Daggett v. Board of Public Utilities

263 P.3d 847, 46 Kan. App. 2d 513, 2011 Kan. App. LEXIS 137
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedSeptember 16, 2011
Docket104,835
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 263 P.3d 847 (Daggett v. Board of Public Utilities) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Daggett v. Board of Public Utilities, 263 P.3d 847, 46 Kan. App. 2d 513, 2011 Kan. App. LEXIS 137 (kanctapp 2011).

Opinions

Green, J.:

E. Leon Daggett appeals from the trial court’s ruling in favor of the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) on his breach of contract claim. On appeal, the BPU argues that this court does not [514]*514have jurisdiction to hear this appeal because Daggett failed to timely file his appeal. We disagree. Daggett contends that the BPU breached the settlement agreement when it failed to ensure that Daggett received the benefit of its contributions to the pension plan. We agree. Accordingly, we reverse and remand to the trial court with directions to grant summary judgment in favor of Daggett for breach of contract and to calculate damages.

Daggett was the general manager of the BPU for 10 years. Daggett was terminated from his employment on December 21, 2005. On March 22, 2006, the BPU drafted a settlement and release agreement that would pay Daggett’s salary, deferred compensation, and pension contributions through June 30, 2008.

On July 1, 2008, when Daggett attempted to receive his pension benefits, he discovered that the pension contributions paid by the BPU were not in his account. The pension contributions made by Daggett had been deducted from his paychecks, and the BPU also made its contributions to the pension fund; however, those contributions were not accepted by the pension fund. The record does not indicate why the contributions were not accepted or what happened to the contributions after they were rejected. At oral argument, the BPU admitted that the contributions it made to die pension plan on behalf of Daggett were returned to the BPU and tíiat Daggett’s contributions were returned to him. As a result, Daggett receives approximately $1,000 less a mondi than he would have received if the contributions had been accepted.

Daggett sued the BPU claiming, among other things, breach of contract. Daggett moved for summary judgment, which the trial court denied. The trial court found that the BPU made the required contributions to die pension fund, and, therefore, it did not breach the setdement agreement between Daggett and the BPU.

Does this Court Have Jurisdiction to Consider the Merits of this Appeal?

The BPU filed a motion to dismiss Daggett’s appeal before our court. The BPU argued that Daggett failed to timely file his appeal. The BPU maintained that the trial court entered a final order on the merits on June 15, 2010, which made Daggett’s appeal filed on [515]*515August 12, 2010, untimely. Our court denied the motion and held that the judgment below was not final until the ruling on the motion for attorney fees.

In its brief, the BPU again argues that this court does not have jurisdiction because Daggett failed to timely file his appeal. The BPU does not raise any new arguments in its brief, and it relies on the same audiority that it cited to in its motion to dismiss. Because our court already addressed this issue when it denied the motion, we will not address it again. We will simply reiterate our holding that this court has jurisdiction to hear this appeal because Daggett’s judgment was not final until the ruling on the motion for attorney fees had been decided.

Did the BPU Breach the Settlement Agreement?

Daggett contends that the BPU breached the settlement agreement when it failed to make contributions to the pension account for Daggett’s benefit. There is no dispute that the BPU paid the contributions; however, Daggett argues that the BPU breached the settlement agreement because he did not receive the benefit of those contributions. Daggett maintains that the intent of the settlement agreement was for him to receive a benefit from the contributions and because that did not happen, the agreement was breached.

A breach of contract is “a material failure of performance of a duty arising under or imposed by agreement.” Malone v. University of Kansas Medical Center, 220 Kan. 371, 374, 552 P.2d 885 (1976). Where there are no disputed material facts, the determination of whether a party breached the contract is a question of law and is appropriate for summary judgment. City of Topeka v. Watertower Place Dev. Group, 265 Kan. 148, 154, 959 P.2d 894 (1998). Where there are no disputed facts and the appellate court is required to interpret and give legal effect to a written contract, appellate review of an order regarding summary judgment is de novo. Katzenmeier v. Oppenlander, 39 Kan. App. 2d 259, 263, 178 P.3d 66, rev. denied 286 Kan. 1178 (2008).

“The primary rule for interpreting written contracts is to ascertain die parties’ intent. If the terms of the contract are clear, the [516]*516intent of the parties is to be determined from the contract language without applying rules of construction.” Carrothers Constr. Co. v. City of South Hutchinson, 288 Kan. 743, 751, 207 P.3d 231 (2009).

Further, the interpretation of a contractual provision should not be reached merely by isolating one particular sentence or provision but by construing and considering the entire contract from its four comers. City of Arkansas v. Bruton, 284 Kan. 815, 832-33, 166 P.3d 992 (2007). “ ‘The law favors reasonable interpretations, and results which vitiate the purpose of the terms of the agreement to an absurdity should be avoided. [Citations omitted.]’ ” Wichita Clinic v. Louis, 39 Kan. App. 2d 848, 853, 185 P.3d 946, rev. denied 287 Kan. 769 (2008).

Interpretation of Settlement and Release Agreement

In his brief, Daggett contends that the intent of the parties is clear in that the pension contributions were to be made to benefit Daggett. Daggett argues that because he did not receive the benefit of those contributions, the BPU failed to perform a duty arising under the agreement. Daggett further contends that the intent of the agreement was not for the BPU to make meaningless contributions, only to have them returned to the BPU 2Yz years later.

On the other hand, the BPU argues that it complied with the settlement agreement because it made the contributions each month as required. The BPU contends that all it was required to do was to make those contributions and that what happened to those contributions after it made them was out of its control.

As a general rule, a contract must be interpreted in light of its provisions, and every provision must be construed, if possible, to be consistent with every other provision and to give effect to all. Wiles v. Wiles, 202 Kan. 613, 619, 452 P.2d 271 (1969). The terms of a contract should be construed to give effect to the intention of the parties when they entered into the contract, and this must be determined from the four comers of the contract itself. 202 Kan. at 619.

The first applicable portion of the Settlement and Release Agreement is section 1(c), which provides as follows: “Until June 30, 2008, Mr.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Harding v. Capitol Federal Savings Bank
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2024
Vazquez v. Cleveland Chiropratic College, Inc.
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2022
City of Hiawatha v. Rural Water Dist. No. 2
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2015
Rand Construction Co. v. Dearborn Mid-West Conveyor Co.
944 F. Supp. 2d 1042 (D. Kansas, 2013)
Daggett v. Board of Public Utilities
263 P.3d 847 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
263 P.3d 847, 46 Kan. App. 2d 513, 2011 Kan. App. LEXIS 137, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/daggett-v-board-of-public-utilities-kanctapp-2011.