Finnochio Brothers, Inc. v. 587 CTA, LLC

Syllabus

The plaintiff, a provider of refuse hauling and recycling services, sought to recover damages from the defendant, the owner of an apartment build- ing, for, inter alia, breach of contract. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant failed to terminate the contract in accordance with the notice provision set forth therein and, therefore, that the contract had been renewed automatically for a two year period. The defendant claimed that it timely provided notice of its intention to terminate the contract. Following a court trial, the trial court rendered judgment for the defen- dant, from which the plaintiff appealed to this court. Held that the trial court's finding that the defendant properly cancelled the contract within the time frame required by the parties' contract was not clearly errone- ous: the trial court expressly credited the testimony of D, the president of the parent company of the defendant, and found that his testimony should be accorded greater weight than other evidence introduced at trial; moreover, on the basis of D's testimony and statements he made in emails to the plaintiff, the court found that the defendant sent its cancellation notice to the plaintiff by certified mail as required and the plaintiff received this notice within the time frame to terminate the parties' contract, and it is well established that in a case tried before a court, the trial judge is the sole arbiter of the credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be given specific testimony. Argued February 6—officially released June 18, 2024