Barton v. Norwalk ( 2016 )


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    ROBERT BARTON v. CITY OF NORWALK
    (AC 36040)
    (AC 36270)
    Gruendel, Prescott and Pellegrino, Js.
    Argued October 28, 2015—officially released February 23, 2016
    (Appeal from Superior Court, judicial district of
    Stamford-Norwalk, Mintz, J. [motion to cite in]; Hon.
    Taggart D. Adams, judge trial referee [judgment; motion
    to award prejudgment interest].)
    Daniel J. Krisch, with whom were Mario F. Coppola,
    corporation counsel, and Carolyn M. Colangelo, assis-
    tant corporation counsel, for the appellant in AC 36040
    and the appellee in AC 36270 (defendant).
    Elliott B. Pollack and Tiffany K. Spinella, for the
    appellees in AC 36040 and the appellants in AC 36270
    (plaintiffs).
    Opinion
    GRUENDEL, J. The defendant, the city of Norwalk,
    appeals from the judgment of the trial court awarding
    the plaintiff Robert Barton1 $899,480 in damages plus
    $543,384.49 in prejudgment interest for his claim that
    the defendant inversely condemned his building at 70
    South Main Street in Norwalk (70 South Main) when it
    took the building’s parking lot across the street at 65
    South Main Street (65 South Main) by eminent domain.
    On appeal, the defendant raises two claims: (1) that the
    plaintiff was judicially estopped from asserting that the
    value of 70 South Main prior to the inverse condemna-
    tion should be calculated on the assumption that it had
    parking across the street at 65 South Main because—
    when the defendant took 65 South Main in the prior
    eminent domain proceeding—the plaintiff valued it and
    received just compensation for it, not as a parking lot,
    but according to its ‘‘highest and best use’’ as a mixed
    use development; and (2) that 70 South Main was not
    inversely condemned because the plaintiff’s use and
    enjoyment of it had not been totally destroyed. The
    plaintiff cross appeals, arguing that the court improp-
    erly denied him offer of compromise interest. We affirm
    the judgment of the trial court.
    The court found the following facts, which are
    unchallenged on appeal. In 1981, the plaintiff purchased
    the four story walk-up commercial building at 70 South
    Main as an office for his sail-making business. There
    was a single parking space at 70 South Main. The defen-
    dant told the plaintiff that he needed more parking for
    70 South Main to comply with zoning regulations. The
    defendant approved a site plan for 70 South Main that
    involved the plaintiff buying the vacant lot across the
    street at 65 South Main and creating forty-four parking
    spaces there. The plaintiff did so, and the defendant
    issued a certificate of zoning compliance in 1984 for
    both properties.
    In 1985, the plaintiff sold his sail-making business
    but kept the building. The buyers remained at 70 South
    Main for one year before moving out. When they did,
    the plaintiff began leasing space at 70 South Main to
    a number of commercial tenants. Lessees included a
    barbershop and a housing services office on the first
    floor, Macedonia Church on the second floor as well
    as parts of the third and fourth floors, a photo-gift busi-
    ness on the third floor, and several crafts persons on
    the fourth floor. The court did not expressly find but
    it is undisputed that there was also a residential apart-
    ment on the fourth floor. For most of the next fifteen
    years, the building was 95 to 100 percent occupied.
    When the plaintiff bought 70 South Main, there was
    abundant on-street parking nearby. Beginning in 1990,
    however, the defendant enlarged no-parking zones and
    converted several side streets into through streets. As
    a result, on-street parking grew steadily more limited.
    In 1996, when the plaintiff learned of the defendant’s
    interest in building a new police headquarters on land
    that included his parking lot at 65 South Main, he and his
    tenants grew concerned that they and their customers
    would have nowhere to park. They expressed this con-
    cern to city officials, who offered the plaintiff and his
    tenants forty parking permits at the South Norwalk
    train station, which would expire after ten years, as a
    compromise. The plaintiff and his tenants rejected this
    offer because they asserted that those spaces were far
    away, unpleasant, and possibly dangerous. The plaintiff
    stressed in his talks with two subsequent mayors of
    Norwalk that, if the defendant condemned his parking
    lot at 65 South Main, it would cripple operations at 70
    South Main.
    In February, 2002, the defendant condemned the
    parking lot at 65 South Main and paid the plaintiff
    $127,000 as just compensation for it. Norwalk v. Barton,
    Superior Court, judicial district of Stamford-Norwalk,
    Docket No. CV-02-0187554-S, 
    2009 WL 323785
    , *2 (Janu-
    ary 27, 2009) (judgment as to adequacy of compensation
    for 65 South Main). The plaintiff asked the Superior
    Court to review the defendant’s statement of just com-
    pensation, arguing that 65 South Main was worth
    $350,000. 
    Id.
     In addition, the plaintiff twice tried to
    amend his pleadings in that case to add a claim for
    losses to 70 South Main as a result of the taking of 65
    South Main. The defendant successfully objected to
    both amendments.
    The parties’ experts testified in that proceeding only
    to the fair market value of 65 South Main standing alone.
    Id., *1. Specifically, both parties’ real estate appraisers
    agreed that ‘‘the highest and best use’’ for 65 South
    Main—which is the standard measure of just compensa-
    tion; Northeast Ct. Economic Alliance, Inc. v. ATC Part-
    nership, 
    272 Conn. 14
    , 25, 
    861 A.2d 473
     (2004)—would
    be ‘‘a mixed use development built to the maximum
    permitted by zoning containing one or more of the fol-
    lowing three uses permitted by the current zoning regu-
    lations; a restaurant and taverns, multifamily dwellings,
    off-street parking, retail, personal and business ser-
    vices.’’ Norwalk v. Barton, supra, 
    2009 WL 323785
    , *3.
