A federal judge in Connecticut has dismissed a suit against the law firm Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott brought by an evictee who sought to hold the firm liable for property lost in a foreclosure action.

U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant of the District of Connecticut ruled Wednesday that while state law establishes a procedure for the state marshal to store and sell an evictee's possessions, the law firm representing the foreclosing party is not obligated to ensure that procedure is followed.

“The ejectment statute does not impose any duty upon the mortgagee or its attorney in effectuating the ejectment. Here, defendant Eckert Seamans is the law firm that represented the original mortgagee, Accredited,” Bryant wrote. “Plaintiff has failed to show that Eckert Seamans owed him any duty to ensure that the ejectment comported with state law.”

Bryant ruled that for the same reasons, the plaintiff's claims for civil theft also should be dismissed. She noted that the “mere allegation” that Eckert Seamans removed the property fails to allege it “acted with the requisite intent” to deprive the plaintiff of his property.

The judge also ruled the claims by the plaintiff, Karl Paul Vossbrinck, were time-barred. Vossbrinck alleged he was ejected from his home and subsequently lost possession of home appliances and other articles worth more than $200,000 in October 2012. He did not file suit until Feb. 21, 2017, more than a year after the statute of limitations had run out, the judge said.

Vossbrinck “has not raised any equitable principles or stated any facts that would cause the court to find the statute of limitations should be tolled,” the judge wrote. “Therefore, even if Defendant Eckert Seamans could have been held liable for the ejectment, the claims would have been time-barred.”

The plaintiff alleged that when he was evicted, he left behind “photographs, a commercial range, a washing machine and dryer, a full kitchen in two downstairs guest apartments, and a wood burning stove,” according to the decision.

He alleged that some of the possessions were left on the premises, while others were removed by a state marshal. Ultimately, according to his complaint, they were listed for sale at a value of $363,600 by a person affiliated with Prudential Real Estate.

Vossbrinck is litigating the case pro se. In an email Thursday evening, he said he plans to file an amended complaint as permitted by Judge Bryant. “If that fails I will appeal,” he added.

Tracy Williams of Eckert Seamans' White Plains, New York, office, who filed the motion to dismiss for the firm, said she was not immediately able to comment.