Gancsos v. Israel

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Gancsos v. Israel

MARK GANCSOS v. LIOR ISRAEL ET AL.
(AC 47692)
Alvord, Clark and Lavine, Js.

Syllabus

The defendant property owners appealed from the trial court’s judgment for
the plaintiff, an abutting property owner, in connection with the defendants’
trespass and breach of contract involving a shared easement area. The
defendants claimed, inter alia, that the court improperly found that they
had trespassed on the plaintiff’s property. Held:

The trial court’s conclusion that the defendants trespassed on the plaintiff’s
property was not clearly erroneous, as the court’s finding that the plaintiff
possessed the disputed area where he had installed a fence had support in
the record and this court was not left with a definite and firm conviction
that a mistake had been committed.

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in ordering injunctive relief for
the plaintiff, namely, that the defendants restore the easement area to its
prior condition by removing certain curbing and stone walls they had
installed, because the plaintiff, as an owner of the easement who had been
disturbed in the exercise of his right of access to his property, was permitted
to enforce his covenant by injunction without a showing that violation of
the covenant will cause him harm, so long as such relief was not inequitable.

Argued April 21—officially released July 8, 2025

Procedural History

Action to recover damages for, inter alia, trespass,
and for other relief, brought to the Superior Court in
the judicial district of New Haven and tried to the court,
Frechette, J.; judgment for the plaintiff, from which the
defendants appealed to this court. Affirmed.
David L. Weiss, for the appellants (defendants).
David V. DeRosa, for the appellee (plaintiff).

Opinion

ALVORD, J. This appeal arises from a dispute
between owners of abutting properties located in
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Cheshire. The defendants, Lior Israel and Perla Israel,1
appeal from the judgment of the trial court rendered
in favor of the plaintiff, Mark Gancsos, in the plaintiff’s
action alleging trespass and breach of contract. On
appeal, the defendants claim that the trial court improp-
erly (1) found that the defendants trespassed on the
plaintiff’s property and (2) ordered injunctive relief. We
affirm the judgment of the trial court.
The following facts, as found by the trial court, and
procedural history are relevant to our resolution of this
appeal. The plaintiff and the defendants own abutting
properties in Cheshire. The plaintiff acquired title to
and has resided with his wife, children, and mother at
the property located at 780 Bethany Mountain Road
(plaintiff’s property) since 2019. The defendants
acquired title to and have resided at the property located
at 776 Bethany Mountain Road (defendants’ property)
since 2022.
The two properties, as well as a property at 770 Beth-
any Mountain Road (neighboring property), share a
common driveway (driveway). The driveway is located
on the defendants’ property, but the driveway is subject
to an easement and a private access maintenance agree-
ment (agreement) governs the use of the easement. The
agreement, which was recorded on the Cheshire land
records in February, 2019, allows the owners of the
plaintiff’s property and the neighboring property to use
the portion of the defendants’ property that is subject
to the easement (easement area) ‘‘as a driveway for
ingress and egress to and from the public highway
known as Bethany Mountain Road, Cheshire, Connecti-
cut, as well as for the installation, maintenance, repair
and replacement of utility service, including but not
1
In the interest of simplicity, we refer to Lior Israel and Perla Israel
individually by their first names. We refer to Lior and Perla collectively as
the defendants.
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Gancsos v. Israel

