Ames v. Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, (SC 16831).

• Citation: 839 A.2d 1250,267 Conn. 524
• Decision Date: 03 February 2004
• Docket Number: (SC 16831).
• Parties: ROXANN AMES v. COMMISSIONER OF MOTOR VEHICLES.
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court

267 Conn. 524

839 A.2d 1250

ROXANN AMES v. COMMISSIONER OF MOTOR VEHICLES.

(SC 16831).

Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Argued September 23, 2003.

Officially released February 3, 2004.

Sullivan, C. J., and Borden, Katz, Palmer and Vertefeuille, Js. Joanne S. Faulkner, for the appellant (plaintiff).

Gary M. Case, for the appellee (intervening defendant).

Opinion

PALMER, J.

Under General Statutes § 14-52,¹ an automobile dealer is required to furnish a surety bond in the amount of $20,000 as indemnity for any loss sustained by any person as a result of any acts of the dealer constituting grounds for the suspension or revocation of the dealer's license to sell or repair automobiles or as a result of such dealer's going out of business. The sole issue raised by this certified appeal is whether the Appellate Court properly concluded that a surety bond furnished in accordance with § 14-52 does not provide indemnity for that portion of a civil judgment against the dealer incorporating an award of attorney's fees or an award of punitive damages. We agree with the Appellate Court that attorney's fees and punitive damages fall outside of the indemnification provisions of § 14-52 and, therefore, affirm the judgment of the Appellate Court.

The following relevant facts and procedural history are set forth in the opinion of the Appellate Court. "The underlying event in this case involved the plaintiff [Roxann Ames] and A.P.L. Auto Consulting, Inc., also known as Discount Auto Sales, a used automobile dealer (dealer). In 1995, the plaintiff purchased a motor vehicle from the dealer. Over protest by the plaintiff, in 1997, the dealer repossessed the vehicle. As a result of the repossession, the plaintiff filed an action [in 1997] against the dealer, alleging, [inter alia], breach of contract and unfair trade practices in violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA), General Statutes § 42-110a et seq. The plaintiff demanded statutory, actual, punitive and treble damages. [In 1998] [t]he court rendered a default judgment in favor of the plaintiff after the dealer failed to appear and awarded damages in the amount of $20,286.40 plus costs of $280.60. The award included [treble damages pursuant to General Statutes § 52-564² and $1000 in attorney's fees under CUTPA].³

"Subsequently, the dealer went out of business and failed to pay the judgment. Pursuant to § 14-52, however, the dealer had obtained a surety bond for $20,000, which was issued by Western Surety [Company (Western Surety)].⁴ After the expiration of the 180 day waiting period of General Statutes § 52-400e,⁵ [the defendant, the commissioner of motor vehicles (commissioner)] invoked the surety bond on the plaintiff's behalf. The commissioner noted the court's prior award of damages, but found that the plaintiff [had] suffered actual damages of $5650, an amount consisting of her down payment, financing payment[s] and costs. The commissioner then concluded that the balance of the court's award of attorney's fees and punitive damages was not `recoverable under the subject bond,' as set forth in § 14-52, and thus ordered Western Surety to pay $5650 to the state of Connecticut for the benefit of the plaintiff.

"The plaintiff filed a petition for reconsideration, which the commissioner denied. The plaintiff then appealed to the Superior Court pursuant to General Statutes § 4-183.⁶ In affirming the decision of the commissioner, the [trial] court concluded that § 14-52 ... precludes an award of punitive damages and attorney's fees." Ames v. Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, 70 Conn. App. 790, 792-93, 802 A.2d 126 (2002).

