Feliciano v. State ( 2021 )


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    JANET FELICIANO v. STATE OF
    CONNECTICUT ET AL.
    (SC 20373)
    Robinson, C. J., and Palmer, McDonald, D’Auria,
    Mullins, Kahn and Ecker, Js.*
    Syllabus
    Pursuant to statute (§ 52-556), ‘‘[a]ny person injured . . . through the negli-
    gence of any state official or employee when operating a motor vehicle
    owned and insured by the state against personal injuries . . . shall have
    a right of action against the state to recover damages for such injury.’’
    Pursuant further to statute (§ 31-284 (a)), an employer otherwise in compli-
    ance with § 31-284 ‘‘shall not be liable for any action for damages on
    account of personal injury sustained by an employee arising out of and
    in the course of his employment,’’ and ‘‘[a]ll rights and claims between
    [such] an employer . . . [and its] employees, arising out of personal
    injury . . . sustained in the course of employment are abolished other
    than rights and claims given by [the Workers’ Compensation Act] . . . .’’
    The plaintiff, a state employee, sought to recover damages from the state
    for personal injuries she sustained when an uninsured motor vehicle
    struck a vehicle in which she was a passenger. The vehicle in which
    the plaintiff was riding was owned and insured by the state and operated
    by another state employee, T, who was acting in the course of his
    employment. The plaintiff alleged that T’s operation of that vehicle was
    negligent and that T caused the collision. The state moved to dismiss
    the claim against it, contending that, because the plaintiff was eligible
    for and received workers’ compensation benefits for her injuries, the
    state’s waiver of sovereign immunity in § 52-556 did not apply to the
    plaintiff’s negligence claim and that the trial court, therefore, lacked
    subject matter jurisdiction. The court granted the state’s motion to
    dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and the plaintiff
    appealed. Held:
    1. The trial court had subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiff’s action
    against the state and, accordingly, improperly granted the state’s motion
    to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction; contrary to the state’s claim, its
    waiver of sovereign immunity in § 52-556 for claims arising from a state
    employee’s negligent operation of a state owned and insured motor
    vehicle extends to a litigant, such as the plaintiff, who is a state employee,
    as the phrase ‘‘[a]ny person’’ in § 52-556 signifies that the waiver applies
    without restriction to persons who are injured under the circumstances
    specified in that statute.
    2. The plaintiff’s action against the state was nevertheless barred by the
    workers’ compensation exclusivity provision in § 31-284 (a) because
    the state’s waiver of sovereign immunity pursuant to § 52-556 did not
    preclude the state from raising its defense to liability under § 31-284
    (a), as nothing in § 52-556 expressly provides or otherwise suggests that
    the state has waived its right to present this, or any other, defense to
    liability: interpreting § 52-556 to implicitly waive the state’s defense
    under § 31-284 (a) would be inconsistent with the express language of
    and the public policy principles underlying the workers’ compensation
    exclusivity provision, of which the legislature was undoubtedly aware
    when it enacted § 52-556, as § 31-284 (a), which predates the enactment
    of § 52-556, manifests a legislative intent that the remedy available to
    employees who benefit from workers’ compensation should be limited
    to those benefits and should preclude the right to bring a common-law
    tort action, and to read § 52-556 to preclude the state from asserting a
    defense under § 31-284 (a) would expand the rights of state employees
    beyond those envisioned in the workers’ compensation statutory scheme
    by allowing them to recover damages from the state and to collect
    workers’ compensation benefits, thereby providing them with greater
    rights than other employees injured in the course of employment; more-
    over, reading § 52-556 to waive the state’s defense under § 31-284 (a)
    also would be inconsistent with the principle that this court must strictly
    construe waivers of sovereign immunity, as that interpretation would
    read the state’s consent to jurisdiction in § 52-556 also to waive a defense
    to liability that is available to private employers, despite the absence
    of any language or necessary implication in the statute justifying that
    broad interpretation; accordingly, the form of the trial court’s judgment
    was improper because the court should not have dismissed the action
    for lack of subject matter jurisdiction but should have rendered judgment
    for the state on the merits of its defense under § 31-284 (a).