limited to a ‘CL&P Easement’ . . . .’’ The agreement
further provides that ‘‘no building, structure, or other
permanent improvement or obstruction shall be located
upon the . . . [e]asement [a]rea,’’ and that, ‘‘[i]n the
event any owner of [the] lots fail[s] to agree when
repairs to [the easement area] are necessary (example:
repaving or re-graveling), the majority vote of said lot
owners shall control as to whether the repairs shall
be made.’’
In late 2019, the plaintiff constructed a fence near
the boundary line between the plaintiff’s property and
the easement area. Following the installation of the
fence, the defendants purchased the property subject
to the easement. After acquiring title to the property
subject to the easement, the defendants met with the
neighboring property owners who were permitted to
use the easement under the terms of the agreement.
The defendants wanted to discuss their desire to pro-
ceed with construction projects within the easement
area. The neighboring property owners did not consent
to the defendants’ proposals and indicated that the
defendants’ proposed projects were largely if not
entirely prohibited by the agreement. Despite the lack of
consent, the defendants proceeded to construct stone
walls, pave the driveway, and install curbing in the
easement area during the winter and spring of 2023.
In the course of those activities in March, 2023, the
defendants removed the plaintiff’s fence. Stone walls
and curbing now inhibit access to the rear portion of
the plaintiff’s property.
In April, 2023, the plaintiff commenced the present
action. The complaint alleged in count one that the
defendants committed trespass by wilfully and inten-
tionally causing the removal of the plaintiff’s fence,
thereby causing damage to the plaintiff, and in count
two that the defendants breached the terms of the agree-
ment by installing the stone walls and curbing within
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the easement area, without the consent of the parties
to the agreement and preventing access to the rear
of the plaintiff’s property. In both counts, the plaintiff
sought permanent injunctive relief. The defendants filed
a joint answer and special defenses to the complaint.
Following a trial to the court, Frechette, J., the trial
court issued a memorandum of decision in May, 2024,
rendering judgment in favor of the plaintiff on both
counts of the complaint. The court concluded that
‘‘[j]udgment shall enter in favor of the plaintiff in the
amount of $45,400, which includes awards for property
damage of $10,400 and annoyance and discomfort dam-
ages of $35,000; in addition to an award of reasonable
attorney’s fees, the amount of which shall be deter-
mined following a hearing addressing same. Addition-
ally, the defendants are ordered to restore the easement
area to its prior condition . . . by removing the curbing
and stone walls they installed in the easement area,
near the rear of the plaintiff’s property . . . . The
removal of such curbing and the stone walls shall occur
within forty-five (45) days of the issuance of this deci-
sion.’’ This appeal followed. Additional facts will be set
forth as necessary.
I
The defendants first claim on appeal that the court
erred in determining that the plaintiff sustained his bur-
den of proving that the defendants trespassed on the
plaintiff’s property when they ordered the removal of
the plaintiff’s fence. Specifically, the defendants con-
tend that the trial court improperly found that the plain-
tiff’s fence was located on the plaintiff’s property, as
the defendants maintain that the fence was located in
the easement area. We disagree.
We begin by setting forth the standard of review and
fundamental principles of law governing the defen-
dants’ claim. ‘‘Our review of questions of fact is limited
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to the determination of whether the findings were
clearly erroneous. . . . The trial court’s findings are
binding upon this court unless they are clearly errone-
ous in light of the evidence and the pleadings in the
record as a whole. . . . We cannot retry the facts or
pass on the credibility of the witnesses.’’ (Internal quo-
