Opinion
Thе plaintiff, Coyle Crete, LLC, appeals from the summary judgment rendered by the trial court in favor of the defendant, Kathleen Nevins. The plaintiff claims that the court improperly concluded that no genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether its claims were barred by the doctrines of collateral estoppel and res judicata. We agree and, accordingly, reverse the judgment of the trial court.
Mindful of the procedural posture of the case, we set forth the following facts as gleaned from the pleadings, affidavits and other proof submitted, viewed in a light most favorable to the plaintiff. See Martinelli v. Fusi,
On May 18, 2005, the defendant sent the plaintiff a facsimile confirming that the
On June 14,2005, the plaintiff apprised the defendant of the invalidity of the execution in her possession and again demanded payment. The defendant nevertheless refused to tender the funds. Beginning at approximately 9 a.m. on the morning of June 15, 2005, the plaintiffs attorneys repeatedly telephoned the defendant, who declined to speak with them. She eventually relented and spoke with the plaintiffs attorneys at approximately 2 p.m., at which time the defendant acknowledged that the execution in her possession was invalid. When the plaintiff demanded payment, the defendant indicated that Stevenson soon would be arriving at her office with a new execution. The defendant stated that in order to receive its funds, the plaintiff was “in a race with the [m]arshal” to see who would arrive at her office first. Reminding her that she had not been served with a valid execution, the plaintiffs attorneys again demanded immediate payment consistent with the money judgment against her client. The defendant refused and thereafter surrendered the funds to Stevenson later that day.
On August 30, 2005, the defendant, on behalf of Six Flags, filed a “motion for determination that judgmеnt has been satisfied” in which she averred that (1) she received payment from Six Flags for the plaintiff in the amount of $18,445.66 on June 10, 2005; (2) while she was in possession of those funds, a third party served an execution upon her as a holder of personal property of the plaintiff; (3) in response thereto, she “turned over the plaintiffs funds to . . . Stevenson”; and (4) Six Flags “having paid the judgment in this matter in an amount that the plaintiff agreed would satisfy the judgment, has in fact satisfied the judgment. The fact that the plaintiff was the subject of an execution that is unrelated to this case is irrelevant to the question of [Six Flags’] satisfaction of judgment in this case and should not prevent [Six Flags] from obtaining a satisfaction of judgment.” The plaintiff filed an objection to that motion, in which it claimed that although Six Flags had madе payment to the defendant with the express purpose of satisfying its legal obligation to the plaintiff, the defendant nevertheless improperly surrendered those funds to Stevenson.
The plaintiff commenced the present action in June, 2006. Its revised complaint contained five counts against the defendant arising from her refusal to surrender the funds upоn her receipt thereof in the days prior to being served with a valid property execution.
On November 8, 2010, the defendant filed a motion for summary judgment, in which she averred that she was “entitled to judgment as a matter of law as to all counts under the principles of collateral estoppel and res judicata because the undisputed material facts demonstrate that the issues and claims as to the defendant’s improper conduct in holding and forwarding judgment funds to a third party as alleged in the plaintiff’s complaint has alreаdy been litigated in the underlying action when the court decided [Six Flags’] [m]otion for [d]eter-mination as to satisfaction of judgment.” The defendant appended to that motion copies of various pleadings and documents related to the prior action against Six Flags, as well as an affidavit of Stevenson, who attested that “on June 15, 2005 I levied funds being held by [the defendant, and] these funds are a result of payment on a judgment in the [Six Flags litigation].”
On appeal, the plaintiff maintains that the court improperly concluded that no genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether the doctrines of preclusion bar its claims against the defendant. Those doctrines “are judiсially created rules of reason that are enforced on public policy grounds . . . [and] whether to apply either doctrine in any particular case should be made based upon a consideration of the doctrine’s underlying policies, namely, the interests of the defendant and of the courts in bringing litigation to a close . . . and the competing interest of the plaintiff in the vindication of a just claim. . . . These [underlying] purposes are generally identified as being (1) to promote judicial economy by minimizing repetitive litigation; (2) to prevent inconsistent judgments which undermine the integrity of the judicial system; and (3) to provide repose by preventing a person from being harassed by vexatious litigation.” (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Weiss v. Weiss,
I
The plaintiff cоntends that the court improperly concluded that no genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether collateral estoppel barred its claims in the present case.