    The defendant admitted that under the ‘‘highest and
    best use’’ test, 65 South Main was actually worth closer
    to $255,000. 
    Id.
     Although both parties’ experts agreed
    that the property’s highest and best use was a mixed
    use development and although both experts valued it
    as such, at oral argument on the last day of trial, the
    defendant urged the court to value 65 South Main
    instead as a parking lot, since there was no evidence
    that the plaintiff intended to convert it from that use,
    and to reduce its value accordingly. Id., *7.
    On January 27, 2009, the court rendered judgment in
    favor of the plaintiff in that case. The court found that
    65 South Main was worth $310,000 as a mixed use devel-
    opment and awarded the plaintiff $310,000 in just com-
    pensation, minus the $127,000 that the defendant had
    already paid the plaintiff, plus interest, fees, and costs.
    Id., *10. As the defendant had requested, the court also
    calculated 65 South Main’s value as a parking lot and
    found it to be $334,000.2 Id.
    Because the plaintiff could not recover for losses to
    70 South Main in the action concerning 65 South Main,
    he filed a second action—the subject of this appeal—
    in November, 2003, in which he alleged that the defen-
    dant had inversely condemned 70 South Main when it
    took 65 South Main. A four day trial to the court
    occurred in February, 2013. The plaintiff called four
    witnesses, namely, himself, his expert real estate
    appraiser, a former tenant of 70 South Main, and a
    current tenant of 70 South Main. The defendant chose
    to call no witnesses. Instead, when the plaintiff rested,
    the defendant moved for a judgment of dismissal on
    the ground that the plaintiff had failed to make out a
    prima facie case. After the court took that motion under
    advisement, the defendant rested without presenting a
    case-in-chief.
    On August 28, 2013, the court rendered judgment
    in favor of the plaintiff on his claim for the inverse
    condemnation of 70 South Main. The court awarded him
    $899,480 in damages plus $543,384.49 in prejudgment
    interest. The court found that the lack of parking,
    caused by the taking of 65 South Main by eminent
    domain, ‘‘ha[d] substantially destroyed the [plaintiff’s]
    ability to operate the property as a leasable facility
    and enjoy even a modicum of financial success. The
    evidence shows the lack of parking, which the [defen-
    dant] initially insisted upon, reduced the . . . [proper-
    ty’s] chances of commercial success to negligible or
    nonexistent’’ and amounted to ‘‘a substantial destruc-
    tion of the [plaintiff’s] ability to enjoy or use the prop-
    erty . . . .’’ As such, the plaintiff ‘‘proved [his] claim
    of inverse condemnation.’’
    In concluding that the plaintiff’s use of 70 South Main
    had been substantially destroyed, the court relied pri-
    marily on three categories of evidence: (1) evidence of
    the building’s lease rate; (2) evidence of the building’s
    income; and (3) evidence of the building’s fair mar-
    ket value.
    First, as to the building’s lease rate, the court found
    that the percentage of leased space in 70 South Main
    had declined from more than 90 percent in 2001 to 5
    percent in 2006, and had rebounded slightly to 10 per-
    cent in 2011. After the taking of 65 South Main in Febru-
    ary, 2002, the Family and Children’s Aid Society of
    Fairfield County, which leased three quarters of the
    first floor of 70 South Main, told the plaintiff that it
    would leave as soon as its lease expired due to the lack
    of parking. The building’s largest tenant—Macedonia
    Church, on the second floor and parts of the third and
    fourth floors—let its lease lapse and began looking for
    alternative locations, citing parking concerns.3 Immedi-
    ately after the taking of 65 South Main, the plaintiff lost
    the third and fourth floor tenants, who also cited the
    lack of parking as their reason not to renew. One long-
    time lessee who operated a barbershop on the first floor
    of 70 South Main explained: ‘‘It just doesn’t pay to open
    any more . . . the parking situation has just killed us.
    . . . Nobody wants to pay a $15 or $25 fine to get a
    $12 haircut.’’
    The plaintiff tried to rent space to new tenants.
    Although prospective tenants found 70 South Main
    attractive and otherwise suitable, they were dissuaded
    by the lack of parking. By the time of trial, only two
    tenants leased space at 70 South Main—a bail bond
    office and a cell phone store, both of which ‘‘lease[d]
    small areas and [were] unlikely to expand. The bail
    bond office, of course, ha[d] a unique situation being
    located literally across the street from the [new] police
    station. The cell phone store owner walk[ed] to work
    and the clientele [was] mostly walk-in.’’ Together, these
    two tenants occupied only 10 percent of the building.
    The court found that the ‘‘remainder of the building
    will attract tenants only by rock bottom rents, and these
    will be tenants for which parking is not an issue, likely
    a small and transient group.’’