tation marks omitted.) Wilcox v. Ferraina, 100 Conn.
App. 541, 549–50, 920 A.2d 316 (2007). ‘‘A finding of
fact is clearly erroneous when there is no evidence in
the record to support it . . . or when although there
is evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the
entire evidence is left with the definite and firm convic-
tion that a mistake has been committed. . . . Because
it is the trial court’s function to weigh the evidence and
determine credibility, we give great deference to its
findings.’’ (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Gaughan
v. Higgins, 186 Conn. App. 618, 626, 200 A.3d 1161
(2018), cert. denied, 330 Conn. 968, 200 A.3d 188 (2019),
and cert. denied, 330 Conn. 968, 200 A.3d 699 (2019).
‘‘It is well established that [t]he essentials of an action
for trespass are: (1) ownership or possessory interest
in land by the plaintiff; (2) invasion, intrusion or entry
by the defendant affecting the plaintiff’s exclusive pos-
sessory interest; (3) done intentionally; and (4) causing
direct injury.’’ (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id.,
629. ‘‘[S]ince trespass is a possessory action, it is incum-
bent on the plaintiff to prove possession, actual or con-
structive, in order to prevail. . . . Actual possession
requires the plaintiff to demonstrate his exclusive pos-
session and control of the land; constructive possession
requires proof that the plaintiff was the owner of the
land and that no one else had possession.’’ (Citation
omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Boyne v.
Glastonbury, 110 Conn. App. 591, 601, 955 A.2d 645,
cert. denied, 289 Conn. 947, 959 A.2d 1011 (2008).
The following additional facts are relevant to the
defendants’ claim. After the plaintiff acquired his prop-
erty in 2019, Shaun Slocum, the previous owner of the
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defendants’ property, hired a licensed land surveying
firm to stake the property line shared between the plain-
tiff’s property and his own property. The plaintiff testi-
fied that Slocum ordered the survey ‘‘[w]hen he was
making preparations to sell his property.’’ The land sur-
veying firm designated the property line with markers
connected by string.
While the markers and string remained in place, the
plaintiff hired a contractor to construct a fence along
a portion of the marked property line, within his own
property. The plaintiff entered into evidence a photo-
graph of the rear portion of the plaintiff’s property
showing the staked boundary line and the installation of
posts to be used in building the fence. The photograph
illustrates that the position of the fence, as per the
boundary staking, was within the plaintiff’s property.
The fence was completed around November, 2019. At
the time, Slocum did not dispute the location of the
fence. Evidence presented at trial, including testimony
that Slocum ‘‘passed up and down the driveway multiple
times a day,’’ indicated that Slocum was aware of the
fence’s location. The fence was intact when the defen-
dants acquired title to their property in April, 2022.
In February, 2023, Lior contacted a licensed surveyor,
Kevin Crowley,2 who provided Lior with a map that
was recorded on the Cheshire Land Records. The map
indicated the boundary line of the plaintiff’s property,
the defendants’ property, and the easement area. Lior
did not contract with a licensed surveyor to conduct a
survey. On or about February 21, 2023, the plaintiff
received a letter from the defendants. In the letter, the
defendants claimed, inter alia, that the plaintiff ‘‘con-
structed a fence within the easement area along the
2
The defendants did not call Crowley as a witness; the plaintiff discovered
that Lior had hired Crowley, and the plaintiff called Crowley as a witness
at trial.
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driveway’’; ‘‘demand[ed] that [the plaintiff] remove said
fence immediately and refrain from the construction of
any permanent improvement or structure within the
easement area’’; and stated that, ‘‘[i]n the event that
[the plaintiff] does not remove the fence within fifteen
(15) days from the date of this correspondence, [the
defendants] will initiate legal action to compel its
removal.’’

