Hartford - The state's highest court on Friday sided with the town of Rocky Hill in a legal dispute, ruling a privately operated nursing facility for state prisoners, parolees and mental health clients should not be considered an arm of the state and therefore should be subject to local zoning restrictions and paying local property taxes.

The state Supreme Court, in an advance decision posted on the Judicial Branch's website, overturned a lower court decision that said iCare Management LLC and its subsidiaries are an arm of the state, given their contract with the state. The high court sent the case back to the lower court.

The court's decision sends a strong signal that such facilities should be subject to local property taxes and zoning regulations, said Kevin Maloney, a spokesman for the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, which filed a brief in support of Rocky Hill, located just south of Hartford. "The properties in question in Rocky Hill, those types of facilities could exist in many other communities, and that is one of the reasons why CCM got involved heavily in the case," Maloney said.

Friday's decision stems from a lawsuit filed by Rocky Hill in 2012 seeking a ruling that local zoning regulations prohibited such a nursing home from operating in a residential neighborhood. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss, saying they were entitled to sovereign immunity. A trial court judge agreed, and the facility was allowed to open.

- Associated Press