SC20226 - Kent Literary Club of Wesleyan University v. Wesleyan University ("This appeal involves a commercial dispute arising in the unique context of an undergraduate housing program. The plaintiffs are Kent Literary Club of Wesleyan University at Middletown (Kent), which owns a Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity house on the Wesleyan University campus (DKE House); the Gamma Phi Chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon at Wesleyan (DKE); and Jordan Jancze, who, at the time of trial, was a Wesleyan student and DKE member. The defendants include Wesleyan University (Wesleyan or the university); Wesleyan's president, Michael S. Roth; and Wesleyan's vice president for student affairs, Michael J. Whaley. Following Wesleyan's September, 2014 announcement that all residential fraternities on campus would be required to coeducate, and following a series of unsuccessful negotiations between the parties to establish a mutually agreeable coeducation plan, Wesleyan notified Kent and DKE that they would no longer be eligible to participate in the university's program housing system as of the 2015–16 academic year and, therefore, that Wesleyan students no longer could reside in or use the DKE House. In response, the plaintiffs commenced the present action, alleging promissory estoppel, negligent misrepresentation, tortious interference with business expectancies, and violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA), General Statutes § 42-110a et seq., and seeking damages, attorney's fees and costs, and injunctive relief. Following a jury trial, the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiffs on all counts and awarded Kent $386,000 in damages. In addition, the trial court, acting pursuant to CUTPA, awarded the plaintiffs $398,129 in attorney's fees and $13,234.44 in costs, and issued a mandatory injunction requiring, among other things, that Wesleyan enter into a new contract with Kent and DKE, resume housing Wesleyan students in the DKE House, and give DKE three years in which to coeducate.
On appeal, the defendants raise various challenges to the judgment, including claims concerning the trial court's jury instructions and the sufficiency of the evidence with respect to both liability and damages. The defendants also contend that the trial court abused its discretion or otherwise acted contrary to law in awarding the plaintiffs injunctive relief. We conclude that, although there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find the defendants liable, the trial court failed to properly instruct the jury regarding the legal effects of the parties' contract and the proper means of calculating damages. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand the case for a new trial.")