“[C]ollateral estoppel precludes a party from relitigat-ing issues and facts actually and necessarily determined in an earlier proceeding between the same parties or those in privity with them upon a different claim. . . . An issue is actually litigated if it is properly raised in the pleadings or otherwise, submitted for determination, and in fact determined. . . . An issue is necessarily determined if, in the absence of a determination of the issue, the judgment could not have been validly rendered. ... If an issue has been determined, but the judgment is not dependent upon the determinаtion of the issue, the parties may relitigate the issue in a subsequent action. Findings on nonessential issues usually have the characteristics of dicta. ... To assert successfully the doctrine of issue preclusion, therefore, a party must establish that the issue sought to be foreclosed actually was litigated and determined in the prior action between the parties or their privies, and that the determination was essential to the decision in the prior case.” (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Dowling v. Finley Associates, Inc.,
In the prior case, a court, trial was held on the issue of whether the plaintiff was entitled tо damages for concrete work that it performed at the Six Flags amusement park, at the conclusion of which the court rendered a money judgment in favor of the plaintiff. Certainly, that issue was fully and fairly litigated, and neither party argues to the contrary. It further is undisputed that the parties to that prior action thereafter agreed that the total amount due under that judgment was $18,445.66.
On August 30, 2005, the defendant, on behalf of Six Flags, filed a “motion for determination that judgment has been satisfied.” In that motion, the defendant averred that she had received payment from Six Flags in the amount of $18,445.66 on June 10, 2005, to satisfy the aforementioned judgment. The defendant also indicated that she subsequently turned those funds over to Stevenson when served with a property execution on the personal property of the plaintiff, a copy of which she appended to the motion. Accordingly, the defendant averred that Six Flags “having paid the judgment in this matter in an amount that the plaintiff agreed would satisfy the judgment, has in fact satisfied the judgment. The fact that the plaintiff was the subject of an execution that is unrelated to this case is irrelevant to the question of [Six Flags’] satisfaction of judgment in
Although the filing of a notice of satisfaction of judgment is commonplace; see, e.g., Lestorti v. DeLeo,
“A satisfaction of judgment is the discharge of an obligation under a judgment by payment of the amount due.” 47 Am. Jur. 2d, supra, § 804, p. 382. “The satisfaction of a judgment refers to cоmpliance with or fulfillment of the mandate thereof. . . . There is realistically no substantial difference between the words paid and satisfied in the judgment context.” (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Mazziotti v. Allstate Ins. Co.,
In light of the foregoing, we conclude that the following issues are prerequisites to the rendering of a determination by the court that a money judgment has been satisfied. First, the judgment creditor must have obtained a valid money judgment against the judgment debtor. Second, the judgment debtor must have paid the amount of that judgment. In so doing, the court must find that the judgment debtor either made actual payment to the judgment creditor or a payment equivalent thereto.
We now apply those elements to the matter at hand, cognizant both that the court did not render an oral or written decision in granting Six Flags’ motion for a determination that the judgment had been satisfied and that “[t]his court does not presume error on the part of the trial court . . . .” State v. Tocco,
Returning our attention to the attributes of collateral estoppel, we note that “[f]or estoppel to apply, the fact sought to be foreclosed by [the] defendant must necessarily have been determined in his favor in the prior trial; it is not enough that the fact may have been determined in the former trial. . . . The defendant has the burden of showing that the issue whose relitigation he seeks to foreclose was actually decided in the first proceeding.” (Citation omitted; emphasis in original; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Aparo,
The sole issue presented in the August 30, 2005 motion for a determination that the judgment had been satisfied was whether the legal obligations of Six Flags should be extinguished with respect to the money judgment in favor of the plaintiff. See 50 C.J.S. suprа, § 909, p. 225. That motion plainly represented to the court that because Six Flags had paid the amount of the money judgment in a manner equivalent to actual payment to the judgment creditor, the entry of a satisfaction of judgment in favor of Six Flags was warranted. The motion further represented that ancillary issues, such as whether the plaintiff was subject to an execution by a third party, were “irrelevant” to the question of whether the liability of Six Flags should be extinguished. On that basis, the plaintiff maintains that the court could have granted Six Flags’ motion without ever considering whether the defendant acted improperly in withholding its payment to the plaintiff for a period of five days despite her earlier representation to the plaintiff that payment would be made сontemporaneously with her receipt of the funds from Six Flags. We agree. The
We also are mindful that collateral estoppel is a flexible doctrine; Corcoran v. Dept. of Social Services,
We find compelling the fact that neither Six Flags nor the defendant ever disputed the specific allegations raised by the plaintiff before the prior tribunal. In responding to Six Flags’ motion for a satisfaction of judgment determination, the plaintiff filed a three paragraph objection that, inter alia, alleged malfeasance on the part оf the defendant while conceding that Six Flags had tendered payment in the proper amount, which ultimately ended up in the hands of one of its creditors via a property execution. The defendant, on behalf of Six Flags, did not acknowledge — never mind refute— the allegations of malfeasance in any manner. Rather, the defendant, on behalf of Six Flags, averred that Six Flags “having paid the judgment in this matter in an amount that the plaintiff agreed would satisfy the judgment, has in fact satisfied the judgment. The fact that the plaintiff was the subject of an execution that is unrelated to this case is
Under well established law, the defendant borе both the burden of establishing the applicability of collateral estoppel and, given the procedural posture of this case, the lack of any genuine issue of material fact related thereto. It thus was incumbent on her to demonstrate that no genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether the court, in determining that Six Flags had satisfied the money judgment, decided the question of whether the defendant committed the alleged malfeasance in withholding payment to the plaintiff for days before being served with a valid execution by Stevenson despite her earlier assurance to the contrary. Because she did not satisfy that burden, the court improperly rendered summary judgment on collateral estoppel grounds.
