Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 51-197a (2026)

Appeals to Appellate Court. Writs. Transfer of jurisdiction from appellate session

✓ current as of May 2026

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(a) Appeals and writs of error from final judgments or actions of the Superior Court shall be taken to the Appellate Court in accordance with section 51-197c, except for small claims, which are not appealable, appeals as provided for in sections 8-8 and 8-9, and except as otherwise provided by statute.

(b) The Appellate Court may issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of its jurisdiction and agreeable to the usages and principles of law.

(c) All matters pending in the appellate session of the Superior Court on July 1, 1983, shall be construed as pending with the same status in the Appellate Court on said date.

(d) Notwithstanding subsection (c) of this section, the appellate session of the Superior Court shall continue to have jurisdiction over appeals which it heard prior to July 1, 1983, pursuant to the provisions which were applicable at such time.

(e) Except as otherwise provided in sections 2-40, 2-42, 7-143, 7-230, 8-8, 8-9, 8-132, 8-132a, 10-153e, 12-4, 13a-76, 31-109, 31-118, 31-249b, 31-272, 31-301b, 31-301c, 31-324, 31-491, 31-493, 38a-470, 46a-94, 46a-95, 46b-142, 46b-143, 46b-150c, 51-1a, 51-14, 51-49, 51-50j, 51-164x, 51-165, 51-197a, 51-197b, 51-197c, 51-197e, 51-197f, 51-201, 51-202, 51-203, 51-209, 51-210, 51-211, 51-213, 51-215a, 51-216a, 52-235, 52-257, 52-259, 52-263, 52-267, 52-405, 52-434, 52-434a, 52-470, 52-476, 52-477, 52-592, 54-63g, 54-95, 54-96, 54-96a, 54-96b and 54-143, all jurisdiction conferred upon and exercised by the appellate session prior to July 1, 1983, of the Superior Court shall be transferred to the Appellate Court.

(P.A. 76-436, S. 3, 681; P.A. 77-347, S. 6, 11; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-29, S. 3, 82; P.A. 87-338, S. 6, 11; P.A. 88-241, S. 8; P.A. 89-356, S. 6; P.A. 15-127, S. 4; P.A. 19-64, S. 9.)

History: P.A. 77-347 amended exception to include appeals within jurisdiction of appellate session of superior court as provided for within Sec. 51-197d, effective July 1, 1978, and effective through June 30, 1979; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-29 included reference to appellate court and added Subsecs. (b) to (e), inclusive, re issuance of writs and transfer of jurisdiction from appellate session to appellate court; P.A. 87-338 amended Subsec. (e) by deleting reference to Sec. 22a-182 for consistency with other statutory changes; P.A. 88-241 made no substantive changes; P.A. 89-356 amended Subsecs. (a) and (e) by deleting references to Secs. 8-28 and 8-30; (Revisor's note: In 1993, a reference to repealed Sec. 22a-182 was removed editorially by the Revisors); P.A. 15-127 deleted reference to Sec. 31-63, effective June 23, 2015; P.A. 19-64 amended Subsec. (a) by adding “and writs of error” and deleting “appeals within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court as provided for in section 51-199,” and amended Subsec. (e) by deleting reference to Sec. 51-199, effective January 1, 2020.

Cited. 186 C. 153. Case does not come within narrow confines of existing exceptions to the finality rule for appeal; exceptions discussed. 189 C. 92. Cited. Id., 92; Id., 101; 191 C. 27; Id., 506; 192 C. 653; 193 C. 612. Does not preclude court from entertaining a writ of error pursuant to Sec. 52-272 from the small claims division. 194 C. 43. Cited. Id., 245; Id., 347; Id., 650; 195 C. 226; Id., 276; Id., 303; 197 C. 82; Id., 87; 202 C. 86; 203 C. 317; 206 C. 542; 209 C. 52; 210 C. 110; 212 C. 741; 220 C. 162; 222 C. 211; 224 C. 749; 225 C. 102; 226 C. 230; 228 C. 106; Id., 630. Appellate Court's order was not a necessary or appropriate exercise of authority under section; judgment of Appellate Court in 31 CA 728 reversed in part. 229 C. 817. Cited. 242 C. 599. Trial court order precluding parties from filing any further motions regarding custody or visitation constitutes an appealable final judgment. 243 C. 380.