    Second, as to the building’s annual operating income,
    the court found that it had declined from $94,080 in 2001
    to $20,661 in 2006, and rebounded slightly to $29,221 in
    2011.4
    Third, as to the building’s fair market value, the court
    found that it had declined from $1.1 million before the
    taking to $200,520 after the taking. At trial, the plaintiff’s
    expert real estate appraiser testified that in a suburban
    market, ‘‘parking is the lifeline of [a] building. You take
    the parking away; you’ve gutted the building—the value
    of a building.’’ That expert’s appraisal report, which the
    plaintiff submitted into evidence, noted that 70 South
    Main’s value as an office building after the taking ‘‘may
    be lower than the value of the land at 70 S. Main Street as
    if vacant and available for development.’’ The plaintiff’s
    expert also testified that the value was ‘‘getting so low,
    it’s virtually a tear-down at this point. . . . [W]e’re
    pretty close to tear-down value.’’5
    Finally, in addition to these three primary categories
    of evidence, the court found that the building’s upkeep
    had been affected. Contractors that the plaintiff hired
    to repair the roof, windows, leaks, and heating system
    of 70 South Main were stymied by the defendant’s
    refusal to issue the necessary permits on the ground
    that 70 South Main no longer had adequate parking and
    so was not zoning compliant. Consistently, when the
    plaintiff inquired of the defendant’s zoning officials in
    the years after the taking of 65 South Main, he was told
    either, ‘‘no parking, no permits,’’ or, ‘‘there’s pending
    litigation; we can’t talk to you.’’ This created difficulties
    for the plaintiff and his tenants.6
    In short, the court found that ‘‘the record [was] quite
    convincing that the economic fortunes of 70 South Main
    took a considerable turn for the worse . . . a result
    that [the plaintiff] had accurately predicted,’’ and that
    this record established an inverse condemnation.
    As to the defendant’s various counterclaims and spe-
    cial defenses, the court found in favor of the plaintiff
    on those as well. One such special defense was judicial
    estoppel. The defendant had argued that the plaintiff
    was judicially estopped from bringing an action for the
    inverse condemnation of 70 South Main because: (1)
    the plaintiff’s position in the previous litigation that 65
    South Main’s highest and best use was as a mixed use
    development was ‘‘completely inconsistent’’ with his
    position in this litigation that he would have continued
    using 65 South Main as a parking lot; and (2) his incon-
    sistent positions gave him the unfair advantage of being
    able to bring the inverse condemnation action for losses
    to 70 South Main. The court disagreed, finding that the
    positions were consistent and that the plaintiff derived
    no unfair advantage.
    The defendant appealed from the judgment to this
    court, arguing that: (1) judicial estoppel barred the
    plaintiff’s recovery for losses to 70 South Main; and (2)
    in any case, the interference with the plaintiff’s use of
    70 South Main was not so substantial as to be an inverse
    condemnation. While that appeal was pending, the
    plaintiff moved for offer of compromise interest pursu-
    ant to General Statutes § 52-192a, arguing that he satis-
    fied the statute because his 2009 offer7 to settle the
    case was ‘‘for a sum certain’’ and he recovered an
    amount ‘‘equal to or greater than [that] sum certain’’ at
    trial. The court denied the plaintiff’s motion on the
    grounds that his 2009 offer asked for considerably more
    than a sum certain and, in any case, he had not recov-
    ered all requested relief at trial. The plaintiff appealed
    from that judgment and this court consolidated the
    two appeals.
    We address each of the three issues in turn.
    I
    We begin with the defendant’s claim that judicial
    estoppel barred the plaintiff’s recovery. Specifically, the
    defendant argues that, because the plaintiff previously
    had asserted that 65 South Main should be valued
    according to its ‘‘highest and best use’’ as a mixed use
    development and because he had received just compen-
    sation for it on that basis, he was judicially estopped
    in the inverse condemnation action from assuming that
    it was still a parking lot when he asserted 70 South
    Main’s value prior to the taking. We disagree.
    use of judicial machinery . . . judicial estoppel is an
    equitable doctrine invoked by a court at its discretion
    . . . . Accordingly, our review of the trial court’s deci-
    sion not to invoke the doctrine is for abuse of discre-
    tion.’’ (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks
    omitted.) Assn. Resources, Inc. v. Wall, 
    298 Conn. 145
    ,
    171, 
    2 A.3d 873
     (2010).
    ‘‘[J]udicial estoppel prevents a party in a legal pro-
    ceeding from taking a position contrary to a position the
    party has taken in an earlier proceeding. . . . [J]udicial
    estoppel serves interests different from those served
    by equitable estoppel, which is designed to ensure fair-
    ness in the relationship between parties. . . . The
    courts invoke judicial estoppel as a means to preserve
    the sanctity of the oath or to protect judicial integrity
    by avoiding the risk of inconsistent results in two pro-
    ceedings. . . . Typically, judicial estoppel will apply if:
    1) a party’s later position is clearly inconsistent with
    its earlier position; 2) the party’s former position has
    been adopted in some way by the court in the earlier
    proceeding; and 3) the party asserting the two positions
    would derive an unfair advantage against the party seek-
    ing estoppel. . . . We further limit judicial estoppel to
    situations where the risk of inconsistent results with
    its impact on judicial integrity is certain. . . . Thus,
    courts generally will not apply the doctrine if the first
    statement or omission was the result of a good faith
    mistake . . . or an unintentional error.’’ (Citations
    omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Dougan v.
    Dougan, 
    301 Conn. 361
    , 372–73, 
    21 A.3d 791
     (2011); see
    also Dept. of Transportation v. White Oak Corp., 
    319 Conn. 582
    , 612, 
    125 A.3d 988
     (2015) (same).
    Here, because the court properly found that the first
    and third of the three conditions had not been met, it did
    not abuse its discretion when it rejected the defendant’s
    judicial estoppel claim.
    As to the first condition, the plaintiff has not taken
    clearly inconsistent positions. The defendant argues
    that the plaintiff took two clearly inconsistent positions
    because: (1) in the previous eminent domain proceed-
    ing, the plaintiff asserted that ‘‘the highest and best use
    of 65 South Main Street was a mixed use development’’;
    and (2) in this litigation, the plaintiff asserted that 70
    South Main would have had ‘‘the use of 65 South Main
    Street as a parking lot’’ but for the defendant’s taking
    it. We conclude that these positions are not clearly
    inconsistent, for two reasons.