    Argued January 13—officially released August 24, 2020**
    Procedural History
    Action to recover damages for personal injuries sus-
    tained as a result of the alleged negligence of the named
    defendant’s employee, brought to the Superior Court
    in the judicial district of Hartford, where the trial court,
    Cobb, J., granted the named defendant’s motion to dis-
    miss and rendered judgment thereon, from which the
    plaintiff appealed. Improper form of judgment; reversed;
    judgment directed.
    Gerald S. Sack, with whom, on the brief, was Jona-
    than A. Cantor, for the appellant (plaintiff).
    Lorinda S. Coon, for the appellee (named defendant).
    Opinion
    MULLINS, J. The plaintiff, Janet Feliciano, a state
    employee, appeals from the judgment of the trial court
    granting the motion to dismiss filed by the named defen-
    dant, the state of Connecticut (state).1 We must resolve
    whether the state’s waiver of sovereign immunity in
    General Statutes § 52-556 for claims arising from a state
    employee’s negligent operation of a state owned and
    insured motor vehicle extends to litigants who are state
    employees.2 The state claims that it does not. We con-
    clude that it does.
    The state contends that the judgment of the trial court
    nevertheless may be affirmed on the alternative ground
    that, even if § 52-556 applies to state employees, the
    plaintiff’s action is barred by the workers’ compensa-
    tion exclusivity provision in General Statutes § 31-284
    (a).3 More specifically, the state argues that the waiver
    of sovereign immunity pursuant to § 52-556 does not
    preclude it from raising its defense to liability under
    § 31-284 (a). We agree. Because we also conclude that
    the state is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, we
    reverse the judgment of dismissal and remand this case
    to the trial court with direction to render judgment in
    favor of the state.4
    The record reveals the following undisputed facts
    and procedural history. On December 16, 2016, the
    plaintiff was a passenger in a motor vehicle owned and
    insured by the state. The vehicle was being operated by
    another state employee, William Texidor. Both Texidor
    and the plaintiff were acting in the course of their
    employment when another vehicle, operated by Tyreke
    Brooks, struck their vehicle. At the time of the collision,
    Brooks’ vehicle was uninsured. As a result of the colli-
    sion, the plaintiff suffered various personal injuries for
    which she required medical treatment and due to which
    she lost wages. As the plaintiff conceded in response
    to the state’s request for admission, she filed for and
    received workers’ compensation benefits for her injur-
    ies and damages.
    The plaintiff subsequently brought this action against,
    inter alios, the state and Metropolitan Casualty Insur-
    ance Company; see footnote 1 of this opinion; alleging
    that Texidor’s operation of the vehicle was negligent
    and caused the collision. The state moved to dismiss
    count one of the complaint, which was the only claim
    brought against the state, for lack of subject matter
    jurisdiction on the ground of sovereign immunity. In
    its motion, the state argued that, because the plaintiff
    was eligible for and received workers’ compensation
    benefits, the waiver of sovereign immunity in § 52-556
    did not apply to the plaintiff’s claim, and the court,
    therefore, lacked subject matter jurisdiction.
    Relying on this court’s decision in Sullivan v. State,
    
    189 Conn. 550
    , 
    457 A.2d 304
     (1983), the trial court
    granted the motion to dismiss. Specifically, the trial
    court relied on a footnote in Sullivan in which this
    court noted, in relevant part, that ‘‘[t]here is no cause
    of action against the state on the ground of vicarious
    liability under § 52-556 when [the claim is] brought by
    a state employee’’ and the state provides that employee
    with workers’ compensation benefits. Id., 555 n.7.
    Under those circumstances, this court concluded that
    the state is ‘‘immune from liability [in] any action for
    damages on account of personal injury sustained by an
    employee arising out of and in the course of his [or
    her] employment . . . .’’ (Internal quotation marks
    omitted.) Id. This appeal followed.
