53-39a ‘waives the

[s]tate’s immunity to liability and suit,’ but only with

respect to ‘those individuals who fall within the designated classifications’ set forth in that statute. The state

then argued that (1) members of the university’s special

police force do not fall within the class of individuals

who expressly are authorized to bring an action against

the state pursuant to § 53-39a, and (2) the complaint

contained no allegation that the plaintiff had obtained

permission from the Claims Commissioner to institute

the action for monetary relief. See General Statutes § 4-

160. The plaintiff filed an objection to the motion to

dismiss, [in response] to which the state filed a reply

brief.

‘‘The court, Hon. Richard M. Rittenband, judge trial

referee, heard argument from the parties on March 17,

2014. In an order issued later that day, the court concluded that a member of the university’s special police

force ‘falls under the category of a member of a local

police department’ as that term is used in § 53-39a. The

court therefore denied the motion to dismiss. The state

filed a motion to reargue that ruling, which the court

denied.

‘‘The state then answered the complaint, and the

plaintiff filed a certificate of closed pleadings, in which

he requested a court trial. On January 13, 2017, the

state filed a motion for summary judgment, renewing

its claim that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction due to sovereign immunity. Relying on the law

of the case doctrine, the court, Scholl, J., denied that

motion. The court at that time also granted the plaintiff’s

. . . motion for summary judgment as to liability only.

A hearing in damages followed, at the conclusion of

which the court, Pittman, J., rendered judgment in

favor of the plaintiff ‘in the amount of $658,849 in lost

earnings and benefits . . . .’ Approximately one month

later, the court rendered a supplemental judgment, in

which it awarded the plaintiff $118,196.04 in attorney’s

fees and costs.’’ (Footnote in original; footnotes omitted.) Praisner v. State, 189 Conn. App. 540, 543–45, 208

A.3d 667 (2019).

The state appealed from the judgment of the trial

court to the Appellate Court. On appeal, the state

claimed that the trial court incorrectly determined that

the plaintiff was authorized to bring the present action

pursuant to § 53-39a. See id., 545. The Appellate Court

agreed with the state; id.; and concluded that ‘‘the plaintiff has not established a reasonable basis on which to

conclude that his claim for indemnification falls within

the statutory waiver of sovereign immunity contained

in § 53-39a.’’ Id., 555.

The Appellate Court began by noting that the ‘‘term

‘local police department’ is not defined in § 53-39a or

elsewhere in the General Statutes.’’ Id., 549. As a result,

the court relied on the text of § 53-39a and its relation-
ship to other statutes to conclude that the legislature

did not intend to include members of a university’s

special police force within the definition of ‘‘local police

department.’’ (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id.,

549–50. Specifically, the Appellate Court concluded

that, because the legislature chose to explicitly include

members of some police forces with limited jurisdictional authority in the language of the statute, its failure

to specifically mention members of the university’s

police force was intentional.3 See id.

The Appellate Court further reasoned that General

Statutes (Rev. to 2013) § 10a-142,4 which created the

university’s special police force, demonstrates that the

legislature did not intend a university’s special police

force to be treated as a local police department but

understood it to be a separate entity with different

benefits and duties. See id., 550–51. In support of this

analysis, the Appellate Court noted that § 10a-142 (a)

provides that a university’s special police force has

some, but not all, of the duties, responsibilities and

authority of local police departments. Id., 551. Those

limitations, the Appellate Court determined, provided

further evidence that the legislature understood a university’s special police force to be a separate and distinct entity from local police departments. See id., 551–

52.

The Appellate Court also relied on the fact that § 10a142 (e) contains an indemnification provision applicable only to members of a university’s special police

force. See id., 554. The Appellate Court reasoned that

the specific indemnification provision applicable to

members of a university’s special police force signifies

that the legislature did not intend the more general

provisions of § 53-39a to apply to members of a university’s special police force. See id., 554–55. Accordingly,

the Appellate Court concluded that the trial court incorrectly determined that the plaintiff’s claim fell within

the waiver of statutory immunity in § 53-39a and, thus,

reversed the trial court’s judgment. Id., 543, 555–56.

Thereafter, the plaintiff filed a petition for certification to appeal, which we granted, limited to the following issue: ‘‘Did the Appellate Court [correctly] hold that

a university police officer is not a member of a ‘local

police department’ entitled to indemnification under

. . . § 53-39a?’’ Praisner v. State, 332 Conn. 905, 208

A.3d 1239 (2019).

After reviewing the parties’ briefs, the record and

oral argument, we conclude that the Appellate Court’s

reasoning and analysis were sound, and that its conclusion was correct. Repeating its analysis regarding the

interpretation of the statute, with which we fully agree,

would serve no useful purpose.

