Opinion
In this declaratory judgment action, the defendant W. R. Berkley Corporation
The plaintiff is a reinsurance company with its principal place of business in Fairfield. The defendant is an insurance holding company with its principal place of business in Greenwich. At various times prior to September 3, 2004, the plaintiff entered into reinsurance agreements with the defendant and its subsidiary insurance companies.
The plaintiff and Signet Star Reinsurance Company (Signet Star),
On or about September 3, 2004, the plaintiff and the defendant entered into a commutation and release agreement (commutation agreement).
The commutation agreement defined “reinsurance agreement” in the following paragraph: “Whereas, the [p]arties have entered various reinsurance agreements pursuant to which the Reinsurer reinsured certain liabilities of the Company and/or the Company reinsured certain liabilities of the Reinsurer (such agreements and all other agreements entered into in connection or relating to such agreements are referred to herein collectively as the [reinsurance [agreements) . . . .” The commutation agreement required the plaintiff to make a payment of $15,248,338 to the defendant “in full satisfaction of the Reinsurer’s past, present and future net liability under the [r]einsurance [agreements . . .
The commutation agreement further stated that “[t]his [agreement sets forth the entire [ajgreement between the [pjarties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior agreements or understandings between them pertaining to the subject matter hereof.” In addition, the commutation agreement stated: “This [ajgreement may not be amended, altered, supplemented or modified, except by written agreement signed by the [pjarties.” Also, the commutation agreement provided that each party “represents to the other as follows: (a) it has had full opportunity to consult with its respective attorneys in connection with the negotiation and drafting of this [ajgreement; (b) it has carefully read and understands the scope and effect of each provision contained in this [ajgreement; (c) it has conducted all necessary due diligence, investigation and analysis of the transactions contemplated by this [ajgreement; and (d) it is not relying upon any representations made by any other party, its attorneys or other representatives. ”
Following the execution of the commutation agreement, from September 3,2004 until approximately June, 2008, the plaintiff continued to make payments pursuant to SCARF n.
In January, 2008, Stephen Eisenmann became an executive vice president and officer of the plaintiff. In that capacity, he had the opportunity to review the commutation agreement. On the basis of his review of the commutation agreement, Eisenmann concluded that it commuted SCARF II and therefore the plaintiff had
Thereafter, the plaintiff instituted an action seeking a declaration that the commutation agreement commuted SCARF II. In count one, the plaintiff sought a declaratory judgment that the commutation agreement discharged its obligations under SCARF II. The second count, which sounded in unjust enrichment, alleged that the plaintiff was entitled to a return of the money it paid under SCARF II following the execution of the commutation agreement. Following a bench trial, the court held as to count one that the commutation agreement did, in fact, commute SCARF II. As to count two, the court held that the restitution sought by the plaintiff was barred pursuant to the voluntary payment doctrine.
Having prevailed at trial on its declaratory judgment action, on May 2, 2011, the plaintiff filed a motion for attorney’s fees pursuant to Practice Book § 11-21 and article 11, § (h) of the commutation agreement.
I
The defendant first claims that the court improperly determined that there was no mutual mistake regarding the inclusion of SCARF II in the commutation agreement.
“Whether there has been such mistake is a question of fact. . . . Questions of fact are subject to the clearly erroneous standard of review. ... A finding of fact is clearly erroneous when there is no evidence in the record to support it ... or when although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed. . . . Because it is the trial court’s function to weigh the evidence and determine credibility, we give great deference to its findings.” (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) McBurney v. Cirillo,
In seeking to reverse the judgment of the court, the defendant concedes the difficulty inherent in demonstrating reversible error as to a trial judge’s finding of fact. Despite the highly deferential standard that governs such claims, however, the defendant nevertheless argues that the cumulative effect of the evidence compels the logical conclusion that the parties intended to exclude SCARF II from the commutation agreement. Our review of the record does not support this conclusion. Rather, the record reveals evidence in support of the court’s findings of fact, which in turn support the conclusions of the court. Therefore, we are not left with the definite and firm conviction that the court improperly found that there was no mutual mistake.