Cited. 1 CA 1; Id., 43; Id., 66; Id., 70; Id., 105; Id., 142; Id., 186; Id., 270; Id., 278; Id., 285; Id., 320; Id., 373; Id., 378; Id., 384; Id., 414; Id., 439; Id., 509; Id., 511; Id., 517; Id., 521; Id., 540; Id., 569; Id., 591; 2 CA 1; Id., 7; Id., 11; Id., 14; Id., 109; Id., 164; Id., 196; Id., 204; Id., 219; Id., 255; Id., 321; Id., 384; Id., 595; Id., 628; Id., 689; 3 CA 24; Id., 47; Id., 51; Id., 80; Id., 97; Id., 157; Id., 158; Id., 162; Id., 166; Id., 179; Id., 181; Id., 201; Id., 212; Id., 235; Id., 240; Id., 264; Id., 306; Id., 370; Id., 392; Id., 404; Id., 410; Id., 416; Id., 421; Id., 432; Id., 471; Id., 496; Id., 530; Id., 550; Id., 587; Id., 627; Id., 707; 4 CA 24; Id., 67; Id., 68; Id., 106; Id., 143; Id., 209; Id., 226; 5 CA 170; Id., 244; 9 CA 93; 20 CA 23; Id., 470; 22 CA 73; 25 CA 28; 26 CA 322; 29 CA 716; 33 CA 99; Id., 702; 35 CA 9; 36 CA 49; Id., 138; 37 CA 269; 40 CA 446; Id., 613; 41 CA 1; Id., 747. Court's temporary order to determine joint custody dispute over which school a child would attend was not a final judgment and was therefore not immediately appealable. 75 CA 279. Writ of error is the proper avenue to obtain review of a small claims matter where the trial court awards counterclaim damages above the jurisdictional money limit in Sec. 51-15. 140 CA 514. Imposition of sanctions against non-party attorney for failing to immediately produce phone records of defendant's employer was final action allowing attorney to pursue writ of error before appellate court because sanctions concluded a distinct and separate proceeding and were unrelated to prosecution of underlying personal injury action. 195 CA 131.

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Notes of Decisions

Cited in 146 cases (8 in the last 5 years), 1982–2024 · leading case: Cannavo Enter., Inc. v. Burns, 478 A.2d 601 (Conn. 1984).

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Cannavo Enter., Inc. v. Burns, 478 A.2d 601 (Conn. 1984). · cites it 6× “Our jurisdiction is arguably impaired because (1) the defendant may not be sufficiently aggrieved by a default judgment to be entitled to bring a writ of error; and (2) the defendant may be precluded from bringing the writ of error by the language of General Statutes § 51-197a,…”

Nat'l Elevator Indus. Pension, Welfare & Educ. Funds v. Scrivani, 644 A.2d 327 (Conn. 1994). · cites it 9× “The Appellate Court, after reversing a judgment, has the authority under General Statutes § 51-197a 7 to fashion a remand that is reasonably necessary or appropriate to facilitate its judgment.”

Steadwell v. Warden, Connecticut Corr. Inst., Somers, 439 A.2d 1078 (Conn. 1982). · cites it 8× “" General Statutes § 51-197a. General Statutes § 51-197b, as amended to 1980, provides that appeals from a trial court's *156 review of an administrative decision shall be taken to this court only by certification for review.”

Orselet v. DeMatteo, 539 A.2d 95 (Conn. 1988). · cites it 4× “On the present record, it is not unreasonable to attribute the filing of multiple suits to the lack of communication between the insured and the insurer rather than to the failure of the defendants to move to consolidate the multiplicitous suits.”

State v. Malcolm, 778 A.2d 134 (Conn. 2001). · cites it 4× “It is well settled that “[t]his court’s jurisdiction is limited by statute to appeals from final judgments; General Statutes §§ 51-197a, 52-263; 1 and [that] accordingly we have no discretion to enlarge our jurisdiction in abrogation of the final judgment rul e.”

McKeon v. Lennon, 27 A.3d 436 (Conn. App. Ct. 2011). · cites it 4× “General Statutes §§ 51-197a and 52-263; Practice Book § 61-1.”

In re Juv. Appeal (85-AB), 488 A.2d 778 (Conn. 1985). · cites it 4× “2 *306 We do not reach the issue raised because we have concluded that the transfer order appealed from was not a final judgment and that we, accordingly, lack jurisdiction. In exercising its constitutional authority to define the jurisdiction of the courts, the legislature has…”

State v. Spendolini, 454 A.2d 720 (Conn. 1983). · cites it 4× “Although at an earlier stage of these proceedings we denied the state's motion to dismiss the appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, the state has nevertheless pursued the jurisdictional issue in its brief.”

Smith v. Plan. & Zoning Bd. of Milford, 524 A.2d 1128 (Conn. 1987). · cites it 2× “The matter was subsequently removed to the Appellate Court under General Statutes § 51-197a (c). The facts have been stated on the basis of the record of the pleadings, the trial court’s memorandum of decision and the parties’ admissions.”

Wolfork v. Yale Med. Grp., 335 Conn. 448 (Conn. 2020). · cites it 2× “I As a threshold matter, we address whether the trial court’s order granting Pisani’s motion to open and vacate the judgment is an appealable final judgment.”

Mazurek v. Great Am. Ins., 930 A.2d 682 (Conn. 2007). · cites it 2× ““The lack of a final judgment implicates the subject matter jurisdiction of an appellate court to hear an appeal. A determination regarding .”

Bridgeport Bowl-O-Rama, Inc. v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals, 487 A.2d 559 (Conn. 1985). · cites it 2× “…Superior Court have been transferred to the Appellate Court by Public Acts, Spec. Sess., June, 1983, No. 83-29, § 3; General Statutes § 51-197a.”

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