    Sovereign immunity implicates this court’s subject
    matter jurisdiction. E.g., Miller v. Egan, 
    265 Conn. 301
    ,
    313, 
    828 A.2d 549
     (2003). Accordingly, prior to proceed-
    ing to the merits, we must first resolve the issue of
    whether § 52-556 waives the state’s immunity from suit
    when the plaintiff is a state employee. See St. Paul
    Travelers Cos. v. Kuehl, 
    299 Conn. 800
    , 816, 
    12 A.3d 852
     (2011) (‘‘Once the question of lack of jurisdiction
    of a court is raised, [it] must be disposed of no matter
    in what form it is presented. . . . The court must fully
    resolve it before proceeding further with the case.’’
    (Internal quotation marks omitted.)).
    The general principles governing sovereign immunity
    are well established. ‘‘[W]e have long recognized the
    validity of the common-law principle that the state can-
    not be sued without its consent . . . .’’ (Internal quota-
    tion marks omitted.) Smith v. Rudolph, 
    330 Conn. 138
    ,
    143, 
    191 A.3d 992
     (2018). ‘‘[A] litigant that seeks to
    overcome the presumption of sovereign immunity [pur-
    suant to a statutory waiver] must show that . . . the
    legislature, either expressly or by force of a necessary
    implication, statutorily waived the state’s sovereign
    immunity . . . . In making this determination, [a court
    shall be guided by] the well established principle that
    statutes in derogation of sovereign immunity should be
    strictly construed. . . . [When] there is any doubt
    about their meaning or intent they are given the effect
    [that] makes the least rather than the most change in
    sovereign immunity. . . . Whether the legislature has
    waived the state’s sovereign immunity raises a question
    of statutory interpretation.’’ (Citation omitted; internal
    quotation marks omitted.) Allen v. Commissioner of
    Revenue Services, 
    324 Conn. 292
    , 299–300, 
    152 A.3d 488
    (2016), cert. denied,     U.S.      , 
    137 S. Ct. 2217
    , 
    198 L. Ed. 2d 659
     (2017).
    To resolve the state’s claim that the waiver of sover-
    eign immunity in § 52-556 does not extend to state
    employees, we turn to the language of the statute. See
    General Statutes § 1-2z. Section 52-556 provides: ‘‘Any
    person injured in person or property through the negli-
    gence of any state official or employee when operating
    a motor vehicle owned and insured by the state against
    personal injuries or property damage shall have a right
    of action against the state to recover damages for such
    injury.’’ It is well established that § 52-556 expressly
    waives the state’s immunity from suit for civil actions
    brought by employees who are not employed by the
    state. See, e.g., Hicks v. State, 
    297 Conn. 798
    , 802, 
    1 A.3d 39
     (2010) (acknowledging express waiver); Rivers
    v. New Britain, 
    288 Conn. 1
    , 13, 
    950 A.2d 1247
     (2008)
    (same); Allison v. Manetta, 
    284 Conn. 389
    , 396, 
    933 A.2d 1197
     (2007) (same).
    The question presented in this appeal is whether that
    waiver, which applies to ‘‘[a]ny person’’ who is injured
    under the circumstances specified by § 52-556, extends
    to a person who is a state employee. (Emphasis added.)
    The statute does not define or otherwise limit the term
    ‘‘any.’’ Therefore, we rely on General Statutes § 1-1 (a),
    which directs that, ‘‘[i]n the construction of the statutes,
    words and phrases shall be construed according to the
    commonly approved usage of the language . . . and
    understood accordingly.’’
    Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines the
    word ‘‘any’’ as ‘‘EVERY—used to indicate one selected
    without restriction . . . .’’ Merriam-Webster’s Colle-
    giate Dictionary (11th Ed. 2003) p. 56. The phrase ‘‘any
    person,’’ therefore, signifies that the waiver applies
    without restriction to persons who are injured under
    the circumstances specified in § 52-556. The language
    is unambiguous. Consequently, the waiver of sovereign
    immunity from suit in § 52-556 extends to persons who
    are state employees, and, therefore, the court had juris-
    diction over this action.