More specifically, the contract was drafted and signed by an officer of the defendant who was experienced in such matters. In fact, in the commutation agreement itself the defendant affirmatively represented that it had read and understood the commutation agreement and that it was not relying on any representations outside of the contract. The draft of the commutation agreement was also reviewed multiple times by various employees
II
The defendant additionally claims that the term “reinsurance agreements,” as used in the commutation agreement, is ambiguous and that the court, therefore, should have considered extrinsic evidence which would have led to the conclusion that the term does not include the plaintiffs obligations under SCARF II. We are not persuaded.
Because a determination as to whether a contract is ambiguous is a question of law, our review is plenary. Electric Cable Compounds, Inc. v. Seymour,
As with any issue of contract interpretation, we look first to the language of the contract. The commutation agreement defines reinsurance agreements as “agreements pursuant to which the Reinsurer reinsured certain liabilities of the Company
The defendant claims that there is evidence to support the contention that SCARF II is a pool or facility comprised of numerous contracts, including reinsurance agreements, among several participating rein-surers in addition to the plaintiff and the defendant as well as the participation of third party underwriters, managers and administrators. Therefore, the defendant claims, because the commutation agreement referred to reinsurance agreements, and not to pools or facilities such as SCARF II, the language of the contract does not make it clear that the commutation agreement pertained to SCARF II. This lack of clarity, according to the defendant, creates an ambiguity as to purpose and scope of the commutation agreement.
In our view, the defendant’s interpretation is not a reasonable one. As the court stated, reinsurance is defined as “[insurance of all or part of one insurer’s risk [the defendant] by a second insurer, [the plaintiff] who accepts this risk in exchange for a percentage [10 percent of 60 percent] of the original premium.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) It is clear from the provisions of SCARF II that it falls squarely within the ambit of this definition of reinsurance. Accordingly, we conclude that the commutation agreement is not ambiguous. We turn next to the issues raised by the plaintiffs cross appeal.
m
On cross appeal, the plaintiff claims that the court improperly concluded that the plaintiff was not entitled to restitution. We disagree.
“A right of recovery under the doctrine of unjust enrichment is essentially equitable, its basis being that in a given situation it is contrary to equity and good conscience for one to retain a benefit which has come to him at the expense of another. . . . With no other test than what, under a given set of circumstances, is just or unjust, equitable or inequitable, conscionable or unconscionable, it becomes necessary in any case where the benefit of the doctrine is claimed, to examine the circumstances and the conduct of the parties and apply this standard. . . . Unjust enrichment is, consistent with the principles of equity, a broad and flexible remedy. . . . Plaintiffs seeking recovery for unjust enrichment must prove (1) that the defendants were benefited, (2) that the defendants unjustly did not pay the plaintiffs for the benefits, and (3) that the failure of payment was to the plaintiffs’ detriment.” (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Hartford Whalers Hockey Club v. Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co.,
“[T]he determinations of whether . . . particular [facts constitute the elements of unjust enrichment] are subject only to a limited scope of review on appeal. . . . Those findings must stand, therefore, unless they are clearly erroneous or involve an abuse of discretion. . . . This limited scope of review is consistent with the general proposition that equitable determinations that depend on the balancing of many factors are committed to the sound discretion of the trial court.” (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks
We begin our analysis with a discussion of Northrop v. Graves,
In Rockwell v. New Departure Mfg. Co.,
The trial court in the present case stated that Rockwell carved out an exception
As discussed previously, the court here found that prior to the plaintiff’s realization that its obligations under SCARF II were relieved by the commutation agreement, it accepted premium payments from the defendant. In like manner, the plaintiff paid policy claims to the administrator of SCARF II, which were then remitted to the defendant’s subsidiary, Signet Star. Thus, both parties were carrying out their obligations pursuant to the agreement as they understood them and the benefits bargained for by one party were in direct proportion to the benefit conferred on the other, as contemplated in SCARF II. For four years, the plaintiff and the defendant erroneously, but in good faith, believed that the obligations of SCARF II remained in effect notwithstanding the commutation agreement, and, during that time period, both parties performed their respective obligations and conferred anticipated benefits on each other, as they believed them to be. Accordingly, there was no evidentiary foundation for the court to have determined that one party had been unjustly enriched at the expense of the other. On that basis, we agree with the trial court’s conclusion that restitution was not appropriate.