    First, the valuation of a property according to its
    highest and best use—the standard measure of just
    compensation—is understood to be potentially count-
    erfactual. The law does not require that the owner actu-
    ally devote the property to that use. See Northeast Ct.
    Economic Alliance, Inc. v. ATC Partnership, supra, 
    272 Conn. 25
     (‘‘[i]n determining its highest and best use,
    the trial [court] must consider whether there was a
    reasonable probability that the subject property would
    be put to that use in the reasonably near future, and
    what effect such a prospective use may have had on
    the property’s market value at the time of the taking’’
    [emphasis added; internal quotation marks omitted]);
    see also Bristol v. Tilcon Minerals, Inc., 
    284 Conn. 55
    ,
    67, 
    931 A.2d 237
     (2007) (‘‘the trial court’s finding that
    there was a reasonable probability that the property
    could or would be used for residential development in
    the reasonably near future and its corollary finding that
    the highest and best use of the property was for residen-
    tial development were not clearly erroneous’’ [emphasis
    added]). Thus, the plaintiff’s valuation of 65 South Main
    as a mixed use development was not an assertion that
    he would have stopped actually using 65 South Main
    as a parking lot.
    Second, the plaintiff’s argument in the eminent
    domain proceeding that 65 South Main’s highest and
    best use standing alone was a mixed use development
    does not contradict his argument in this litigation that
    65 South Main’s and 70 South Main’s highest and best
    use together was an office building on 70 South Main
    and a parking lot at 65 South Main. While this tack
    could give the plaintiff an unfair advantage if 65 South
    Main were worth dramatically less as a parking lot than
    as a mixed use development, the two positions are not,
    without more, inconsistent. Because clearly inconsis-
    tent positions are the crux of a judicial estoppel claim,
    the absence of this first condition alone justifies the
    court’s decision.
    As to the third condition, the plaintiff derived no
    unfair advantage from simultaneously taking his two
    positions. On the contrary, the plaintiff’s two positions
    allowed him to recover once for 65 South Main and
    once for 70 South Main, the same as if in the prior
    litigation he had valued 65 South Main as a parking lot
    instead of as a mixed use development. Although the
    plaintiff may have recovered more than the defendant
    preferred, he has not gained an unfair advantage.
    The defendant, however, argues that the plaintiff
    gained an ‘‘enormous advantage . . . in this case’’
    because ‘‘[h]ad the [plaintiff] been bound to [his] prior
    position . . . the linchpin of [his] inverse condemna-
    tion case would have disappeared.’’ In short, the defen-
    dant argues that the ‘‘advantage’’ the plaintiff gained
    was being able to bring his action for the inverse con-
    demnation of 70 South Main at all. In making this argu-
    ment, the defendant confuses the baseline against
    which an ‘‘advantage’’ is measured. The question is
    whether the party gained more by taking inconsistent
    positions than it would have by taking consistent posi-
    tions.8 Two cases are on point.
    In the first case, the parties extensively negotiated a
    dissolution agreement, engaging in a quid pro quo where
    each party ended up with some terms they liked and
    some they did not. Dougan v. Dougan, 
    supra,
     
    301 Conn. 365
     n.3, 373. The plaintiff represented to the court that
    the final agreement was fair and reasonable, and the
    court adopted the agreement in its entirety. 
    Id.,
     364–65.
    Then, when it came time to enforce a clause in the
    agreement that disfavored the plaintiff, he argued that
    the clause was void as against public policy. Id., 369.
    Had he succeeded, he would have gotten the terms that
    he liked and denied the defendant one of the terms that
    she had negotiated for in exchange. See id., 375. By
    contrast, had the plaintiff argued that the clause was
    unenforceable before the court adopted the agreement,
    the defendant presumably would have negotiated for a
    different favorable clause in its stead. Our Supreme
    Court held that the defendant was judicially estopped
    from arguing that a clause in the agreement that he had
    previously stated under oath was fair and reasonable
    was actually void as against public policy. Id.
    In the second case, when a plaintiff tried to amend
    its complaint to add three new counts, the defendants
    successfully objected on the ground that the new counts
    did not relate back to the same series of events as the
    original counts. MacDermid, Inc. v. Cookson Group,
    PLC, 
    149 Conn. App. 571
    , 579–80, 
    89 A.3d 447
    , cert.
    denied, 
    312 Conn. 914
    , 
    93 A.3d 597
     (2014). Then, when
    the plaintiff filed the new counts as a separate action,
    the defendants moved to dismiss that new action on
    the ground that it was barred by the prior pending
    action doctrine because it arose out of the same series
    of events as the first action. 
    Id.,
     580–81. Had the defen-
    dants taken consistent positions, they would have had
    to face the plaintiff’s new counts, on the merits, in at
    least one of the two actions; by taking inconsistent
    positions, the defendants were able to block the new
    counts entirely. See 
    id.,
     581–82. The court held that the
    defendants were judicially estopped from arguing that
    the prior pending action doctrine barred the plaintiff’s
    second action. Id., 582.
    These two cases establish that the question is
    whether a party gained more by taking inconsistent
    positions than it would have by taking consistent posi-
    tions. Here, by contrast, the plaintiff’s two positions
    allowed him to recover once for 65 South Main and
    once for 70 South Main, the same as if he had valued
    65 South Main as a parking lot instead of as a mixed
    use development. He gained no advantage, let alone an
    unfair one.9
    Because the plaintiff’s two positions were not clearly
    inconsistent and because he derived no unfair advan-
    tage from asserting them, we conclude that the court
    did not abuse its discretion in rejecting the defendant’s
    judicial estoppel claim.
