Carolina Casualty Ins. Co. v. Connecticut Solid Surface, LLC

Syllabus

The defendant and cross claim plaintiff appealed from the summary judg- ment rendered in favor of K, the cross claim defendant. K had repre- sented B Co., a servicing agent for the plaintiff, in a previous breach of contract action against the defendant. The defendant filed a counter- claim against B Co. in that action, and both claims subsequently were dismissed by agreement of the parties. Thereafter, the plaintiff sought to recover damages from the defendant for breach of contract in connec- tion with certain unpaid premiums on an insurance policy. After the trial court granted the defendant's motion to cite in K as a third-party defendant, the defendant filed a cross complaint against K for vexatious litigation in relation to the B Co. action. The court subsequently granted K's motion for summary judgment and rendered judgment thereon, and the defendant appealed to this court. Held that the trial court properly rendered summary judgment in favor of K on the defendant's vexatious litigation claim; the defendant failed to demonstrate the existence of a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether B Co.'s action had terminated in its favor, the defendant having failed to present any evi- dence that tended to demonstrate that fact, and there was undisputed evidence in the form of the defendant's admission, which it never sought to withdraw or amend, that it would not have agreed to a dismissal of its counterclaim against B Co. if it did not receive in exchange a dismissal of B Co.'s claim, which constituted a contractual agreement supported by consideration akin to a negotiated settlement of that action. Argued February 16—officially released September 14, 2021