IV
Finally, we consider the plaintiffs cross appeal regarding attorney’s fees. The plaintiff argues that the court improperly refused to consider whether the defendant breached the commutation agreement and, if so, whether that breach satisfied article 11, § (h) of the commutation agreement, which provided for the payment of attorney’s fees. We are not persuaded.
In general, the “rule of law known as the American rule is that attorney’s fees and ordinary expenses and burdens of litigation axe not allowed to the successful party absent a contractual or statutory exception. . . . This rule is generally followed
The relevant contract provision in the present case contemplated an order for the payment of counsel fees upon a finding that the contract has been breached, a finding not made in this instance. The commutation agreement, article 11, § (h),
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
Notes
The defendant W. R. Berkley Corporation is a holding company. Berkley Insurance Company, also named as a defendant in this appeal, is a subsidiary of W. R. Berkley Corporation. For convenience, we refer to them collectively as the defendant and individually by name when necessary.
Reinsurance is a business undertaking pursuant to a reinsurance contract, in which an insurer transfers or “cedes” to another insurer, known as the “reinsurer,” a portion of the ceding insurer’s risks flowing from insurance policies written by the insurer for policyholders. In a reinsurance agreement, the reinsurer agrees to indemnify the ceding insurer in return for payment of a portion of the ceding insurer’s premiums. When a valid claim is made, the insurance company pays the claim and the reinsurance company reimburses the insurance company to the extent required by the reinsurance agreement.
Signet Star changed its name to Berkley Insurance Company on or about December 31, 2000.
As noted by the trial court regarding commutation agreements generally: “Commutation is an agreement between the parties bringing to an end the liabilities of the reinsurer under the contract, usually a treaty, although possibly a long-term facultative contract. In its simplest form, a lump sum payment by the reinsurer is substituted for the unknown future liabilities on ceded risks and it is done for reasons on both sides having to do with the relative advantages of current and long-term money or the convenience of closing certain yearly accounts. G. Staring, Law of Reinsurance (1993) § 14:6.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
The plaintiff contends that it paid the third party administrator of SCARF II a net total of $451,006.72 after entering into the commutation agreement.
Article 11, § (h) of the commutation agreement provides: “In the event of any breach of the terms or conditions of this [agreement, the party prevailing at trial shall be entitled to recover from the breaching party, all costs and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys fees and disbursements.”
Collateral to this argument, the defendant claims that the court improperly refused to consider extrinsic evidence in its determination of the presence of a mutual mistake. Although it is true, as the defendant contends, that our courts have held that extrinsic evidence may be admissible to show mistake; see Tallmadge Bros., Inc. v. Iroquois Gas Transmission System, L.P.,
We acknowledge that there may be evidence to support the defendant’s contention that the intention of the parties was to exclude SCARF II from the commutation agreement. When reviewing the findings of the trial court under a clearly erroneous standard, however, we need not determine that its decision was the only possible outcome, but only that there is sufficient evidence to support its conclusion. Weighing conflicting evidence is within the exclusive province of the trial court; it is not an appellate function.
Bruce Weiser, one of the attorneys representing the defendant in the drafting of the commutation agreement, testified that he revised and/or removed any language that he felt was “objectionable,” “unclear” or “ambiguous.”
See footnote 6 of this opinion.