Nevertheless, we address one additional issue that

was not squarely addressed in the Appellate Court’s
opinion, namely, whether No. 17-87 of the 2017 Public

Acts (P.A. 17-87), which amended § 53-39a, is clarifying

legislation.5 Specifically, the plaintiff claims that, by

eliminating the phrase ‘‘local police department’’ and

adding the phrase ‘‘any member of a law enforcement

unit,’’ the legislature was simply clarifying its original

intent that all police officers, including a university’s

special force, are included within the indemnification

provisions in § 53-39a. See P.A. 17-87, § 3. The plaintiff

asserts, therefore, that P.A. 17-87 supports his interpretation of § 53-39a and that his claim for indemnification

against the state is, and has always been, covered by

the waiver of sovereign immunity in § 53-39a. We reject

this contention.

We begin by discussing the legal standard that we

apply in determining whether the legislature intended

statutory amendments to be clarifying in nature. ‘‘We

presume that, in enacting a statute, the legislature

intended a change in existing law. . . . This presumption, like any other, may be rebutted by contrary evidence of the legislative intent in the particular case. An

amendment which in effect construes and clarifies a

prior statute must be accepted as the legislative declaration of the meaning of the original act. . . . An amendment that is intended to clarify the original intent of

an earlier statute necessarily has retroactive effect.’’

(Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.)

State v. State Employees’ Review Board, 239 Conn. 638,

648–49, 687 A.2d 134 (1997).

‘‘To determine whether the legislature enacted a statutory amendment with the intent to clarify existing

legislation, we look to various factors, including, but

not limited to (1) the amendatory language . . . (2) the

declaration of intent, if any, contained in the public act

. . . (3) the legislative history . . . and (4) the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the amendment,

such as, whether it was enacted in direct response to

a judicial decision that the legislature deemed incorrect

. . . or passed to resolve a controversy engendered by

statutory ambiguity . . . . In the cases wherein this

court has held that a statutory amendment had been

intended to be clarifying and, therefore, should be

applied retroactively, the pertinent legislative history

has provided uncontroverted support . . . for the conclusion that the legislature considered the amendatory

language to be a declaration of the legislature’s original

intent rather than a change in the existing statute.’’

(Citations omitted; emphasis omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Middlebury v. Dept. of Environmental Protection, 283 Conn. 156, 174, 927 A.2d 793

(2007).

Contrary to the plaintiff’s claim, a review of the language of P.A. 17-87 does not contain any indication that

the legislature intended the act to clarify the existing

statute. Instead, a review of the legislative history of
the act demonstrates that the legislature actually understood P.A. 17-87 to create a new right that was not

previously applicable to certain classes of police officers. For instance, during a debate on the bill that

became P.A. 17-87, Representative Steven Stafstrom

explained that ‘‘[i]t expands the type of law enforcement

officers who must be indemnified.’’ 60 H.R. Proc., Pt.

17, 2017 Sess., p. 7101. In the Senate, Senator Paul R.

Doyle introduced this bill. In doing so, and during

debate on this bill, the senators did not say anything

about the purpose of the legislation. There is also no

purpose contained within the act itself. There is simply

no indication from the language or the debates that

the legislature intended the act merely to clarify the

individuals who had always been subject to the indemnification in § 53-39a.

Furthermore, there also is no indication whatsoever

that the legislature enacted this act in direct response

to any judicial decision that the legislature deemed

incorrect. We note that, when the legislature passed

P.A. 17-87, the trial court had not yet rendered judgment

in the present case, and the rulings of the court allowing

the case to move forward to trial were favorable to

the plaintiff. Similarly, there is no indication that the

legislature passed this act to resolve any controversy

engendered by statutory ambiguity.

To be sure, cases in which this court has concluded

that an act is clarifying legislation demonstrate the type

of legislative history that we have relied on as uncontroverted support that the legislature intended an act to

be clarifying legislation. For example, in Reliance Ins.

Co. v. American Casualty Co. of Reading, Pennsylvania, 238 Conn. 285, 679 A.2d 925 (1996), this court relied

on a statement by Representative Richard D. Tulisano

that, ‘‘[i]n drafting this, it was intended to be a recital.

What we believe current law was and has been, there

is a recent Supreme Court case that may have interpreted [the law] differently and I think it is a restatement

of what we consider [the] law to be at this point in time.’’

(Emphasis omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.)

Id., 290–91, quoting 36 H.R. Proc., Pt. 27, 1993 Sess., p.

9673. In the present case, the plaintiff does not point

to, and we cannot find, any similar legislative history

supporting his claim that the legislature enacted P.A.

17-87 in response to a particular judicial decision or

because of statutory ambiguity.

Thus, the language of P.A. 17-87, its legislative history,

and the circumstances surrounding its enactment do

not provide the ‘‘uncontroverted support’’ required to

conclude that the legislature intended P.A. 17-87 to be

‘‘a declaration of the legislature’s original intent rather

than a change in the existing statute.’’ (Emphasis omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Middlebury v.

Dept. of Environmental Protection, supra, 283 Conn.

174. Accordingly, we reject the plaintiff’s claim that P.A.
17-87 demonstrates that the legislature intended his

claim for indemnification against the state to be covered

under § 53-39a.