    We find unpersuasive the state’s reliance on dictum
    from this court’s decision in Sullivan v. State, supra,
    
    189 Conn. 555
    –56 n.7, as support for its position that
    the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over
    the present case on the basis that the state had not
    waived its sovereign immunity. Specifically, the state
    contends that, under Sullivan, § 52-556 does not waive
    sovereign immunity with respect to actions brought by
    state employees or their representatives when the state
    has provided workers’ compensation benefits. Even if
    we agreed with the state’s reading of Sullivan, which
    we do not, the state’s interpretation of the dictum in
    that decision runs contrary to the plain language of
    § 52-556.
    We acknowledge that there appears to be some confu-
    sion regarding whether the statements in Sullivan
    implied that a trial court lacks subject matter jurisdic-
    tion over the state employee’s claim or simply that the
    claim fails on its merits. We take this opportunity to
    clarify those remarks.
    In Sullivan, the plaintiff, relying on the motor vehicle
    exception to the Workers’ Compensation Act in General
    Statutes § 31-293a, brought a wrongful death action,
    alleging negligent operation of a motor vehicle, where
    both the defendant and the plaintiff’s decedent were
    state employees acting in the course of their employ-
    ment at the time of the accident. See id., 550–51. The
    defendant state employee moved to dismiss the action
    on the ground that it was barred by the immunity
    granted to state employees pursuant to General Statutes
    (Rev. to 1983) § 4-165.5 Id., 551–52. The plaintiff in Sulli-
    van had conceded that the immunity pursuant to that
    statute applied under the facts of the case. See id.,
    552–53. As a result, in the absence of any statutory
    waiver of the state’s sovereign immunity, this court
    concluded that the case was not properly before it due
    to the plaintiff’s failure to first present her claim to the
    Claims Commissioner. See id., 553–55, 559.
    In a footnote, this court, in dictum, rejected the state’s
    suggestion ‘‘that the plaintiff might have an authorized
    action at law against the state under . . . § 52-556.’’
    Id., 555 n.7. This court explained that, although § 52-
    556 waives the state’s sovereign immunity for claims
    arising from a state employee’s negligent operation of
    a state owned and insured motor vehicle, ‘‘the state
    retains the right to interpose any lawful defense.’’ Id.
    Following that comment, this court stated that § 52-556
    was ‘‘inapplicable to the plaintiff’’ because ‘‘[t]here is
    no cause of action against the state . . . under § 52-
    556 when brought by a state employee or his representa-
    tive.’’ Id.
    This court then discussed the relationship between
    § 52-556 and the workers’ compensation statutory
    scheme. The court explained that, when the legislature
    enacted § 52-556, the state already had agreed to partici-
    pate in the workers’ compensation program and, there-
    fore, ‘‘had already expressly delineated its liability to
    [state] employees . . . .’’ Id., 556 n.7. The form of that
    liability, the court stated, came with the mutual waiver
    of rights that is integral to the workers’ compensation
    statutory scheme—the employer’s acceptance of the
    form of strict liability imposed by the workers’ compen-
    sation program in exchange for the employee’s accep-
    tance of a limitation on remedies in tort. See id., 555–56
    n.7. This court in Sullivan understood the scope of the
    waiver of immunity in § 52-556 in that context.
    Accordingly, the court rejected the proposition that,
    when the legislature enacted § 52-556, it intended to
    expand the rights of state employees, allowing them to
    recover against their employer in a tort action in addi-
    tion to receiving workers’ compensation benefits. In
    other words, a state employee’s remedy against his or
    her employer is not a cause of action in tort but, rather,
    is the administrative remedy provided through the
    workers’ compensation program. The court’s state-
    ment, therefore, that ‘‘[t]here is no cause of action’’ for
    state employees pursuant to § 52-556 does not mean
    that such claims are barred by sovereign immunity. Id.,
    555 n.7. This court’s decision in Grant v. Bassman, 
    221 Conn. 465
    , 
    604 A.2d 814
     (1992), sheds further light on
    the meaning of our statement in Sullivan. In Grant,
    this court expressly rejected the proposition that the
    workers’ compensation exclusivity provision implicates
    subject matter jurisdiction. See 
    id.,
     471–73. We began
    by acknowledging that, ‘‘[i]n the past, parties have
    raised and we have reviewed claims that an injured
    plaintiff’s exclusive remedy is under the Workers’ Com-
    pensation Act both by way of a motion to dismiss and
    by way of a special defense.’’ Id., 471. We then explained
    that, rather than depriving the trial court of jurisdiction,
    however, § 31-284 (a) effected the ‘‘destruction of an
    otherwise existent common-law right of action.’’
