As an attorney, I’m always worried about a conflict of interest but not in this case.
Yesterday, I picked up the Connecticut Law Tribune and saw a case that I briefed and argued had made its way into the Connecticut Law Reporter.
I had a personal interest in this case: coffee.
I was fighting for both my client and my dream of being able to run on Dunkin.
The case is JZ Inc. v. Planning and Zoning Commission of The Town of East Hartford, 2008 WL 437833 (Rittenband J.) in which Judge Rittenband ruled that the Planning and Zoning Commission of the Town of East Hartford acted “unreasonably, arbitrarily, and in abuse of its discretion” when it denied my client’s application for a special permit to open a Dunkin Donuts with a drive thru.
I was excited when I first read the opinion when it was mailed to me by the court. Not only had I won the case but now my client could build a Dunkin Donuts with a drive thru within walking distance to my office. I could practically smell the coffee and taste the turkey sausage flatbread sandwiches.
That excitement was short lived.
On the last day of the appeal period, I received the Town’s Petition for Certification to appeal Judge Rittenband’s ruling.
After all, I think Judge Rittenband got it right.
Now I’ll have to wait and see if the Appellate Court grants certification before I can get my coffee.