Reversing a trial court, a Connecticut appeals court rules that a residency agreement signed by the daughter of an assisted living facility resident making the daughter personally liable for her mother's care is not unconscionable or against public policy. Emeritus Senior Living v. Lepore (Conn. App. Ct., No. AC 40078, June 26, 2018).
Denise Lepore admitted her mother to an assisted living facility and signed the residency agreement as her mother's representative. The agreement stated that if a representative signed the agreement, the representative and the resident were "jointly and severally" obligated to pay the facility. Ms. Lepore eventually stopped paying the facility for her mother's care.
The facility sued Ms. Lepore for the payments due under the residency agreement. The trial court determined that the residency agreement was unenforceable because it was unconscionable and against public policy, and the facility appealed.
The Connecticut Court of Appeals reverses, holding that the agreement is not unconscionable or against public policy. The court notes that agreement plainly and unambiguously imposes personal liability on individuals signing as a representative and "a guarantee agreement to ensure payment for services rendered is not so unreasonable as to be unconscionable." The court also states that it does "not identify a public policy prohibiting contracts that guarantee payment for assisted living leases."
.For the full text of this decision, go to: https://www.jud.ct.gov//external/supapp/Cases/AROap/AP183/183AP341.pdf
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