    (Emphasis in original; internal quotation marks omit-
    ted.) Id., 472.
    In place of the extinguished cause of action at com-
    mon law, an employee’s remedy against a participating
    employer is an administrative one, through the workers’
    compensation program. Some of the confusion arose,
    we said, because the substituted remedy ‘‘involves a
    special tribunal, rather than the Superior Court.’’ (Inter-
    nal quotation marks omitted.) Id. That result, we
    explained, ‘‘is a mere incident of the destruction of the
    common-law right of action. In other words, there is
    not a lack of jurisdiction in the court but a want of a
    cause of action in the plaintiff.’’ (Emphasis in original;
    internal quotation marks omitted.) Id. Accordingly, con-
    sistent with the plain language of § 52-556, Grant and
    Sullivan support the conclusion that the availability
    of workers’ compensation benefits to state employees
    does not divest the courts of jurisdiction over a claim
    filed by a state employee pursuant to § 52-556 but is,
    instead, a defense to an otherwise cognizable claim.
    Having concluded that the trial court had jurisdiction
    pursuant to the waiver of sovereign immunity in § 52-
    556, we turn to the state’s alternative ground for
    affirmance. Specifically, we consider whether we may
    affirm the judgment of the trial court on the alternative
    ground that the plaintiff’s claim is barred by § 31-284
    (a). The state argues that, even if § 52-556 waived the
    state’s sovereign immunity from suit, the state can still
    assert a defense in this action under § 31-284 (a). In
    response, the plaintiff contends that the waiver of sover-
    eign immunity in § 52-556 prohibits the state from
    asserting any defense, including the exclusivity provi-
    sion in § 31-284 (a). We agree with the state that § 31-
    284 (a) precludes the plaintiff’s claim.
    Preliminarily, we observe that, although the trial
    court granted the state’s motion to dismiss count one
    of the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction,
    its analysis, by focusing on the preclusive effect of § 31-
    284 (a), went to the merits of the exclusivity defense.
    Thus, consistent with our prior decisions, we treat the
    state’s motion to dismiss as a motion for summary judg-
    ment insofar as it relied on the exclusivity provision of
    § 31-284 (a), and the trial court’s decision dismissing
    count one of the complaint as the rendering of judgment
    in favor of the state. See D’Eramo v. Smith, 
    273 Conn. 610
    , 615, 
    872 A.2d 408
     (2005) (treating portion of Claims
    Commissioner’s motion to dismiss that addressed mer-
    its of action as motion for summary judgment and treat-
    ing trial court’s dismissal as rendering of judgment in
    favor of Claims Commissioner).
    Whether § 52-556 waives the state’s right to assert
    the workers’ compensation exclusivity provision as a
    defense presents a question of statutory construction
    over which we have plenary review. See, e.g., Rutter v.
