Coyle Crete, LLC v. Nevins

• Decision Date: 21 August 2012
• Docket Number: No. 33332.,33332.
• Citation: 49 A.3d 770,137 Conn.App. 540
• Court: Connecticut Court of Appeals
• Parties: COYLE CRETE, LLC v. Kathleen NEVINS.

137 Conn.App. 540

49 A.3d 770

COYLE CRETE, LLC

v.Kathleen NEVINS.

No. 33332.

Appellate Court of Connecticut.

Argued April 25, 2012.

Decided Aug. 21, 2012.

Noah J. Schafler, Shelton, for the appellant (plaintiff).

Elizabeth M. Cristofaro, Hartford, for the appellee (defendant).

GRUENDEL, BEACH and SHELDON, Js.

GRUENDEL, J.

The plaintiff, Coyle Crete, LLC, appeals from the summary judgment rendered by the trial court in favor of the defendant, Kathleen Nevins. The plaintiff claims that the court improperly concluded that no genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether its claims were barred by the doctrines of collateral estoppel and res judicata. We agree and, accordingly, reverse the judgment of the trial court.

Mindful of the procedural posture of the case, we set forth the following facts as gleaned from the pleadings, affidavits and other proof submitted, viewed in a light most favorable to the plaintiff. See Martinelli v. Fusi, 290 Conn. 347, 350, 963 A.2d 640 (2009). In November, 2002, the plaintiff commenced a civil action against Six Flags New England (Six Flags) concerning concrete work it performed at the Six Flags amusement park in Agawam, Massachusetts. The defendant, an attorney licensed to practice law in Connecticut, represented Six Flags in that action. It is undisputed that, on May 11, 2005, the plaintiff obtained a money judgment against Six Flags.

On May 18, 2005, the defendant sent the plaintiff a facsimile confirming that the total amount due under the judgment was $18,445.66, which sum included costs and postjudgment interest. On May 20, 2005, the defendant informed the plaintiff that Six Flags would satisfy that judgment without resort to judicial enforcement. When the plaintiff made a demand for payment on May 23, 2005, the defendant assured it that payment would be made contemporaneously with her receipt of the funds from Six Flags. Despite that assurance, the defendant did not tender such payment when she received the funds from Six Flags on June 10, 2005. Instead, she notified the plaintiff on June 13, 2005, that although she had received payment from Six Flags, she was in possession of a property execution of a third party creditor of the plaintiff that was served upon her by state marshal Lisa H. Stevenson. That execution was issued on November 9, 2004, and did not bear the name or last known address of the judgment creditor, and hence was invalid.

On June 14, 2005, the plaintiff apprised the defendant of the invalidity of the execution in her possession and again demanded payment. The defendant nevertheless refused to tender the funds. Beginning at approximately 9 a.m. on the morning of June 15, 2005, the plaintiff's attorneys repeatedly telephoned the defendant, who declined to speak with them. She eventually relented and spoke with the plaintiff's attorneys at approximately 2 p.m., at which time the defendant acknowledged that the execution in her possession was invalid. When the plaintiff demanded payment, the defendant indicated that Stevenson soon would be arriving at her office with a new execution. The defendant stated that in order to receive its funds, the plaintiff was “in a race with the [m]arshal” to see who would arrive at her office first. Reminding her that she had not been served with a valid execution, the plaintiff's attorneys again demanded immediate payment consistent with the money judgment against her client. The defendant refused and thereafter surrendered the funds to Stevenson later that day.

On August 30, 2005, the defendant, on behalf of Six Flags, filed a “motion for determination that judgment has been satisfied” in which she averred that (1) she received payment from Six Flags for the plaintiff in the amount of $18,445.66 on June 10, 2005; (2) while she was in possession of those funds, a third party served an execution upon her as a holder of personal property of the plaintiff; (3) in response thereto, she “turned over the plaintiff's funds to ... Stevenson”; and (4) Six Flags “having paid the judgment in this matter in an amount that the plaintiff agreed would satisfy the judgment, has in fact satisfied the judgment. The fact that the plaintiff was the subject of an execution that is unrelated to this case is irrelevant to the question of [Six Flags'] satisfaction of judgment in this case and should not prevent [Six Flags] from obtaining a satisfaction of judgment.” The plaintiff filed an objection to that motion, in which it claimed that although Six Flags had made payment to the defendant with the express purpose of satisfying its legal obligation to the plaintiff, the defendant nevertheless improperly surrendered those funds to Stevenson.¹ The defendant, on behalf of Six Flags, did not respond to that latter allegation in any manner and no argument was held on the matter. On September 12, 2005, the court granted Six Flags' motion and determined that it had satisfied the money judgment in favor of the plaintiff.² The court subsequently denied the plaintiff's motion to reargue, in which the plaintiff had requested that, “due to the factual complexities surrounding these events, [the court] set this matter down for oral argument.” ³

