Defendant's Attorney: Darren P. Cunningham

Description: Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut, civil rights lawyers represented the Plaintiff contesting constitutionality of mandatory school vaccination policy.



The plaintiffs, Keira Spillane and Anna Kehle, are parents of minor children who challenge the elimination of the religious exemption from the school vaccination requirement. They commenced the present action against the defendants, state and municipal officials charged with oversight of public health and educa-tion,[1] seeking injunctive relief and a declaration that P.A. 21-6 violates the constitutional rights of the plaintiffs and their children to the free exercise of religion, equal protection of the laws, and a free public education; see U.S. Const., amends. I and XIV; Conn. Const., art. I, §§ 1, 3 and 20;[2] Conn. Const., art. 8, § 1; and violates their rights under General Statutes § 52-571b. The trial court denied the defendants' motions to dismiss the complaint on the ground that they were immune from suit, concluding that two recognized exceptions to the doctrine of sovereign immunity-a ''substantial claim'' of a constitutional violation and a statutory waiver-had been satisfied. The defendants appealed from that decision to the Appellate Court, and we transferred the appeal to this court. See General Statutes § 51-199 (c); Practice Book § 65-1.


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Spillane v. Lamont, SC 20776 (Conn. Oct 22, 2024)

Outcome: The trial court denied the defendants' motions to dismiss the complaint on the ground that they were immune from suit, concluding that two recognized exceptions to the doctrine of sovereign immunity-a ''substantial claim'' of a constitutional violation and a statutory waiver-had been satisfied. The defendants appealed from that decision to the Appellate Court, and we transferred the appeal to this court. See General Statutes § 51-199 (c); Practice Book § 65-1. We affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment of the trial court.

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