Whelan v. Brestelli

Citations

• 230 Conn. App. 683

Syllabus

The defendants appealed from the trial court's judgment for the plaintiffs for, inter alia, the defendants' breach of a settlement agreement and from its award of attorney's fees and costs to the plaintiffs. The parties were abutting lakefront property owners who had entered into a settlement agree- ment resolving various disputes regarding the properties. On appeal, the defendants claimed, inter alia, that the court improperly found that their installation of a new fence breached the settlement agreement, which pro- vided for the removal of an existing fence that partially blocked the plaintiffs' lake view and access to utility poles. Held: The trial court properly determined that the defendants breached the settle- ment agreement by erecting a new fence that continued to interfere with the plaintiffs' reasonable and lawful use of their property, as the court's finding was legally correct and well supported by the record. The trial court did not improperly determine that the defendants had erected a ''spite fence'' in violation of the relevant statutes (§§ 52-480 and 52-570), as the defendants failed to demonstrate that any of the court's factual findings were clearly erroneous and there was ample support in the record for its determination. The trial court did not abuse its discretion when it allowed the plaintiffs to amend their complaint during trial, the defendants having failed to demon- strate that the court's decision to allow the amendment caused any unreason- able delay, misled or took unfair advantage of the defendants, or confused the issues. The defendants could not prevail on their claim that the trial court improperly rendered judgment for the plaintiffs on the count of the complaint alleging a breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, as there was sufficient evidence before the court to support its finding that one of the defendants intentionally entered into the settlement agreement in bad faith and interfered with the plaintiff