Charles Renfrew v. Hartford Accident and Indemnit

MEMORANDUM

Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company (“Hartford”) appeals the district court’s affirmance of the bankruptcy court’s order granting Appellees’ motion for partial summary judgment and issuing a permanent injunction. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 158 (d)(1), and we affirm.

1. The terms “review” and “audit” do not necessarily imply rights to disseminate or use for unlimited purposes the information that is reviewed and audited. Furthermore, the extrinsic evidence in this case supports the bankruptcy court’s conclusion that the parties did not intend those terms in the Settlement Agreement and Release (the “Settlement”) to encompass such rights.

2. The bankruptcy court correctly considered extrinsic evidence in its interpretation of the Settlement. See Pac. Gas & Elec. Co. v. G.W. Thomas Drayage & Rigging Co., 69 Cal.2d 33 , 69 Cal.Rptr. 561 , 442 P.2d 641, 644-46 (1968). Because the terms “review” and “audit” do not necessarily encompass the unlimited use of the audited and reviewed information, the bankruptcy court’s interpretation of Section 14.1 of the Settlement based on extrinsic evidence did not “add to, detract from, or vary the terms of’ that…