    II
    Second, we consider the defendant’s claim that it did
    not inversely condemn 70 South Main because it did
    not ‘‘substantially destroy’’ the plaintiff’s use and enjoy-
    ment of the building. We disagree. In making this argu-
    ment, the defendant relies heavily on the continued
    presence of Macedonia Church and two small street-
    level tenants. The court, however, found that the plain-
    tiff has been unable to lease out 90 to 95 percent of 70
    South Main since the taking of 65 South Main and that
    the building’s value reflects this, having declined to near
    that of a vacant lot. It does not appear that the building
    can be used for any other reasonable purpose. Although
    the defendant points to the continued presence of Mace-
    donia Church, we defer to the court’s finding that the
    church’s presence was an outlier and not representative
    of the building’s actual economic viability. That 10 per-
    cent of the building was still leased by two small street-
    level shops means that there was no total destruction
    of use. We conclude, however, that on these facts, the
    defendant substantially destroyed the plaintiff’s ability
    to use and enjoy 70 South Main. Accordingly, an inverse
    condemnation has occurred.
    We begin with the standard of review. ‘‘Whether pri-
    vate property has been taken by inverse condemnation
    is a question of law subject to our plenary review.’’
    Bristol v. Tilcon Minerals, Inc., supra, 
    284 Conn. 83
    .
    ‘‘Inverse condemnation is a cause of action against
    a governmental defendant to recover the value of prop-
    erty which has been taken in fact by the governmental
    defendant, even though no formal exercise of the power
    of eminent domain has been attempted by the taking
    agency. . . . An inverse condemnation claim accrues
    when the purpose of government regulation and its
    economic effect on the property owner render the regu-
    lation substantially equivalent to an eminent domain
    proceeding . . . . Accordingly, an inverse condemna-
    tion action has been aptly described as an eminent
    domain proceeding initiated by the property owner
    rather than the condemnor. . . .
    ‘‘The word taken in article first, [§ 11, of] our state
    constitution10 means the exclusion of the owner from
    his private use and possession, and the assumption of
    the use and possession for the public purpose by the
    authority exercising the right of eminent domain. . . .
    Although property may be taken without any actual
    appropriation or physical intrusion . . . there is no
    taking in a constitutional sense unless the property
    cannot be utilized for any reasonable and proper pur-
    pose . . . as where the economic utilization of the land
    is, for all practical purposes, destroyed. . . . A consti-
    tutional taking occurs when there is a substantial inter-
    ference with private property which destroys or
    nullifies its value or by which the owner’s right to its
    use or enjoyment is in a substantial degree abridged or
    destroyed.’’ (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks
    omitted.) Id., 83–84.
    In short, inverse condemnation requires either: (1)
    total destruction of the property’s economic value; or
    (2) substantial destruction of the owner’s ability to use
    and enjoy the property. Id., 85. Here, the plaintiff con-
    cedes that prong one was not met. This appeal concerns
    only whether prong two was met.
    The parties agree that three inverse condemnation
    cases are especially relevant and define the spectrum
    of governmental action. Of these, one case involved
    interference so absolute as to clearly constitute a tak-
    ing; the other two involved minor interference insuffi-
    cient to constitute a taking.
    In the first case, this court held that property had
    been inversely condemned. See Citino v. Redevelop-
    ment Agency, 
    51 Conn. App. 262
    , 281–82, 
    721 A.2d 1197
    (1998), overruled in part on other grounds by Kaczynski
    v. Kaczynski, 
    294 Conn. 121
    , 130 n.10, 
    981 A.2d 1068
    (2009). In that case, the defendant had condemned all
    the buildings in an area except the plaintiff’s and left
    that building ‘‘stand[ing] by itself, in the midst of the
    deteriorated and boarded-up buildings owned by the
    defendant . . . .’’ (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
    Id., 281. As a result, the court found that the plaintiff’s
    building ‘‘ha[d] no actual economic value now’’; (inter-
    nal quotation marks omitted) id., 283; and the ‘‘charac-
    ter and use of the plaintiff’s building ha[d] been
    destroyed . . . .’’11 Internal quotation marks omitted.)
    Id., 281. Nevertheless, at the time of trial, two of the
    building’s six apartments still had tenants who were
    paying rent. Id., 269. Because the building retained some
    use, the trial court did not hold that an inverse condem-
    nation had occurred. Id., 277. On appeal, this court
    disagreed and held that ‘‘[i]t is sufficient if use of prop-
    erty is severely restricted and its profitability greatly
    reduced as a result of the action of the government.’’
    Id., 278–79. We concluded that an inverse condemnation
    had occurred.12
    In the second case, this court held that property had
    not been inversely condemned. See Sinotte v. Water-
    bury, 
    121 Conn. App. 420
    , 437, 
    995 A.2d 131
    , cert.
    denied, 
    297 Conn. 921
    , 
    996 A.2d 1192
     (2010). In that
    case, the defendant’s sewer system caused major sew-
    age backups in the finished basement of the plaintiffs’
    home roughly every five years. See id., 423, 427. The
    building’s pipes also gurgled and the first floor sinks
    sometimes had sand, twigs, and debris deposited from
    the sewer backup. Id., 425. As a result, the trial court
    found that the plaintiff’s home lost 30 percent of its fair
    market value. Id., 427. Nevertheless, the court found
    that the property ‘‘substantially retained both economic
    value and its prior use as a residence’’ and so held that
    no inverse condemnation had occurred. Id., 437. On
    appeal, this court agreed and affirmed in relevant part.