    Janis, 
    334 Conn. 722
    , 730, 
    224 A.3d 525
     (2020). Nothing
    in § 52-556 expressly provides or otherwise suggests
    that the state has waived its right to present this—or
    any other—defense to liability. Although the statute’s
    silence on this point does not conclusively resolve the
    question, it militates against construing § 52-556 to
    waive defenses to liability.6
    The silence of § 52-556 on this issue does not exist
    in a vacuum. As we did in Sullivan, we view the relation-
    ship between §§ 52-556 and 31-284 (a) in the proper
    historical context. It is significant that § 31-284 (a) pre-
    dates the enactment of § 52-556. Therefore, when the
    legislature enacted § 52-556, it did so in the context of
    the state’s already existing, statutory defense to liability
    pursuant to § 31-284. Specifically, § 31-284 (a) provides
    in relevant part that ‘‘[a]n employer who complies with
    the requirements of subsection (b) of this section shall
    not be liable for any action for damages on account
    of personal injury sustained by an employee arising out
    of and in the course of his employment . . . .’’ (Empha-
    sis added.) Subsection (a) of § 31-284 further provides
    in relevant part that ‘‘[a]ll rights and claims between
    an employer who complies with the requirements of
    subsection (b) of this section and employees, or any
    representatives . . . of such employees, arising out of
    personal injury or death sustained in the course of
    employment are abolished other than rights and claims
    given by this chapter . . . .’’ (Emphasis added.) Thus,
    the state, like any employer, enjoyed a defense to liabil-
    ity for an employee’s personal injuries sustained in the
    course of employment, and, in exchange, the employee
    enjoyed a speedy, no-fault remedy to recover for those
    injuries.
    Significantly, the right that the plaintiff contends was
    conferred by § 52-556—the right to bring a cause of
    action against her employer despite that employer’s
    compliance with the workers’ compensation statutory
    scheme—was abolished by § 31-284 (a) before § 52-556
    was enacted. See Grant v. Bassman, supra, 
    221 Conn. 472
     (observing that exclusivity provision effected
    ‘‘destruction of an otherwise existent common-law right
    of action’’ (emphasis omitted; internal quotation marks
    omitted)). The enactment of § 52-556 opened an avenue
    to sue the state, not just for state employees, but also
    for private citizens. We see no evidence that the statute
    intended to grant state employees the right to sue the
    state and to collect workers’ compensation, which
    would leave a state employee with greater rights than
    other employees injured in the course of employment.7
    Indeed, through § 31-284 (a), the state already had
    precisely delineated its legal obligations to its employ-
    ees at the time that § 52-556 was enacted. See Sullivan
    v. State, supra, 
    189 Conn. 556
     n.7. By participating in the
    workers’ compensation program, the state consented
    to liability within that statutory scheme. Put another
    way, by participating in the program, the state had
    already indicated the type of liability to which it con-
    sented with respect to its employees. In fact, this court
    has previously explained that the workers’ compensa-
    tion statutory scheme imposes ‘‘a form of strict liability’’
    on employers, including the state. (Internal quotation
    marks omitted.) Mingachos v. CBS, Inc., 
    196 Conn. 91
    ,
    97, 
    491 A.2d 368
     (1985). Thus, it bears noting that the
    state’s right to interpose the defense of the workers’
    compensation exclusivity provision does not deprive
    the plaintiff of the right to a remedy from the state.
    Instead, by virtue of the trade-off in the workers’ com-
    pensation scheme, the plaintiff is limited to a particular
    type of remedy—workers’ compensation benefits—and
    is precluded from availing herself of a remedy in tort.
    This court has explained that ‘‘[§] 31-284 (a), the
    exclusivity provision in the [Workers’ Compensation]
    [A]ct, manifests a legislative policy decision that a limi-
    tation on remedies under tort law is an appropriate
    trade-off for the benefits provided by workers’ compen-
    sation. That trade-off is part and parcel of the remedial
    purpose of the act in its entirety.’’ Driscoll v. General
    Nutrition Corp., 
    252 Conn. 215
    , 220–21, 
    752 A.2d 1069
    (2000). Specifically, ‘‘[t]he purpose of the [workers’]
    compensation statute is to compensate the worker for
    injuries arising out of and in the course of employment,
    without regard to fault, by imposing a form of strict
    liability on the employer. . . . The act is to be broadly
    construed to effectuate the purpose of providing com-
    pensation for an injury arising out of and in the course of
    the employment regardless of fault. . . . Under typical
    workers’ compensation statutes, employers are barred
    from presenting certain defenses to the claim for com-
    pensation, the employee’s burden of proof is relatively
    light, and recovery should be expeditious. In a word,
    these statutes compromise an employee’s right to a
    [common-law] tort action for [work-related] injuries in
    return for relatively quick and certain compensation.’’
