Kelly Services, Inc. v. Senior Network, Inc.

Citations

• 338 Conn. 794

Syllabus

Pursuant to statute (§ 52-192a (c)), if ''[a] plaintiff has recovered an amount equal to or greater than the sum certain specified in the plaintiff's offer of compromise, the court shall add to the amount so recovered eight per cent annual interest on said amount . . . .'' The plaintiff, an employment staffing agency, sought to recover damages for, inter alia, breach of contract from the defendant in connection with the defendant's failure to pay for certain services. Prior to trial, the plaintiff filed an offer of compromise, which the defendant did not accept, even though it previously had agreed to pay an invoice in the amount of the offer. Following a bench trial, the trial court found the defendant liable and awarded the plaintiff compensatory damages in the exact amount of the offer of compromise. The trial court determined that the defendant had wrongfully withheld payment and that it was equitable to award the plaintiff double interest in light of the defendant's prior agreement and failure to pay. Accordingly, the court awarded the plaintiff both prejudgment interest and postjudgment interest at the annual rate of 8 percent pursuant to the statute (§ 37-3a) governing interest in civil actions generally, as well as both prejudgment and postjudgment offer of compromise interest pursuant to § 52-192a (c), at an annual rate of an additional 8 percent. The defendant moved for reargument, claiming, inter alia, that the trial court's award of postjudg- ment interest under § 52-192a was improper under Gionfriddo v. Avis 338 Conn. 794 OCTOBER, 2021 795 Kelly Services, Inc. v. Senior Network, Inc. Rent A Car System, Inc. (192 Conn. 301), in which this court concluded that offer of compromise interest under § 52-192a runs only from the date the offer was filed to the date of judgment. The trial court denied the motion for reargument without explanation, and the defendant appealed. Held that the trial court improperly ordered that the offer of compromise interest conti