Opinion ID: 1903266
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: The Unjust Enrichment Award

Text: The plaintiffs challenge the trial justice's finding that defendant was entitled to recover on her unjust enrichment counterclaim because she knew that plaintiffs owned the property. Alternatively, plaintiffs argue that the trial justice erred in calculating defendant's award by accepting Scotti's testimony about the house's appreciation attributable to the improvements, combining the cost of the improvements and the appreciation figure, and failing to offset defendant's recovery to account for the benefit she enjoyed by living in the house rent-free. We affirm the trial justice's grant of an unjust enrichment award to defendant but conclude that he erred in setting the amount of the award. Under Rhode Island law, unjust enrichment is not simply a remedy in contract and tort but can stand alone as a cause of action in its own right. Toupin v. Laverdiere, 729 A.2d 1286 (R.I.1999); Todd Barton, Note and Comment, Filling in the Gaps in Civil Liability: The Development of Unjust Enrichment in Rhode Island, 9 Roger Williams U.L.Rev. 695, 706-07 (2004). To recover for unjust enrichment, a claimant must prove: (1) that he or she conferred a benefit upon the party from whom relief is sought; (2) that the recipient appreciated the benefit; and (3) that the recipient accepted the benefit under such circumstances that it would be inequitable for [the recipient] to retain the benefit without paying the value thereof. Bouchard v. Price, 694 A.2d 670, 673 (R.I. 1997). It is undisputed that defendant conferred a benefit upon plaintiffs  a benefit that plaintiffs realized by virtue of the improved condition of their property. This controversy concerns the third element: whether it would be inequitable for plaintiffs to retain the benefit without paying for it. In Eastern Motor Inns, Inc. v. Ricci, 565 A.2d 1265, 1272 (R.I.1989), a prospective purchaser sought to recover under a theory of unjust enrichment for its expenditures in obtaining a zoning change for seller's property. The parties had executed a purchase and sales agreement, subject to a condition that the municipality approve the desired zoning change. Id. at 1267. The zoning change went into effect, but the parties failed to close the deal by the dropdead date set forth in the agreement. Id. at 1268-69. Because the value of the property had increased dramatically due to market conditions, the erstwhile purchaser alleged that the seller had been unjustly enriched because the property's appreciation was the result of the zoning change. Id. at 1268, 1272. We affirmed the trial justice's finding that the purchaser was not entitled to recover, holding that: [w]hen a party makes improvements or confers a benefit upon the land of another with full knowledge that title is vested in another, or subject to dispute, the improver will not be entitled to restitution under the equitable doctrine of unjust enrichment. Id. at 1272. We concluded that the money expended by the purchaser was part of its ordinary cost of doing business and that the parties were engaged in an arms-length business transaction, fully aware of the attendant risks and obligations. Id. at 1273. In this case, although the circumstances do not warrant conveyance of the house to defendant, it is quite another thing to allow plaintiffs to realize the bounty of her labors. Unlike the parties in Eastern Motor Inns, Inc., plaintiffs and defendant were not parties to an arms-length transaction; this house was thought to be a wedding gift to the happy couple by the groom's parents. The improvement efforts were not merely business expenses. As the trial justice found, when defendant and her father made the improvements to the house, they were acting at Anthony Sr.'s behest, and Cynthia was operating under the reasonable belief (at the very least) that she and her husband were the equitable owners of the property. Therefore, the trial justice did not err in distinguishing this case from Eastern Motor Inns, Inc., and finding for defendant on her unjust enrichment counterclaim. We are convinced, however, that awarding defendant the appreciation in value attributable to her improvements to the house and the cost of those improvements was error. The benefit defendant conferred upon plaintiffs was an improved house; plaintiffs realized the difference between the fair market value of the house in its unimproved state and with the improvements, amounting to $106,000. We decline plaintiffs' invitation to second-guess the trial justice's decision to credit Scotti's testimony and reject Fahey's testimony. A trial justice, in his or her role as fact-finder in a nonjury trial, is free to accept or reject all or part of an expert witness's testimony. Cf. Morra v. Harrop, 791 A.2d 472, 477 (R.I.2002) (holding juries are free to accept expert testimony in whole or in part). Adding the cost of improvements to the appreciation figure, however, would yield a double recovery. We are satisfied that the trial justice did not err by dividing the unjust enrichment award in half or by refusing to offset the award to account for the defendant's use and occupancy of the property. It is axiomatic that a trial justice is in the best position to assess the credibility of witnesses and weigh the evidence. State v. Vorgvongsa, 670 A.2d 1250, 1257 (R.I. 1996). He determined that justice required only that the defendant receive compensation for half the total benefit conferred upon the plaintiffs, and the defendant has not provided us with any factual basis for her contention that she should receive it all. Similarly, the trial justice found that it would be inequitable and unjust to offset the defendant's unjust enrichment award by the rental value of the house up until the termination of her tenancy. He based his finding on the defendant's reliance on Anthony Sr.'s braggadocio in repeatedly declaring his intention to give the house to the kids and his arrangement with Anthony Jr. that he and Cynthia live in the house rent-free. [6] Determining what constitutes a just or unjust result requires a trial justice to examine the facts of the particular case and balance the equities. R & B Electric Co. v. Amco Construction Co., 471 A.2d 1351, 1356 (R.I.1984). Given his careful factual findings and credibility determinations, we are satisfied that the trial justice did not err in refusing to offset the defendant's award by an amount representing her use and occupancy of the premises prior to July 2001. Substantial justice between these parties was accomplished in this case. [7]