The plaintiff commenced the present action in June, 2006. Its revised complaint contained five counts against the defendant arising from her refusal to surrender the funds upon her receipt thereof in the days prior to being served with a valid property execution.⁴ The defendant filed an answer and special defenses on May 15, 2009. Those defenses alleged, inter alia, that the plaintiff's claims were barred by the doctrines of collateral estoppel and res judicata.

On November 8, 2010, the defendant filed a motion for summary judgment, in which she averred that she was “entitled to judgment as a matter of law as to all counts under the principles of collateral estoppel and res judicata because the undisputed material facts demonstrate that the issues and claims as to the defendant's improper conduct in holding and forwarding judgment funds to a third party as alleged in the plaintiff's complaint has already been litigated in the underlying action when the court decided [Six Flags'] [m]otion for [d]etermination as to satisfaction of judgment.” The defendant appended to that motion copies of various pleadings and documents related to the prior action against Six Flags, as well as an affidavit of Stevenson, who attested that “on June 15, 2005 I levied funds being held by [the defendant, and] these funds are a result of payment on a judgment in the [Six Flags litigation].” ⁵ The plaintiff objected to the motion, on which the court heard argument on November 29, 2010. On March 23, 2011, the court issued a memorandum of decision rendering summary judgment in favor of the defendant, concluding that the plaintiff's claims were barred by both res judicata and collateral estoppel. From that judgment, the plaintiff appeals.

Before considering the plaintiff's specific claims, we note that summary judgment is appropriate when “the pleadings, affidavits and any other proof submitted show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Practice Book § 17–49; Miller v. United Technologies Corp., 233 Conn. 732, 744–45, 660 A.2d 810 (1995). “A material fact is a fact that will make a difference in the result of the case.... [T]he burden of showing the nonexistence of any material fact is on the party seeking summary judgment.... It is not enough for the moving party merely to assert the absence of any disputed factual issue; the moving party is required to bring forward ... evidentiary facts, or substantial evidence outside the pleadings to show the absence of any material dispute.” (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Barasso v. Rear Still Hill Road, LLC, 81 Conn.App. 798, 803, 842 A.2d 1134 (2004). “A motion for summary judgment is properly granted if it raises at least one legally sufficient defense that would bar the plaintiff's claim and involves no triable issue of fact.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Lunn v. Cummings & Lockwood, 56 Conn.App. 363, 370, 743 A.2d 653 (2000). Because the court's decision on a motion for summary judgment is a legal determination, our review on appeal is plenary. Boone v. William W. Backus Hospital, 272 Conn. 551, 559, 864 A.2d 1 (2005). Similarly, “[t]he applicability of the doctrines of res judicata or collateral estoppel presents a question of law, over which our review is plenary.” Somers v. Chan, 110 Conn.App. 511, 526, 955 A.2d 667 (2008).

On appeal, the plaintiff maintains that the court improperly concluded that no genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether the doctrines of preclusion bar its claims against the defendant. Those doctrines “are judicially created rules of reason that are enforced on public policy grounds ... [and] whether to apply either doctrine in any particular case should be made based upon a consideration of the doctrine's underlying policies, namely, the interests of the defendant and of the courts in bringing litigation to a close ... and the competing interest of the plaintiff in the vindication of a just claim.... These [underlying] purposes are generally identified as being (1) to promote judicial economy by minimizing repetitive litigation; (2) to prevent inconsistent judgments which undermine the integrity of the judicial system; and (3) to provide repose by preventing a person from being harassed by vexatious litigation.” (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Weiss v. Weiss, 297 Conn. 446, 460, 998 A.2d 766 (2010). Both collateral estoppel and res judicata are grounded in “the fundamental principle that once a matter has been fully and fairly litigated, and finally decided, it comes to rest.” State v. Ellis, 197 Conn. 436, 465, 497 A.2d 974 (1985), on appeal after remand sub nom. State v. Paradise, 213 Conn. 388, 567...