The plaintiff did not remove the fence. The defen-
dants did not commence litigation. Instead, on March
17, 2023, the defendants directed employees of Lior
Excavating, LLC (Lior Excavating), to remove a portion
of the plaintiff’s fence. Without notifying the plaintiff,
Lior and Lior Excavating entered the area where the
fence was located and started dismantling the fence
with power tools and an excavator. At this time, the
plaintiff stated to Lior that the fence was located on
the plaintiff’s property. The plaintiff asked that Lior and
Lior Excavating stop removing the fence and called the
police, who, upon arrival, recommended to Lior that
he cease removal of the fence until a survey could be
performed.3 Ignoring that advice, Lior and Lior Excavat-
ing continued removing the fence until the portion of
3
‘‘One of the responding officers stated to [Lior]: ‘[T]he easiest person to
talk this with would be a surveyor. Whether he [i.e., the plaintiff] pays for
it, you pay for it. It would be good, it would be fast. Listen, it would be
best if work ceases until he can get one out here . . . . [J]ust know that
if discovery of this come and say, ‘‘Hey, this was actually in his property.’’
You’re going to put all that back for him,’ to which [Lior] responded: ‘I don’t
care.’ . . . The other responding officer stated to [Lior]: ‘[I]f you happen
to be wrong and you’re messing with people’s property, you’re going to be
held liable for that. That’s what they do,’ to which [Lior] responded: ‘I
understand.’ . . . Moreover, during this time, the plaintiff stated to [Lior]:
‘I’m going to tell you in the presence of these officers, if you’re taking this
[fence] down, I’m going to sue for damages. Let’s resolve this with a survey.
If you keep taking this down, it’s going to get worse,’ to which [Lior]
responded that he would pay damages if he was wrong: ‘If he [i.e., the
plaintiff] says, and he can prove that this is his property, he can sue me.
[I’ll] pay whatever it is.’ ’’ (Citations omitted.)
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the fence that the defendants believed encroached into
the easement area was completely taken down.
On April 6, 2023, two days after the present action
commenced, Lior returned to the area and directed
Lior Excavating to use heavy machinery and shovels
to conceal the fence post holes. Around April 18, 2023,
the plaintiff hired a licensed surveyor, Douglas Lind-
quist, to stake the property line between the plaintiff’s
and the defendants’ properties and to determine the
location of the fence that had been removed by Lior
Excavating. Lindquist was unable to determine the
fence’s location due to Lior Excavating’s concealment
of the fence post holes with earth moving equipment.
The court concluded ‘‘that the plaintiff held an exclu-
sive ownership interest in the disputed area at the time
the defendants and/or those ordered by the defendants
entered the disputed area and removed the plaintiff’s
fence.’’ ‘‘The court notes that there is no dispute that
the plaintiff is the owner of the property located at 780
Bethany Mountain Road . . . . The court credits the
plaintiff’s testimony that shortly after he acquired title
to the 780 Bethany Mountain Road property in 2019—
over two years before the defendants acquired title to
the 776 Bethany Mountain Road property—the prior
and then owner of the defendants’ property, [Slocum],
hired a licensed civil engineering and land surveying
firm to stake the boundary of the 776 Bethany Mountain
Road property in anticipation of selling the property.
Moreover, the court credits the plaintiff’s testimony that
in 2019 he hired a contractor to construct a fence to
enclose the rear of his property, which abuts the 776
Bethany Mountain Road property and the easement
area; that the plaintiff instructed the contractor to wait
until the surveying firm hired by [Slocum] completed
staking the boundary of the 776 Bethany Mountain Road
property before beginning constructing the fence; that
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in accordance with the plaintiff’s instruction, the con-
tractor constructed the fence only after the boundary
staking was complete; and that the contactor relied on
such professional boundary staking to ensure that the
fence was built entirely on the plaintiff’s property. The
plaintiff’s exhibits . . . confirm the plaintiff’s testi-
mony that the fence at issue was built on the plaintiff’s
property, as [one exhibit] is a picture capturing a
moment during the early stages of the fence’s construc-
tion, and illustrating that the fence was built on [the]
side of the boundary staking delineating the plaintiff’s
property; and [two other exhibits] are certain surveyors’
maps indicating the boundary lines of the plaintiff’s
property, the defendants’ property, and the location of
the easement area. Additionally, it is telling to the court
that the plaintiff’s fence was erected before the defen-
