MELICENT B. THOMPSON
received her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University in 1989, and her law degree, with honors, from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1996. In law school, Melicent was the Editor-in-Chief of the Connecticut Law Review, and received CALI Awards for Excellence in Statutory Interpretation and Constitutional Federalism.

Ms. Thompson also received the University of Connecticut Law School Foundation's Award for "Exceptional Achievement in Scholarship." Her experience includes general and insurance defense litigation, insurance coverage analyses and litigation, and commercial, environmental, and fair credit reporting litigation. She has presented at continuing education seminars on the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), and the Endangered Species Act. Prior to attending law school, Melicent worked as an environmental consultant in Washington D.C. and Connecticut, specializing in regulatory compliance and site auditing.

Melicent is a member of both the Connecticut and Georgia bars. Author: “Proper Claim Handling Makes All The Difference In Avoiding Exposure Under New York Law For Bad Faith Failure To Settle Within Policy Limits,” The National Forum For Environmental And Toxic Tort Issues ("FETTI") Winter 2005 Newsletter; Author: "Arbitrating Insurance Disputes In The Second Circuit: ‘Choice Of Law’ Provisions’ Affect On Federal Arbitration Act Preemption Of State Arbitration Laws," FETTI November newsletter; Co-author: "Congress Acts to Clarify Lender and Fiduciary Liability under CERCLA", Afire News, (November/December 1996).

Ms. Thompson and Thomas C. Clark, also of Litchfield Cavo, LLP, recently prevailed in a decision by the Connecticut Supreme Court in which they had sought a permanent injunction on behalf of the Cantonbury Heights Condominium Association to prevent the exercise of development rights by a successor declarant/developer. After the trial court granted the developer summary judgment, a unanimous Supreme Court reversed that decision, finding that the developer's rights had expired. The case represents one of the first interpretations of the rights of successor declarants under the Common Interest Ownership Act (CIOA). See Cantonbury Heights Condominium Assn. v. Local Land Development, LLC, 273 Conn. 724 (May 24, 2005).