    (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.)
    Mingachos v. CBS, Inc., supra, 
    196 Conn. 97
    .
    Interpreting § 52-556 to implicitly waive the state’s
    defense pursuant to § 31-284 (a) would be inconsistent
    with the express language of and the public policy prin-
    ciples underlying the workers’ compensation exclusiv-
    ity provision, of which the legislature was undoubtedly
    aware when it enacted § 52-556. ‘‘[T]he legislature is
    always presumed to have created a harmonious and
    consistent body of law . . . .’’ (Internal quotation
    marks omitted.) Board of Education v. State Board of
    Education, 
    278 Conn. 326
    , 333, 
    898 A.2d 170
     (2006). As
    we have explained, § 31-284 (a) manifests a legislative
    intent that the remedy available to employees who bene-
    fit from workers’ compensation should be limited to
    those benefits and should preclude the right to bring a
    common-law tort action. Reading § 52-556 to preclude
    the state from relying on its defense pursuant to § 31-
    284 (a) would work the opposite effect, allowing state
    employees both to receive workers’ compensation ben-
    efits and to bring a tort action against the state, thus
    expanding the rights of state employees beyond those
    envisioned in the workers’ compensation statutory
    scheme.
    Reading § 52-556 to waive the defense pursuant to
    § 31-284 (a) also would be inconsistent with the pre-
    cepts that we strictly construe waivers of sovereign
    immunity. See Envirotest Systems Corp. v. Commis-
    sioner of Motor Vehicles, 
    293 Conn. 382
    , 388, 
    978 A.2d 49
     (2009). If we were to interpret § 52-556 to waive not
    only immunity from suit, but also the state’s defense
    to liability pursuant to § 31-284 (a), we would read the
    state’s waiver of sovereign immunity broadly. That
    interpretation would read the state’s consent to jurisdic-
    tion in § 52-556 also to waive a defense to liability that
    is available to private employers, despite the absence
    of any language or necessary implication in the statute
    justifying that broad interpretation of the waiver.
    Accordingly, consistent with the purposes of both §§ 52-
    556 and 31-284 (a), we conclude that, although the
    waiver of sovereign immunity in § 52-556 extends to
    state employees, that waiver does not preclude the state
    from asserting a defense to liability on the basis of § 31-
    284 (a).
    Finally, we observe that the plaintiff conceded in her
    responses to the state’s request for admissions that
    she applied for and received workers’ compensation
    benefits. Consequently, the trial court correctly con-
    cluded that the plaintiff’s action against the state is
    barred by § 31-284 (a). See General Statutes § 31-284
    (a). The form of the judgment, however, was improper
    because the trial court had jurisdiction over the plain-
    tiff’s complaint. See, e.g., D’Eramo v. Smith, 
    supra,
     
    273 Conn. 612
     (form of judgment was improper when trial
    court granted motion to dismiss on basis that went
    to merits rather than jurisdiction); New England Pipe
    Corp. v. Northeast Corridor Foundation, 
    271 Conn. 329
    , 334, 338, 
    857 A.2d 348
     (2004) (form of judgment was
    improper when trial court granted motion to dismiss
    but plaintiff’s claim must be denied on merits).
    The form of the judgment is improper, the judgment
    is reversed and the case is remanded with direction to
    render judgment for the state.
    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 24, 2020, the date that this decision was released as a slip
    opinion, is the operative date for all substantive and procedural purposes.
    1
    The plaintiff appealed from the judgment of the trial court to the Appellate
    Court, and we transferred the appeal to this court pursuant to General
    Statutes § 51-199 (c) and Practice Book § 65-1.
    Although the plaintiff’s complaint originally named the state, Constitution
    State Services, LLC, and Metropolitan Casualty Insurance Company (Metro-
    politan) as defendants, the plaintiff subsequently withdrew her claims
    against Constitution State Services, LLC, and Metropolitan, and those entities
    are not parties to this appeal.