n
The plaintiff аlso argues that the court improperly concluded that no genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether res judicata barred its claims in the present case. The doctrine of res judicata, or claim preclusion, provides that “[a] valid, final judgment rendered on the merits by a court of competent jurisdiction is an absolute bar to a subsequent action between the same parties, or those in privity with them, upon the same claim or demand.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Gaynor v. Payne,
First, the defendant has not demonstrated the lack of a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the plaintiff had the opportunity to fully and fairly litigate, and have finally decided, the claims raised in the present action; see footnote 4 of this opinion; before the prior court. The sole question presented by Six Flags’ motion was whether it had satisfied the money judgment by making a payment equivalent to actual payment to the plaintiff. The undisputed facts indicate that in the prior action (1) Six Flags’ asserted that other issues were “irrelevant” to that determination; (2) neither Six Flags nor the defendant acknowledged or rеfuted the allegations of malfeasance on the part of the defendant in that proceeding; (3) no hearing was held on the matter; and (4) the court did not address those allegations in
Second, the defendant has not demonstrated the requisite identity of parties. “The doctrine of res judicata [applies] to the parties and their privies in all other actions in the same or any other judicial tribunal of concurrent jurisdiction.” Wade’s Dairy, Inc. v. Fairfield,
On appeal, the defendant argues that privity is not required when a defendant employs the defensive use of res judicata. She provides no authority for that proposition. Rather, the defendant posits that because our case law provides that privity is not required in the context of the defensive use of collateral estoppel; see, e.g., Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. v. Jones, supra,
Alternatively, the defendant maintains that she is in privity with Six Flags. She claims that because the plaintiff raised the issue of her alleged malfeasance in its opposition to Six Flags’ motion for a judgment of satisfaction, “her interests and rights were represented such that privily would exist between her and [Six Flags].” We disagree with the defendant that no genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether she is in privity with Six Flags.
Our Supreme Court has explained that “[p]rivity is a difficult concept to define precisely. . . . There is no prevailing definition of privity to be followed automatically in every case. It is not a matter of form or rigid labels; rather it is a matter of substance. In determining whether privity exists, we employ an analysis that focuses on the functional relationships of the parties. Privity is not established by the mere fact that persons may be interested in the same question or in proving or disproving the same set of facts. Rather, it is, in essence, a shorthand statement for the principle that [the doctrines of preclusion] should be applied only when there exists such an identification in interest of one person with another as to represent the same legal rights so as to justify preclusion.” (Citation omitted.) Mazziotti v. Allstate Ins. Co., supra,
In the present case, commonality of interest appears to be lacking. Because the court properly could determine that Six Flags had satisfied the money judgment without passing on the question of whether the defendant committed the transgressions alleged in the present action, Six Flags had little interest in the resolution of that question. If anything, Six Flags possessed an interest potentially adverse to that of the defendant, as such allegаtions, if proven, could give rise to a dispute between it and the defendant regarding her representation thereof. Absent commonality of interest, there can be no privity. See id., 814.
Viewing the pleadings, affidavits and other proof submitted in a fight most favorable to the plaintiff, we conclude that genuine issues of material fact exist as to whether the plaintiffs claims are barred by the doctrines of collateral estoppel and res judicata. Accordingly, the court improperly rendered summary judgment in favor of the defendant.