dants purchased their property and was seen by and
tacitly approved by the defendants’ predecessor in title,
[Slocum]. Further, the court draws an adverse inference
against the defendants as a result of their spoliation of
evidence by removing the plaintiff’s fence and then
obscuring the area where the fence once stood by cov-
ering the area with earth. . . . Furthermore, the court
notes that the defendant, Lior Israel, admitted at trial
that, while he had spoken with a licensed surveyor,
Kevin Crowley, he did not engage the services of [Crow-
ley], or any other licensed surveyor, for the purpose of
having a survey conducted or to discern whether the
plaintiff’s fence was located on the defendants’ property
or in the easement area. The court finds Lior Israel’s
personally performed, amateur attempt at determining
the property lines as well as his testimony concerning
whether the plaintiff’s fence was built in the easement
area to be self-serving and not credible. [Lior] is not a
licensed surveyor. Moreover, [Crowley], who is a
licensed surveyor, and who was called as a witness by
the plaintiff, credibly testified at trial that for a land
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survey to be reliable, it would need to be performed
by or under the supervision [of] a licensed surveyor—
neither of which apply to what occurred here.’’ (Citation
omitted; emphasis omitted; footnotes omitted.)
On appeal, the defendants argue that ‘‘the weight of
the evidence presented at trial clearly showed that the
fence and garden fence enclosure constructed by the
plaintiff encroached approximately three feet onto the
defendants’ property and [easement area].’’ The defen-
dants do not challenge the trial court’s findings as to
the evidence supporting the plaintiff’s proof of all the
other elements of trespass.
After a thorough review of the record, we are not
left with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake
has been committed by the trial court regarding the
location of the fence and thus we agree with the court’s
finding that the plaintiff possessed the disputed area.
The defendants contend that the court’s reliance on the
plaintiff’s testimony with respect to Slocum’s survey
of the property boundary was improper because the
plaintiff did not hire his own surveyor prior to installing
his fence. We disagree with this contention, however,
because the question of the credibility of the plaintiff
and the weight to assign his testimony was one for
the trier of fact, not this court. See, e.g., Gaughan v.
Higgins, supra, 186 Conn. App. 626. Because the court’s
finding as to the location of the fence has support in
the record and we are not left with a definite and firm
conviction that a mistake has been committed, it is not
clearly erroneous. Accordingly, we conclude that the
court’s conclusion that the defendants trespassed on
the plaintiff’s property is not clearly erroneous.
II
The defendants also claim that the court erred in
issuing a permanent injunction with respect to the plain-
tiff’s breach of contract claim. Specifically, the defen-
dants assert that the plaintiff failed to establish the
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legal requirements necessary for the court to order the
injunctive relief of removal of the curbing and stone
walls installed by the defendants near the rear of the
plaintiff’s property. We disagree.
We begin with our standard of review and relevant
legal principles. ‘‘The granting of an injunction rests
within the sound discretion of the trial court and [i]n
exercising its discretion, the court . . . may consider
and balance the injury complained of with that which
will result from interference by injunction. . . . The
relief granted must be compatible with the equities of
the case. . . . The action of the trial court will not be
disturbed unless it constitutes an abuse of discretion.’’
(Internal quotation marks omitted.) Waterbury v. Phoe-
nix Soil, LLC, 128 Conn. App. 619, 627–28, 20 A.3d
1 (2011).
A covenant ‘‘may be enforced by injunction without
a showing that violation of the covenant will cause
harm to the plaintiff, so long as such relief is not inequi-
table. . . . It is well settled that the owner of an ease-
ment is entitled to relief upon a showing that he will
be disturbed or obstructed in the exercise of his right.’’
(Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.)
Expressway Associates II v. Friendly Ice Cream Corp.
of Connecticut, 22 Conn. App. 124, 130, 576 A.2d 575
(1990), rev’d in part on other grounds, 218 Conn. 474,
590 A.2d 431 (1991); see also Hartford Electric Light
Co. v. Levitz, 173 Conn. 15, 22, 376 A.2d 381 (1977);
Waterbury v. Phoenix Soil, LLC, supra, 128 Conn. App.
628 n.7.
The following facts are relevant to the defendants’
claim. In January, 2019, the agreement was executed
by and entered between the predecessors in title to the
