Benistar Emp'r Servs. Trust Co. v. Benincasa, AC 40081
Decision Date | 23 April 2019 |
Docket Number | AC 40081 |
Citation | 189 Conn.App. 304,207 A.3d 67 |
Court | Connecticut Court of Appeals |
Parties | BENISTAR EMPLOYER SERVICES TRUST COMPANY et al. v. James J. BENINCASA et al. |
Daniel J. Krisch, Hartford, with whom were Logan A. Carducci, Hartford, and, on the brief, Daniel P. Scapellati, Hartford, for the appellants (plaintiffs).
Mark J. Kallenbach, pro hac vice, with whom was Jerome Patger, for the appellees (defendants).
Lavine, Alvord and Prescott, Js.
The plaintiffs, Benistar Employer Services Trust Company (BESTCO) and Benistar Admin Services, Inc. (BASI), appeal from the judgment of the trial court denying their application to vacate and granting a motion to confirm an arbitration award in favor of the defendants, James J. Benincasa and Jody L. Benincasa. On appeal, the plaintiffs claim that the court improperly denied the application to vacate the arbitration award because the award was (1) not timely issued, (2) predicated on a manifest disregard of the law, (3) not mutual, final and definite, and (4) in violation of public policy. We disagree and affirm the judgment of the trial court.
The following undisputed facts, as found by the trial court, and procedural history are relevant to this appeal. "The dispute which brought the parties to arbitration involved the purchase of two $ 16 million individual whole life insurance policies on the lives of the [defendants], who were the president and vice president, respectively, and sole owners of [Mortgages Unlimited, Inc. (MUI) ], an S corporation. The policies were purchased by the Benistar 419 Plan and Trust (plan), a multiple employer welfare benefit plan. The funding for the purchase of the policies came from MUI's participation in, and contributions to, the plan. BESTCO was the plan sponsor, and BASI was the administrator of the plan. The Plan was designed to comply with Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. § 419A (f) (6). In its conception, the plan was to provide tax deductions to participating employers, such as MUI, for contributions paid by them to the plan's trust fund. The contributions, in turn, funded the premiums for preretirement life insurance policies for key employees under the plan. The Plan issued a certificate of coverage to the employer, MUI, listing the participants as the [defendants], each of whom was to receive $ 16 million in death benefits. In this case, MUI contributed [$ 700,000] annually to fund the policies between 2001 and 2004, totaling $ 2.8 million. The contributions to the plans were, in fact, claimed as tax deductions by MUI.
" (Footnotes added and omitted.) Additional facts will be set forth as needed.
Before reaching the plaintiffs' claims on appeal, we underscore that the policy behind arbitration compels a deferential standard of review of arbitration awards. "[T]he law in this state takes a strongly affirmative view of consensual arbitration .... Arbitration is a favored method to prevent litigation, promote tranquility and expedite the equitable settlement of disputes .... As a consequence of our approval of arbitral proceedings, our courts generally have deferred to the award that the arbitrator found to be appropriate .... The scope of review for arbitration awards is exceedingly narrow .... Additionally, every reasonable inference is to be made in favor of the arbitral award and of the arbitrator's decisions ....
(Citations omitted; footnote altered; internal quotation marks omitted.) Board of Education v. Local R1-126, National Assn. of Government Employees , 108 Conn. App. 35, 39–41, 947 A.2d 371 (2008).
The plaintiffs claim that the trial court improperly denied their application to vacate the arbitration award because the award was not timely issued. Specifically, the plaintiffs argue that the award was not made within thirty days from the close of the hearing and, thus, pursuant to General...
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