Aetna v. Inter-City, et al.

• Court: District Court, D. New Hampshire
• Decided: March 24, 1998
• Docket: CV-96-556-M
• Status: Published

Opinion

Aetna v. Inter-City, et al. CV-96-556-M 03/24/98 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

Aetna Casualty, Plaintiff

v. Civil No. 96-556-M

Inter-Citv Construction Co., Inc. and Paul E. Pandelena, Defendants

O R D E R

Upon review of the Defendants' Motion to Enforce Settlement

and for Attorneys' Fees, and having heard the parties regarding

same, the court hereby enters the following order:

1. The settlement between the parties as memorialized in

the letter from plaintiff's counsel to defendants' counsel dated

February 13, 1998, is binding and enforceable and is hereby

ordered enforced. The parties shall act in good faith to

complete the documentation reguired to implement the settlement

within 30 days of the court's order.

2. The defendants are awarded their reasonable attorneys'

fees incurred in seeking to enforce the settlement agreement

since defendants' legal rights were clear and they should not

have been reguired by plaintiffs to invoke court proceedings to

vindicate those rights. Harkeem v. Adams, 117 N.H. 687, 377 A.2d

617 (1977) (fees may be awarded when an individual is forced to

seek judicial assistance to secure a clearly defined and

established right). Keenan v. Fearon, 130 N.H. 494, 543 A.2d

1379 (1988) (fees if action prolonged without reasonable basis in fact or reasonable claim in law as it is or might arguably be

held to be). Plaintiff had no colorable legal basis for failing

to perform the settlement as agreed, or to seek to add additional

material terms after agreement was reached. See e.g. Clark v.

Mitchell, 937 F. Supp. 110 (D.N.H. 1996).

3. The parties shall endeavor in good faith to agree on a

reasonable fee amount (understanding that plaintiff does not

thereby waive any objection to the actual award of fees). If the

parties cannot agree on a reasonable amount, defendants shall

submit a statement of attorneys' fees to the court, with a copy

to the plaintiff, for review on or before March 31, 1998. The

plaintiff shall object to any specific item(s) listed on or

before April 6, 1998.

SO ORDERED.

Steven J. McAuliffe United States District Judge

March 24, 1998

cc: John P. Connelly, Esg. Edward D. Philpot, Jr., Esg.