    In the third case, our Supreme Court held that prop-
    erty had not been inversely condemned. See Bristol v.
    Tilcon Minerals, Inc., supra, 
    284 Conn. 86
    . In that case,
    leachate from the defendant’s landfill had contaminated
    the groundwater under the plaintiff’s property, creating
    a stigma. Id., 82. As a result, the trial court found that
    the plaintiff’s property had lost 50 percent of its fair
    market value. Id., 83. Nevertheless, the contamination
    did not affect the plaintiff’s current use of the property
    as an access route to mines and as a storage site for
    mined minerals. Id., 84. Nor did the contamination phys-
    ically restrict the plaintiff from using the land as it
    wished, for a residential development; the plaintiff
    anticipated using the public water system—not wells—
    to serve the lots. See id. The only harm was stigmatic.
    See id., 82. Although the trial court did not find that the
    plaintiff’s right to use the property was ‘‘substantially
    abridged or destroyed,’’ it held that an inverse condem-
    nation had occurred given the 50 percent reduction in
    value. (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., 84. Our
    Supreme Court reversed, holding that because the
    stigma ‘‘had no effect on [the plaintiff’s] present mining-
    related activities and [the plaintiff had] introduced no
    evidence that the property could not be marketed for
    residential development even if burdened by a stigma,’’
    no inverse condemnation had occurred.13 Id., 85–86.
    These three cases all present fairly extreme scenar-
    ios. In Citino, the case holding that property had been
    inversely condemned, the court found that the ‘‘use of
    the plaintiff’s building ha[d] been destroyed’’; (internal
    quotation marks omitted) Citino v. Redevelopment
    Agency, supra, 
    51 Conn. App. 281
    ; and that it retained
    ‘‘no actual economic value . . . .’’ (Internal quotation
    marks omitted.) Id., 283. In Sinotte and Bristol, holding
    that property had not been inversely condemned, the
    court found that the properties retained at least half
    their economic value and substantially retained all rele-
    vant uses. Sinotte v. Waterbury, 
    supra,
     
    121 Conn. App. 437
    ; see also Bristol v. Tilcon Minerals, Inc., supra,
    
    284 Conn. 84
    .
    The plaintiff’s case falls between these two ends of
    the spectrum, but closer to Citino than to Sinotte and
    Bristol. The court found that 90 percent of the plaintiff’s
    building is now effectively unleasable. The court found
    that the lack of parking ‘‘has substantially destroyed the
    [plaintiff’s] ability to operate the property as a leasable
    facility and enjoy even a modicum of financial success.
    The evidence shows [that] the lack of parking, which
    the [defendant] initially insisted upon, reduced the . . .
    [property’s] chances of commercial success to negligi-
    ble or nonexistent.’’ (Emphasis added.) The economic
    value of the plaintiff’s property reflects this. The court
    found that it has dropped by 81.77 percent, from $1.1
    million to $200,520, which, according to the appraisal
    of the plaintiff’s expert witness, ‘‘may be lower than
    the value of the land . . . if vacant and available for
    development.’’
    These factual findings set the plaintiff’s case apart
    from Sinotte and Bristol. In those two cases, the courts
    found that the properties substantially retained their
    preexisting uses even after the alleged inverse condem-
    nation. Sinotte v. Waterbury, 
    supra,
     
    121 Conn. App. 437
    ; see also Bristol v. Tilcon Minerals, Inc., supra,
    
    284 Conn. 84
    . Here, by contrast, the court found, as in
    Citino, that ‘‘even though part of [the plaintiff’s] build-
    ing continued to be rented . . . the economic viability
    of his property was nonexistent’’ as a result of the
    defendant’s action.
    The defendant argues, however, that the plaintiff’s
    loss falls short of the ‘‘complete taking’’ required by
    Bristol, pointing especially to Macedonia Church’s con-
    tinued occupancy of roughly 40 percent of the building’s
    office space, albeit, without a lease, on a month-to-
    month basis, paying highly discounted rent.
    We note at the start that Bristol requires not a ‘‘com-
    plete taking’’; Bristol v. Tilcon Minerals, Inc., supra, 
    284 Conn. 85
    ; but rather government action ‘‘substantially
    equivalent’’; (emphasis added; internal quotation marks
    omitted) id., 83; to a complete taking by virtue of its
    ‘‘substantial destruction of an owner’s ability to use or
    enjoy the property.’’ (Emphasis added.) Id., 85. That is
    precisely what the court found occurred in this case.
    As to Macedonia Church’s continued occupancy, at
    trial, the parties hotly contested what that occupancy
    said about the economic viability of 70 South Main. The
    court’s factual findings resolved that question, and the
    defendant does not challenge those findings on appeal.
    Accordingly, we reject the defendant’s argument that
    we should reweigh the significance of Macedonia
    Church’s month-to-month tenancy as an indicator of 70
    South Main’s economic viability.
    At trial, the defendant argued that the church’s
    month-to-month tenancy of roughly 40 percent of the
    building’s space—because it had continued for so long
    and showed no sign of changing—should be treated as
    no different from a lease of that space. On this view,
    the building remained about one-half occupied and its
    annual operating income was still roughly $30,000.
