The defendants brought a motion to oppose the confirmation of a Master's report following a 29-day trial on a construction lien reference.
The Master had awarded the plaintiff $243,325.20 plus costs and elevated pre-judgment interest, largely based on adverse credibility findings against the defendants.
The Superior Court found that the Master made a palpable and overriding error by misreading the date on a key invoice, which tainted his credibility assessment and led to an erroneous $72,000 award for 'extra' design work.
The court deducted the $72,000 from the judgment and reduced the pre-judgment interest to the statutory rate, but upheld the Master's findings on commissions for builder upgrades, price reductions, and post-termination items.
The defendants were awarded $19,000 in costs for the motion.