KDM Services, LLC v. DRVN Enterprises, Inc.

Citations

• 211 Conn. App. 135

Syllabus

The plaintiff, which had entered into a written contract in 2014 with the defendant to supply deicing liquid, brought an action alleging, inter alia, that the defendant had breached the contract by failing to pay the plaintiff for services rendered on four occasions in 2018. The defendant filed an answer and special defenses alleging, inter alia, that the contract was satisfied in full prior to the four occasions in question. The trial court rendered judgment in favor of the plaintiff, concluding that, although the parties' written contract had expired, the parties had an implied contract on the basis of their course of dealings over the years since 2014, and the defendant breached that implied contract. Thereafter, the court granted the plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint alleging breach of implied contract, and the defendant appealed. Held that the trial court abused its discretion in allowing the plaintiff to amend its complaint after trial to conform to the evidence; although both com- plaints sought payment for services rendered on specific occasions, the amended complaint alleged an entirely new and different factual situation, as the original complaint was based on the parties' express written contract and sought the outstanding balance allegedly due and the amended complaint alleged an implied contract and sought only the plaintiff's commission, and the defendant was not given the opportunity to defend against the amended complaint by filing amended special defenses, conducting discovery, or calling witnesses at trial to rebut the plaintiff's claim for a commission; accordingly, the defendant was entitled to judgment in its favor. Argued December 6, 2021—officially released March 8, 2022