Filing Your Appearance While a Title Insurer Stays Silent

Attorney Answer

File the appearance yourself, now. You do not need a lawyer to do it, and waiting on your title insurer is the one thing that can lose this case outright.

The rule is Connecticut Practice Book § 3-2(a): "an appearance for a party in a civil or family case should be filed on or before the second day following the return day. Appearances filed thereafter in such cases shall be accepted but an appearance for a party after the entry against such party of a nonsuit or judgment after default for failure to appear shall not affect the entry of the nonsuit or any judgment after default." Read that carefully, because it contains both a deadline and a small mercy. Your date is the second day following the return day printed on your summons — not the return day itself. And a late appearance is still accepted, unless and until a default or nonsuit for failure to appear has actually entered. Under Practice Book § 17-20 the plaintiff may move for default for failure to appear on or after that same second day, so the window between "late" and "too late" is entirely in the plaintiff's hands. The return day itself is governed by Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-48.

A self-represented defendant files an appearance form with the clerk of the court named on the summons. The Judicial Branch publishes the form, the clerk's office has copies, and filing it costs nothing. Filing an appearance does not admit the claim, does not waive any defense, and does not commit you to defending the case yourself — it tells the court you are participating so a judgment cannot be entered against you by default while nobody is watching.

Now the warning your insurer will not give you. In Chicago Title Insurance Co. v. Bristol Heights Associates, LLC, 142 Conn. App. 390 (2013), the insured failed to cooperate with the title insurer's coverage investigation and paid the disputed tax lien under protest without the insurer's consent. The Appellate Court affirmed judgment for the insurer: the insured had breached the policy's conditions and thereby prejudiced the insurer, which relieved the insurer of its coverage obligation. Take that seriously. Do not pay the sewer bill, do not settle with the plaintiff, and do not hire your own lawyer to take over the defense, without first telling the insurer in writing and getting a response. Filing an appearance to prevent a default is a different matter — Practice Book § 3-2 requires it regardless — but you should still put the insurer on notice, in writing, that you are doing it and why.

What you can do

1. Read the summons. Find the return day and identify the second day following it. That is your real deadline. 2. File the self-represented appearance form with the clerk before that date. In person, by mail with enough lead time, or by e-filing. Get a stamped copy. 3. The same day, send the claims adjuster and the claims department both an email and a certified letter. Include the claim number, a copy of the summons and complaint, the return day, a statement that you filed a self-represented appearance solely to avoid a default, and a written demand that they appoint defense counsel under the policy's duty to defend. Ask them to confirm in writing. 4. Escalate in parallel: the adjuster's supervisor, the insurer's claims management, and a consumer complaint to the Connecticut Insurance Department. Silence tends to end when a regulator is copied. 5. Do not pay or settle the sewer lien on your own, and do not retain separate defense counsel without notifying the insurer first. Chicago Title Insurance Co. v. Bristol Heights Associates, LLC is what happens when an insured acts unilaterally. 6. Cooperate fully and promptly with any coverage investigation, and document every response you give. Non-cooperation was the other half of what sank the insured in that case. 7. Get a full copy of your title policy and read the duty-to-defend provision and the cooperation and consent conditions. Those are the terms that will decide coverage.

⏱ Time limits apply. Practice Book § 3-2(a) sets your appearance deadline at the second day following the return day, and Practice Book § 17-20 lets the plaintiff move for default on or after that day. The return day is governed by Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-48. The actual date depends on the return day printed on your own summons, so read the papers rather than working from a remembered figure.