The plaintiff appealed to the Appellate Court, which affirmed the judgment of the trial court. Id., 804. Specifically, the Appellate Court concluded that the term "any loss," as used in § 14-52 (b) (4), is "both generalized and ambiguous, and susceptible on its face to several different interpretations." Id., 798. The Appellate Court examined the legislative history and circumstances surrounding the enactment of the surety bond clause of § 14-52 (b), as well as its relationship to similar legislation, and concluded that the legislature did not intend for the term "any loss" to encompass attorney's fees and punitive damages. Id. In particular, the Appellate Court noted that the pertinent legislative history indicates an intent by the legislature to provide some, rather than complete, recourse for victims of fraudulent practices by motor vehicle dealers. Id., 798-99. The Appellate Court concluded that such recourse is limited to money that actually is owed to the consumer, and does not include any associated expenses or penalties. Id., 799-800. With regard to the plaintiff's claim for attorney's fees, the Appellate Court observed that, because Connecticut adheres to the "American rule," which precludes the recovery of attorney's fees in the absence of express statutory or contractual language providing for such fees; e.g., Rizzo Pool Co. v. Del Grosso, 240 Conn. 58, 72-73, 689 A.2d 1097 (1997); the absence of such language in § 14-52 was a factor that weighed heavily against the plaintiff's interpretation of that statutory provision. Ames v. Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, supra, 70 Conn. App. 800. Finally, the Appellate Court relied on the fact that a similar statute, namely, General Statutes § 14-176,⁷ which provides that a person seeking to obtain a certificate of title to a motor vehicle may be required to furnish a surety bond when title is in question, expressly authorizes the recovery of attorney's fees against the bond, thereby indicating that if the legislature also had intended for § 14-52 to encompass attorney's fees, the legislature would have said so explicitly as it did in § 14-176. Id., 800-801.

We granted the plaintiff's petition for certification to appeal, limited to the following question: "Did the Appellate Court properly conclude that, pursuant to General Statutes § 14-52, the plaintiff was not entitled to recover punitive damages and attorney's fees against the surety bond issued by ... Western Surety ... ?" Ames v. Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, 261 Conn. 923, 806 A.2d 1058 (2002). We answer the certified question in the affirmative.

We begin our review of the plaintiff's claim by noting that "the general purpose of a suretyship contract is to guard against loss in the event of the principal debtor's default.... [T]he obligation of a surety is an additional assurance to the one entitled to the performance of an act that the act will be performed.... [T]he liability of sureties is to be determined by the specified conditions of the bond .... [W]hen a bond is required by statute, a court will read the statute into the contract between the principal, surety and obligee." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Southington v. Commercial Union Ins. Co., 254 Conn. 348, 358-59, 757 A.2d 549 (2000).

Because this issue raises a question of statutory construction, our review is plenary. E.g., Thames Talent, Ltd. v. Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities, 265 Conn. 127, 135, 827 A.2d 659 (2003). As with all such questions, we look first to the language of the statute. Id. General Statutes § 14-52 (b) provides in relevant part that each applicant for a used car dealer's license shall furnish a surety bond in the amount of $20,000 "as indemnity for any loss sustained by any person by reason of ... such licensee going out of business...." The bond is to be executed in the name of the state for the benefit of any aggrieved party, and the commissioner shall determine, after a hearing, the amount to which that aggrieved party is entitled under the bond. See General Statutes § 14-52 (b) (4). The plaintiff asserts that she is entitled to recover not only actual damages but also punitive damages and attorney's fees under the bond. In support of her contention, she claims that the term "any loss" contained in § 14-52 (b) (4) "is an all encompassing term which contains no hint of an exception." We are not persuaded.

We agree with the Appellate Court that the term "any loss," as used in § 14-52 (b) (4), is facially susceptible to more than one interpretation. See Ames v. Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, supra, 70 Conn. App. 798. "In interpreting statutes that contain the word `any,' we have recognized that `any' can have a variety of meanings.... The word `any' can be used to denote `all,' `every,' `some' or `one.'" (Citations omitted.) Industrial Risk Insurers v. Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection & Ins. Co., 258 Conn. 101, 117, 779 A.2d 737 (2001). "Its meaning in a given statute depends upon the context and subject matter of the statute." Stamford Ridgeway Associates v. Board of Representatives, 214 Conn. 407, 428, 572 A.2d 951 (1990). Similarly, "`[l]oss' has been held synonymous with deprivation, detriment and injury.... It is a generic and relative term." (Citation omitted.) Hinchliffe v. American Motors Corp., 184 Conn. 607, 613, 440 A.2d 810 (1981). We therefore must look to the particular statutory context in which the term "any loss" is used.

"A fundamental tenet of statutory construction is that statutes are to be considered to give effect to the apparent intention of the lawmaking body." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Winchester Woods Associates v. Planning & Zoning Commission, 219 Conn. 303, 309, 592 A.2d 953 (1991). "The meaning of a statute shall, in the first instance, be ascertained from the text of the statute itself and its relationship to other statutes. If, after examining such text and considering such relationship, the meaning of such text is plain and unambiguous and does not yield absurd or unworkable results, extratextual evidence of the meaning of the statute shall not be considered." Public Acts 2003, No. 03-154, § 1. Inasmuch as § 14-52 is not "plain and unambiguous," we look to other factors relevant to our inquiry into its meaning, including the legislative history of the...