Opinion ID: 600262
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Effect of Newport's Consent.

Text: 30 Newport also claims that, even if it accepted the offer, there remains a question of fact regarding whether, by doing so, it intended to relinquish its right to sue the Bank for failure to resume financing the project pursuant to the oral agreement. This claim rests chiefly on an affidavit from Ronald Kutrieb, one of Newport's principals, professing his belief that, in signing the letter, he was not surrendering Newport's rights under the oral agreement. 6 In our view, this initiative ignores both unambiguous language and settled law. We explain briefly. 31 As we have previously indicated, the plain language of the November 1 letter is difficult to overcome. To be sure, the letter made no reference to the earlier oral agreement. Nevertheless, the Bank did not mince words. The letter unequivocally stated that the Bank had decided not to allow restarting of the project. These words are definite. Their purport is not contradicted by any other term in the agreement. The ordinary meaning of the quoted language, taken in context, is susceptible to no other reasonable interpretation than as an expression of the parties' mutual agreement that construction financing for the project would no longer be furnished by the Bank. 32 In such clear-cut circumstances, the courts below had no principled choice but to hold that Newport, by accepting the offer in the manner indicated, assented to the no further financing term. See Fireman's Fund, 391 A.2d at 102; see also Theroux v. Bay Assocs., Inc., 114 R.I. 746, 339 A.2d 266, 268 (1975) (explaining that a court will not import ambiguity into a contract that unmistakably expresses the parties' intentions). 33 Nor did the Kutrieb affidavit create a roadblock en route to this result. Contracts ordinarily depend on objective indicia of consent, not on a party's subjective expectations. When, as in this instance, the parties' intent is made manifest by the express terms of a written agreement, fairly construed, a court interpreting the agreement should not look to some undisclosed intent that may have existed in the minds of the contracting parties but [should be governed by] the intent that is expressed by the language contained in the contract. Woonsocket Teachers' Guild, 367 A.2d at 205; accord Westinghouse, 410 A.2d at 991 n. 10; see also Smith v. Boyd, 553 A.2d 131, 133 (R.I.1989) (explaining that, under Rhode Island law, objective manifestations of intent govern contract formation); Mathewson Corp., 827 F.2d at 853-54 (same; applying Massachusetts law). Hence, the Kutrieb affidavit raised no genuine issue of material fact sufficient to preclude the entry of summary judgment. See, e.g., Singh, 977 F.2d at 23 (affirming summary judgment for lender on the basis, inter alia, that a litigant may not subrogate the terms of an unambiguous contract to his supposed contemplation of its meaning) (applying Massachusetts law); Cassidy v. Springfield Life Ins. Co., 106 R.I. 615, 262 A.2d 378, 380 (1970) (stating that, where a contract's terms are clear and unambiguous, and there are no questions of material fact to be resolved, the nisi prius court may grant summary judgment). 34 We see no way around this outcome. The Bank's explicit disclaimer of any intention to restart the project in the subsequent letter agreement directly contradicts the supposed oral agreement (wherein the Bank allegedly agreed to pour more money into the project upon Newport's fulfillment of certain conditions). Given this direct contradiction, the letter agreement, being later in time, necessarily superseded any and all prior oral agreements anent restarting construction. It is, after all, settled law that, if the terms of a prior oral negotiation are dealt with, or covered by, a later written agreement between the parties on the same general subject, then, presumably, the latter was intended to supersede the former, and should be so construed. See Rogers v. Zielinski, 92 R.I. 479, 170 A.2d 294, 296 (1961) (explaining that, if confronted with such a situation, a court should assume that the writing was meant to represent all of the transaction on that element) (quoting 9 Wigmore, Evidence § 2430(3) (3d ed. 1940)); Philip Carey Mfg. Co. v. General Prods. Co., 89 R.I. 136, 151 A.2d 487, 492 (1959) (holding that parties to a novation waive any rights they might have had under the prior agreement); Quinn v. Bernat, 80 R.I. 375, 97 A.2d 273, 275 (1953) (stating that a complete written agreement becomes the memorial of the parties' intent, merging or integrating all prior oral agreements relating to the subject matter). 35