    2
    General Statutes § 52-556 provides: ‘‘Any person injured in person or
    property through the negligence of any state official or employee when
    operating a motor vehicle owned and insured by the state against personal
    injuries or property damage shall have a right of action against the state to
    recover damages for such injury.’’
    Section 52-556 is largely unchanged since the enactment of its predecessor
    in 1927. See Public Acts 1927, c. 209, codified at General Statutes (Rev. to
    1930) § 5988. For simplicity, we refer to both § 52-556 and its statutory
    predecessor as § 52-556 throughout this opinion, and all references to the
    enactment of § 52-556 are to the enactment of its predecessor in 1927.
    3
    General Statutes § 31-284 (a) provides: ‘‘An employer who complies with
    the requirements of subsection (b) of this section shall not be liable for any
    action for damages on account of personal injury sustained by an employee
    arising out of and in the course of his employment or on account of death
    resulting from personal injury so sustained, but an employer shall secure
    compensation for his employees as provided under this chapter, except that
    compensation shall not be paid when the personal injury has been caused
    by the wilful and serious misconduct of the injured employee or by his
    intoxication. All rights and claims between an employer who complies with
    the requirements of subsection (b) of this section and employees, or any
    representatives or dependents of such employees, arising out of personal
    injury or death sustained in the course of employment are abolished other
    than rights and claims given by this chapter, provided nothing in this section
    shall prohibit any employee from securing, by agreement with his employer,
    additional compensation from his employer for the injury or from enforcing
    any agreement for additional compensation.’’
    Section 31-284 (a) has not substantively changed since the enactment of
    its predecessor in 1913. See Public Acts 1913, c. 138, codified at General
    Statutes (Rev. to 1918) § 5341. For convenience, we refer to both § 31-284
    (a) and its statutory predecessor as § 31-284 (a) throughout this opinion,
    and all references to the enactment of § 31-284 (a) are to the enactment of
    its predecessor in 1913.
    4
    After we transferred the appeal to this court, we granted permission to
    both parties to file supplemental briefs. In their supplemental briefs, the
    parties treat §§ 31-284 (a) and 52-556 as inconsistent with each other and
    disagree as to which of the two statutes applies in the present case. As we
    explain in the body of this opinion, we reject the premise of the parties’
    arguments that §§ 31-284 (a) and 52-556 are inconsistent with each other.
    5
    General Statutes (Rev. to 1983) § 4-165 provides in relevant part: ‘‘No
    state officer or employee shall be personally liable for damage or injury,
    not wanton or wilful, caused in the performance of his duties and within
    the scope of his employment. Any person having a complaint for such
    damage or injury shall present it as a claim against the state under the
    provisions of this chapter. . . .’’
    6
    We are unpersuaded by the plaintiff’s contention that, because § 52-556
    provides that any person who falls under the statutory waiver of immunity
    ‘‘shall’’ have a right of action against the state, the statute by necessity
    precludes the state from asserting any defense to its liability. The word
    ‘‘shall’’ in § 52-556, does not define a limit, or lack thereof, placed on the
    state’s ability to defend an action brought by a member of the class of
    persons to whom the waiver is granted. Instead, the word ‘‘shall’’ signifies
    that members of the defined class of persons ‘‘shall’’ have a right of action
    against the state. The word ‘‘shall’’ is an auxiliary verb that qualifies the
    meaning of the verb ‘‘to have,’’ by forming the verb phrase ‘‘shall have.’’
    Thus, the word ‘‘shall’’ indicates the mandatory nature of the waiver by
    stating that persons who fall within the ambit of the statute ‘‘shall have a
    right of action against the state . . . .’’ (Emphasis added.) General Statutes
    § 52-556.
    7
    We acknowledge that allowing the state to rely on the workers’ compen-
    sation exclusivity provision renders the waiver in § 52-556 inapplicable to
    state employees, including the plaintiff, as a practical matter. That result,
    however, strikes the proper balance between §§ 52-556 and 31-284 (a).