plaintiff’s property, the defendants’ property, and the
neighboring property. As successors in title, the plain-
tiff, the defendants, and the neighboring property own-
ers (collectively, current lot owners) are subject to the
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terms and conditions of the agreement. The agreement
provides the following relevant background informa-
tion: ‘‘[T]he parties are desirous of entering into an
Agreement binding their heirs, successors, and assigns
of the parties hereto for the maintenance and repair of
said easement area’’ and ‘‘a portion of said Lot 2 [has]
been used, and continues to be used, by the owners of
said Lot 1 and Lot 3 as a driveway for ingress and egress
to and from the public highway known as Bethany
Mountain Road . . . as well as for the installation,
maintenance, repair and replacement of utility service,
including but not limited to a ‘CL&P Easement’ as
shown on said map . . . .’’4
The following paragraphs of the agreement are rele-
vant to the defendants’ claim. Paragraph 2 provides:
‘‘In the event any owner of said lots fail to agree when
repairs to [the easement area] are necessary (example:
repaving or re-graveling), the majority vote of said lot
owners shall control as to whether the repairs shall be
made. Any owner or owners of any one (1) lot shall
constitute one (1) vote.’’ Paragraph 5 provides in rele-
vant part: ‘‘The Parties agree that no building, structure
or other permanent improvement or obstruction shall
be located upon the above described Easement Area.
. . . As used herein, a driveway and/or utility services
shall not be considered to be permanent improvements
or obstructions and the parties reserve the right to
maintain, repair, replace, [relocate] and improve the
said driveway and utility services.’’ Paragraph 11 pro-
vides in relevant part: ‘‘This Agreement and the condi-
tions herein contained shall be deemed covenants run-
ning with the land and shall inure to the benefit and
be binding upon the now and future owners of said lots
4
The map displays the following: Lot 1, the plaintiff’s property at 780
Bethany Mountain Road; Lot 2, the defendants’ property at 776 Bethany
Mountain Road; Lot 3, the neighboring property at 770 Bethany Mountain
Road; and a Private Accessway, the easement area at issue.
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and their respective heirs, legal representative, succes-
sors and assigns of all subsequent owners of said
lots . . . .’’
The current lot owners held two meetings in 2022 to
discuss the properties and easement area. During both
meetings, the defendants asserted their desire to, inter
alia, complete certain construction projects, including
building stone walls and installing curbing, within the
easement area. The owners of the other lots did not
consent to those proposed construction projects; the
defendants did not obtain a majority vote of lot owners
in favor of commencing those projects. However, at the
beginning of 2023, the defendants engaged in several
construction projects in the easement area. In January,
2023, the defendants constructed stone walls in the
easement area. The defendants then paved a driveway
in the easement area in March, 2023, and installed con-
crete curbing in the easement area on both sides of
that driveway in April, 2023.
The stone walls and curbing installed toward the rear
of the plaintiff’s property inhibit access to that portion
of the plaintiff’s property. Specifically, those installa-
tions keep the plaintiff and others, including tradesmen,
from entering the plaintiff’s property from the easement
area to perform work. Furthermore, the plaintiff will
be required to relocate propane lines should the curbing
remain.
The court found that ‘‘[i]t is undisputed that there
exists a tract of land located on the defendants’ property
that is subject to an easement that provides certain
privileges to the owners of the 770 and 780 Bethany
Mountain Road properties. . . . The privilege at issue
here is the plaintiff’s right, as the owner of the 780
Bethany Mountain Road property, to use that portion
of the defendants’ property that is subject to the ease-
ment for purposes of ingress and egress as well as for
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the installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement
of utility services. . . .
‘‘From the evidence submitted at trial, and taking into
account the court’s evaluation of the credibility of the
witnesses, the court concludes that the plaintiff has
met his burden of proof and is therefore entitled to
the permanent injunctive relief he seeks against the
defendants, insofar as he seeks the removal of the curb-
ing and the stone walls at issue near the rear of his
property. . . . [T]he curbing and stone walls installed
in the easement area by the defendants constitute per-
manent improvements, and, thus, the defendants vio-
lated the accessway agreement by installing such. More-
