A & R Enterprises, LLC v. Sentinel Ins. Co., Ltd.

Citations

• 202 Conn. App. 224

Syllabus

The plaintiff auto repair shop sought to recover damages from the defendant insurance company for breach of a commercial automobile insurance policy in connection with the defendant's failure to pay the full cost of repairs that the plaintiff had made to a vehicle owned by the defendant's insured, which assigned its rights under the insurance policy to the plaintiff. The defendant asserted as a special defense that the plaintiff's claim was barred because the insured failed to comply with the voluntary payment provision of the policy, which required the insured to obtain the defendant's consent before incurring any expense, except at the insured's own cost. The trial court rendered judgment in favor of the defendant, from which the plaintiff appealed to this court. Held: 1. This court declined to review the plaintiff's claim that the trial court erred in concluding that recovery of the full cost of the repairs was precluded by the insured's failure to comply with the voluntary payment provision of the policy, as none of the plaintiff's specific claims of error was distinctly raised before the trial court. 2. The plaintiff could not prevail on its claim that the trial court erred in concluding that the defendant's reliance on the insured's alleged noncompliance with the voluntary payment provision of the policy did not constitute an improper attempt to steer the insured to the defendant's preferred auto repair shop in violation of the applicable statute (§ 38a- 354 (b)); although the defendant refused to pay the full cost of repairs charged by the plaintiff, there was no evidence presented at trial that the defendant required the insured to use a specific person, and, in the absence of such evidence, the court's determination that the plaintiff failed to prove a violation of § 38a-354 (b) was not clearly erroneous. Argued October 29, 2020—officially released January 12, 2021