    The plaintiff, by contrast, argued that the church’s
    month-to-month tenancy was a red herring as far as 70
    South Main’s present economic viability was con-
    cerned, because: (1) the church had repeatedly said
    that it was trying to leave; (2) the church was unlikely
    to remain a tenant of that office space; and (3) the
    church remained only because the defendant was in
    effect propping it up with its selective offer of free
    parking to churchgoers.
    The plaintiff’s expert testified to this effect, saying
    that the church’s continued presence was an outlier.
    He opined that ‘‘[a]ll tenants leave at some time and a
    church is a specialized use. . . . [T]hat building when
    you look at it, it’s not really conducive for a church.
    . . . It’s much more conducive to general office use, so
    that would be the most likely user . . . .’’ The plaintiff’s
    ‘‘chances of getting [another] church to fit in that space
    are slim to none.’’ He opined that ‘‘[i]f the church finds
    a suitable space, I know they’ll go,’’ and that, when that
    happened, the plaintiff probably would not be able to
    find another tenant of any sort to replace the church.
    In finding in favor of the plaintiff, the court largely
    credited his expert on this point. It took the lease rate—
    not the occupancy rate—as the best metric of 70 South
    Main’s economic viability and treated the continued
    presence of the church as an outlier. Accordingly, the
    court found that the percentage of leased space in the
    building had declined from more than 90 percent before
    the taking to 5 to 10 percent after the taking. The court
    expressly considered and rejected the defendant’s argu-
    ment that Macedonia Church’s continued presence
    proved that 70 South Main could still be used ‘‘as a
    leasable facility and enjoy even a modicum of finan-
    cial success.’’
    The court found that 70 South Main’s other two
    remaining tenants ‘‘lease[d] small areas and [were]
    unlikely to expand. The bail bond office, of course,
    has a unique situation being located literally across the
    street from the police station. The cell phone store
    owner walks to work and the clientele is mostly walk-
    in.’’ Together, these two tenants occupied only 10 per-
    cent of the building. The court found that the ‘‘remain-
    der of the building will attract tenants only by rock
    bottom rents, and these will be tenants for which park-
    ing is not an issue, likely a small and transient group.’’
    The presence of these two lessees, whose customers
    were unique in their lack of need for parking, did not
    rebut the court’s conclusion that the defendant had
    substantially destroyed the plaintiff’s ability to use 70
    South Main as an office and retail building.
    There is no evidence in the record, and the trial court
    did not find, that the building could still be used for
    some other reasonable purpose, such as residential
    apartments. Indeed, given that a portion of 70 South
    Main was residential apartments prior to the taking of
    65 South Main, that those tenants left due to the lack
    of parking, and that the plaintiff found no one willing
    to replace them, the court likely concluded that such
    other uses were no more viable a use for 70 South Main
    than office or retail space. The report of the plaintiff’s
    expert that the property might now be worth more
    vacant than with the building on it further supported
    that conclusion.14
    We thus conclude that the court did not err in holding
    that the defendant had inversely condemned 70 South
    Main when it deprived the building of parking because
    the result was to substantially destroy the plaintiff’s
    ability to use and enjoy his office building.
    III
    Finally, we consider the plaintiff’s argument on cross
    appeal that the court erred in denying him offer of
    compromise interest under § 52-192a. The plaintiff’s
    argument is in two parts. He argues that: (1) his offer
    to settle the case for $500,000 with interest, plus unspec-
    ified costs up to $20,000, plus all necessary permits,
    was an offer to settle the case for ‘‘a sum certain,’’ as
    required by § 52-192a (a), or in any event, his offer met
    the alternative test for such offers set out by this court
    in Kazlon Communications, LLC v. American Golfer,
    Inc., 
    82 Conn. App. 593
    , 
    847 A.2d 1012
     (2004); and (2)
    the judgment of $899,480 with interest was ‘‘equal to
    or greater than’’ what he requested in his offer, as
    required by § 52-192a (c). We disagree with both parts
    of the plaintiff’s argument.
    We begin with the standard of review. ‘‘The question
    of whether the trial court properly awarded [offer of
    compromise] interest pursuant to § 52-192a is one of
    law subject to plenary review.’’ LaPlante v. Vasquez,
    
    136 Conn. App. 805
    , 810, 
    47 A.3d 897
     (2012).
    The court denied the plaintiff offer of compromise
    interest on the ground that he failed to meet two require-
    ments of § 52-192a: (1) that a plaintiff offer to settle
    his action ‘‘for a sum certain’’;15 and (2) that, after the
    defendant rejects the offer, the plaintiff recover ‘‘an
    amount equal to or greater than the sum certain’’ he
    requested.16
    First, the plaintiff argues that his offer was for a ‘‘sum
    certain.’’ The offer included three demands: (1) $500,000
    with interest; (2) ‘‘all appraisal fees and other fees and
    costs expended by the Plaintiff to prosecute this action
    up to $20,000.00’’; and (3) ‘‘all necessary land use certifi-
    cates and/or approvals to allow Plaintiff and his succes-
    sors in interest to use the property at 70 South Main
    Street for its intended use as a mixed use retail/office
    building.’’ The plaintiff argues that the first demand is
    clearly for a sum certain, the second demand is capped
    at a certain amount and so qualifies, and although the
    third demand is neither monetary nor specific, ‘‘the
    [defendant] knew which permits [the plaintiff] was
    seeking’’ and so it qualifies, too. We agree that the first
    demand was for a sum certain, but we conclude that
    the other two demands were not. The second demand
    was inherently variable; the cap limited but did not
    eliminate uncertainty as to the amount. As to the third
    demand, not only was it vague as to what was sought,
    it was not for a sum of money.
