Wells v. Wells

Citations

• 196 Conn. App. 309

Syllabus

The plaintiff, whose marriage to the defendant previously had been dis- solved, appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court denying her motion for an order seeking payment of unallocated support. The plaintiff contended that the defendant failed to pay her the full amount due from a bonus payment the defendant received. The parties' separation agreement set forth three tiers for determining the amount of the defendant's income that would be paid to the plaintiff. The defendant calculated the payment under the second and third tiers solely using his bonus payment. The plaintiff contended the payment must be calculated using the defendant's total gross income, which was his base salary plus the bonus payment. The trial court agreed with the defendant's interpretation of the separation agreement and denied the plaintiff's motion. Held that the trial court improperly denied the plaintiff's motion for order because it incorrectly interpreted the applicable provision of the separation agreement; the plain language of the separation agree- ment required that the second and third tiers be applied to the defen- dant's gross income, not solely to his bonus. Argued December 2, 2019—officially released March 3, 2020