The judgment is reversed and the case is remanded for further proceedings according to law.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
Notes
In its three paragraph objection, the plaintiff alleged, inter alia, that “[o]n June 13, 2005, two full days prior to the execution being issued, demand for payment of the settlement funds was made upon the [defendant, who] refused to turn over the settlement funds on June 13, 2005. Demand was made upon [her] again on June 14, 2005, and June 15, 2005 to pay over the settlement funds, again [she] refused to pay over the funds, and instead alerted a judgment creditor of [the plaintiff’s] that she was holding the settlement funds. Thus, [the defendant] acting in conspiracy with [the plaintiff’s] judgment creditor . . . converted the settlement funds.” In light of the foregoing, the plaintiff further alleged that “while Six [Flags] may have given funds to [the defendant] with the express purpose of satisfying its legal obligation to pay [the plaintiff, the defendant] unlawfully withheld those funds and unlawfully turned them over to [the judgment creditor].”
In rendering a determination that the money judgment has been satisfied, the court did nоt issue an oral or written decision. Rather, the court circled “granted” on the order page of the plaintiffs motion and signed that document on September 12, 2005.
At oral argument before this court, counsel for the defendant stated that the record indicates that “neither of the parties asked for oral argument” in the proceeding on the motion for a judgment of satisfaction. The plaintiffs October 7, 2005 motion to reargue its objection to that motion, which the defendant has included in the appendix to her appellate brief, plainly belies that assertion.
The plaintiffs complaint alleged that the defendant (1) made false material representations upon which it relied to its detriment, (2) wrongfully withheld its property, thereby committing statutory theft in violation of General Statutes § 52-564 et seq., (3) committed conversion, (4) violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, General Statutes § 42-110a et seq., and (5) and breached her duties of care pursuant to the Rules of Professional Conduct.
The defendant herself did not submit an affidavit.
In its original appellate brief, the plaintiff claimed only that the court improperly determined that no genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether its claims were barred by res judicata. In her appellate brief, the defendant raised, as an alternate ground of affirmance, the issue of whether the court also correctly concluded that no genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether the plaintiffs claims were barred by collateral estoppel. This court subsequеntly ordered the parties to file simultaneous supplemental briefs addressing that issue.
In light of the plaintiffs concession that the defendant ultimately surrendered the payment from Six Flags to avalid third party creditor of the plaintiff via Stevenson, it is difficult to discern precisely how the plaintiff suffered damages as a result thereof. Nevertheless, that is not at issue in this appeal.
While certainly a situation in which the defendant’s payment of a client’s funds to a third party lacking legal claim thereto could require consideration by a court confronted with a motion to determine whether a judgment had been satisfied; see 50 C.J.S., supra, § 911, p. 228 (in acting on motion to determine whether judgment is satisfied, court may be required to decide “disputed issues of fact”); that is not the cаse here, as it is undisputed that Stevenson ultimately served the defendant with a valid execution and secured the plaintiffs funds from Six Flags. Moreover, such consideration would pertain to the question of whether the judgment debtor made a payment equivalent to actual payment to the judgment creditor. By contrast, in a case such as this, where the parties concede both (1) that Six Flags tendered payment of the money judgment to the defendant and (2) that the defendant furnished those funds to a valid third party judgment creditor via Stevenson five days later, the court could have determined that Six Flags had satisfied its legal obligation to the plaintiff while leaving for another day the question of whether the defendant committed the various alleged offenses; see footnote 4 of this opinion; in refusing to relinquish the funds to the plaintiff in the interim of those two events. Stated differently, it is possible for a court to determine whether a judgment debtor made a payment equivalent to actual payment to the judgment creditor and thereby satisfied the money judgment without necessarily deciding whether the judgment debtor’s attorney committed malfeasance in the handling of those funds prior to tendering such payment.
As a result, even if the court expressly had addressed the plaintiffs allegations of malfeasance on the part of the defendant — which it did not— it nevertheless remains that when “an issue has been determined, but the judgment is not dependent upon the determination of the issue, the parties may relitigate the issue in a subsequent action. Findings on nоnessential issues usually have the characteristics of dicta.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Dowling v. Finley Associates, Inc., supra,
Her novel argument to the contrary, the defendant in her appellate brief quotes a decision of the Superior Court for the principle that “[f]or res judicata to apply, four . . . elements must be established [including] the [identities] of the parties must be the same in both actions . . . .” (Internal quotation marks omitted.)