In sum, having reviewed the briefs of the parties and

the record on appeal, we conclude that the issue on

which we granted certification was correctly resolved

in the well reasoned opinion of the Appellate Court.

Consistent with that conclusion, we further conclude

that P.A. 17-87 was a subsequent, substantive change

to the statute and, thus, not retroactively applicable to

the plaintiff in this case. On the basis of the foregoing,

we conclude that the Appellate Court correctly concluded that a university’s special police force is not a

local police department for purposes of § 53-39a.

The judgment of the Appellate Court is affirmed.

In this opinion the other justices concurred.

* The listing of justices reflects their seniority status on this court as of

the date of oral argument.

** August 3, 2020, the date that this decision was released as a slip opinion,

is the operative date for all substantive and procedural purposes.

1 Hereinafter, unless otherwise indicated, all references to § 53-39a are to

the 2013 revision of the statute.

2

‘‘The plaintiff’s claimed damages included ‘lost overtime’ with the university’s special police force; ‘lost employment’ and ‘lost overtime’ with the

department; ‘lost pension benefits and contributions’; ‘lost insurance, sick

time and vacation time’; and ‘future lost earnings.’ ’’ Praisner v. State, 189

Conn. App. 540, 544 n.3, 208 A.3d 667 (2019).

3 The plaintiff argued that the term ‘‘local police department,’’ as used in

§ 53-39a, means a police force with limited geographical jurisdiction and,

thus, included a university’s special police force because it was confined

to the geographical limits of the property owned or controlled by the university. See Praisner v. State, supra, 189 Conn. App. 549. The Appellate Court

relied on the text of § 53-39a and its specific mention of ‘‘any person

appointed under section 29-18 as a special policeman for the State Capitol

building and grounds, the Legislative Office Building and parking garage

and related structures and facilities . . . .’’ General Statutes (Rev. to 2013)

§ 53-39a; see Praisner v. State, supra, 549–50. The Appellate Court reasoned

that, because the legislature chose to specifically include members of these

police forces with limited jurisdictional authority in the language of the

statute, its failure to specifically mention members of the university’s special

police forces was intentional. See Praisner v. State, supra, 549–50, citing

DeNunzio v. DeNunzio, 320 Conn. 178, 194, 128 A.3d 901 (2016); see also

DeNunzio v. DeNunzio, supra, 194 (‘‘[u]nder the doctrine of expressio unius

est exclusio alterius—the expression of one thing is the exclusion of

another—we presume that when the legislature expresses items as part of

a group or series, an item that was not included was deliberately excluded’’).

We agree. This court has frequently recognized the principle of statutory

construction that, ‘‘[u]nless there is evidence to the contrary, statutory

itemization indicates that the legislature intended the list to be exclusive.’’

(Internal quotation marks omitted.) Feehan v. Marcone, 331 Conn. 436, 472,

204 A.3d 666, cert. denied, U.S. , 140 S. Ct. 144, 205 L. Ed. 2d 35

(2019). Accordingly, the fact that § 53-39a contains express reference to

some police forces within the state with limited geographical authority, but

does not expressly reference university police officers, indicates that the

legislature did not intend to include members of the university’s police force

in the waiver of sovereign immunity set forth in § 53-39a.

4 General Statutes § 10a-142 is now codified at General Statutes § 10a156b. The plaintiff commenced this action on July 19, 2013. Therefore, the

operative statute is General Statutes (Rev. to 2013) § 10a-142, as amended

by No. 13-195, § 1, of the 2013 Public Acts (P.A. 13-195). Unless otherwise

indicated, all references to § 10a-142 in this opinion are to that revision, as

amended by P.A. 13-195, § 1.

5 Section 3 of No. 17-87 of the 2017 Public Acts provides: ‘‘Section 53-39a

of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu

thereof (Effective October 1, 2017):
‘‘Whenever, in any prosecution of [an officer of the Division of State Police

within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, or a

member of the Office of State Capitol Police or] any member of a law

enforcement unit, as defined in section 7-294a, any person appointed under

section 29-18 as a special policeman for the State Capitol building and

grounds, the Legislative Office Building and parking garage and related

structures and facilities, and other areas under the supervision and control

of the Joint Committee on Legislative Management, or [a local police department] any inspector in the Division of Criminal Justice for a crime allegedly

committed by such [officer] member, person or inspector in the course of

[his] duty, [as such,] the charge is dismissed or the [officer] member, person

or inspector found not guilty, such [officer] member, person or inspector

shall be indemnified by [his] such member’s, person’s or inspector’s

employing governmental unit for economic loss sustained by [him] such

member, person or inspector as a result of such prosecution, including the

payment of attorney’s fees and costs incurred during the prosecution and

the enforcement of this section. Such [officer] member, person or inspector

may bring an action in the Superior Court against such employing governmental unit to enforce the provisions of this section.’’

We note that the additions to the statute made by the act are underlined

and the deletions are in brackets.