over, even if the curbing and stone walls constitute
repairs, the defendants will have violated the accessway
agreement by installing such because the defendants
made such repairs without having first obtained a
majority vote of the lot owners in favor of making the
repairs. Further . . . the plaintiff testified, and it is
hereby found, that the stone walls and curbing installed
by the defendants in the easement area near the rear
of the plaintiff’s property has and will continue to inhibit
the plaintiff and others, including tradesmen, such as
repair and maintenance, who have, in the past, entered
the plaintiff’s property from the easement area, from
accessing the rear of the plaintiff’s property . . . and
further that, if the curbing remains, it will require the
plaintiff to relocate propane lines from the rear of his
property closer to his driveway. The court notes that
the paved driveway is in place and is not affected by
this injunction, nor are the stone walls constructed near
the entrance to the parties’ shared driveway.’’ (Citations
omitted.)
In support of their claim, the defendants argue that
the plaintiff ‘‘failed to present any evidence at trial nec-
essary to establish that he will suffer irreparable harm
which cannot be compensated by an adequate remedy
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at law, namely, money damages’’; ‘‘failed to allege suffi-
cient facts at trial to even establish that he has been
harmed in any way in that the plaintiff has had access
over the [easement area] to and from the private drive-
way on his property at all times during the performance
of the curb installation and/or stone walls by the defen-
dants’’; and ‘‘reconstructed a permanent fence along the
entire northerly property line of the [plaintiff’s property]
adjacent to the [easement area] during the pendency of
this case which precluded any access to the [plaintiff’s
property] from the [easement area] along the northerly
property line of the [plaintiff’s property].’’
We conclude that the court did not abuse its discre-
tion in ordering the defendants to restore the easement
area to its prior condition by removing the curbing and
stone walls installed in the easement area. Although
the defendants argue that the plaintiff failed to show
irreparable harm and lack of an adequate remedy at
law, the defendants do not dispute the court’s findings
with respect to the terms of the parties’ agreement. The
court, hearing all the evidence, ‘‘conclude[d] that the
plaintiff has sustained his burden of proving that the
defendants breach[ed] the [agreement].’’ Because the
plaintiff is an owner of the easement and has been
disturbed in the exercise of his right,5 his covenant
‘‘may be enforced by injunction without a showing that
violation of the covenant will cause harm to the plaintiff,
so long as such relief is not inequitable.’’6 (Internal quo-
tation marks omitted.) Expressway Associates II v.
5
The agreement provides the following right: access to the rear of the
plaintiff’s property by utility services and owners of the plaintiff’s property.
As the trial court found, the curbing and stone walls installed in the easement
area, near the rear portion of the plaintiff’s property, disturb the plaintiff’s
exercise of this right by inhibiting such access.
6
The defendants also contend that ‘‘[t]he equities of this case simply do
not tip in favor of the plaintiff’’ and that ‘‘[t]he cost to the defendants of
removing the curbing in the [easement area] would be considerable . . . .’’
However, the defendants’ brief lacks any relevant analysis on this subject,
and we accordingly conclude that the defendants’ argument is inadequately
briefed and decline to consider it. ‘‘We repeatedly have stated that [w]e are
0, 0 CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL Page 15

0 Conn. App. 1 ,0 17
Gancsos v. Israel

Friendly Ice Cream Corp. of Connecticut, supra, 22
Conn. App. 130. On the basis of the foregoing, we con-
clude that the court did not abuse its discretion in
ordering injunctive relief in favor of the plaintiff.
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.

not required to review issues that have been improperly presented to this
court through an inadequate brief. . . . Analysis, rather than mere abstract
assertion, is required in order to avoid abandoning an issue by failure to
brief the issue properly. . . . [F]or this court judiciously and efficiently to
consider claims of error raised on appeal . . . the parties must clearly and
fully set forth their arguments in their briefs. . . . The parties may not
merely cite a legal principle without analyzing the relationship between the
facts of the case and the law cited.’’ (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
Hamer v. Byrne, 231 Conn. App. 53, 64 n.3, 333 A.3d 158, cert. denied, 351
Conn. 930, 334 A.3d 482 (2025), and cert. denied, 351 Conn. 930, 334 A.3d
483 (2025).