    The plaintiff argues that he is saved by this court’s
    decision in Kazlon Communications, LLC v. American
    Golfer, Inc., supra, 
    82 Conn. App. 593
    , which permits
    nonmonetary conditions in a § 52-192a offer. In Kazlon
    Communications, LLC, a plaintiff offered to settle its
    case for $37,500 plus the withdrawal of the defendants’
    counterclaim. Id., 599. The defendants rejected that
    offer. Id., 600. The plaintiff, after obtaining summary
    judgment on both the complaint and counterclaim,
    asked the court for offer of compromise interest. Id.,
    595, 599. This court held that the plaintiff’s offer met
    the requirements of § 52-192a because it merely encom-
    passed both halves of the litigation—the complaint and
    counterclaim—and offered to settle it for a precise sum
    of money. Id., 600.
    The plaintiff argues that his demand for permits is
    like the plaintiff’s demand in Kazlon Communications,
    LLC, that the defendants withdraw their counterclaim.
    Even if that were true, the ‘‘up to $20,000’’ term would
    still violate the ‘‘sum certain’’ requirement of § 52-192a.
    Moreover, it is not true. The plaintiff demanded more
    than money and an end to both halves of the inverse
    condemnation action.17 He also demanded ‘‘all neces-
    sary land use certificates and/or approvals . . . .’’
    Accordingly, his offer was not to settle the litigation
    merely for ‘‘a sum certain,’’ as required by § 52-192a.
    ‘‘[B]ecause § 52-192a is punitive, we are required to
    construe it with reasonable strictness . . . .’’ (Empha-
    sis omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) DiLieto
    v. County Obstetrics & Gynecology Group, P.C., 
    297 Conn. 105
    , 149, 
    998 A.2d 730
     (2010). Kazlon Communi-
    cations, LLC, is already in some tension with the plain
    language of § 52-192a, and we are not inclined to expand
    it further.
    Second, the plaintiff argues that he recovered ‘‘an
    amount equal to or greater than the sum certain’’ he
    requested. The relief requested was $500,000 with inter-
    est, plus up to $20,000, plus all necessary permits. The
    relief recovered was $899,480 with interest and no per-
    mits. Even if ‘‘sum certain’’ permits a plaintiff to include
    nonmonetary demands in his offer of compromise, the
    plaintiff must recover relief at least ‘‘equal to’’ that
    demanded. Here, the plaintiff recovered more money
    but no permits. His recovery was different from—not
    equal to or greater than—his demand.18 Accordingly, he
    did not recover an amount ‘‘equal to or greater than’’
    his demand, as required by § 52-192a.
    Because the plaintiff failed to meet the requirements
    of § 52-192a, the court did not err in denying him offer
    of compromise interest.
    The judgment is affirmed.
    In this opinion the other judges concurred.
    1
    The two plaintiffs in this case are Robert Barton and Sonoson, LLC.
    Barton owned 70 South Main Street when it was taken, and he alone filed
    the inverse condemnation action. While the case was pending, he quitclaimed
    his interest in 70 South Main Street to Sonoson, LLC, and filed a motion to
    join it as a plaintiff in this action, which the trial court granted. Sonoson,
    LLC, is a family partnership—Barton and his wife own the majority interest
    and each of their three children owns a smaller share. For ease of reference,
    we refer to Barton as the plaintiff throughout this opinion.
    2
    This alternative valuation of 65 South Main is relevant to the defendant’s
    judicial estoppel claim that the plaintiff obtained an unfair advantage by
    valuing 65 South Main as a mixed use development rather than as a park-
    ing lot.
    3
    The court found that Macedonia Church remains a tenant to this day—
    albeit one without a lease and on a month-to-month basis, paying far below
    market rent—only because it has found nowhere else to go and because
    the defendant owns a dirt lot near 70 South Main where it allows the church’s
    members to park for free. The lot is not available to other tenants of 70
    South Main. The church’s Reverend George Cromwell testified that without
    this lot, his church ‘‘would be in extreme difficulties and would have to
    look for alternative, even if temporary, accommodations.’’
    On the issue of what one could infer from the church’s continued presence,
    the plaintiff’s expert testified without rebuttal that, not only was the church
    actively seeking to leave, but also ‘‘[a]ll tenants leave at some time and a
    church is a specialized use. . . . [T]hat building when you look at it, it’s
    not really conducive for a church. . . . It’s much more conducive to general
    office use, so that would be the most likely user . . . .’’ The plaintiff’s
    ‘‘chances of getting [another] church to fit in that space are slim to none.’’
    The plaintiff’s expert witness agreed with the defendant’s counsel that ‘‘the
    logical use of that space . . . based on the market, is office space . . . .’’
    The plaintiff’s expert added, however, that due to the lack of parking, he
    doubted the plaintiff would be able to find a replacement tenant of any sort
    when the church left. He opined that the defendant had ‘‘forced [the plaintiff]
    . . . between a rock and a hard place’’ by giving him the choice to either
    let the church stay paying ‘‘ridiculously low’’ rent as long as possible, or let
    the church leave and likely fail to find a replacement.
    4
    The exhibit from which the court derived these numbers notes that
    ‘‘Operating Income is defined as Gross Rents received less Operating
    Expenses. Operating Expenses exclude mortgage interest and principal,
    depreciation, and capital improvements. Services provided ‘in-kind’ to the
    property are not reflected in Operating Expenses.’’
    5
    Although the court did not specifically recite in its statement of facts
    the testimony and report of the plaintiff’s expert that the value of 70 South
    Main approached that of a vacant lot, the court did note that ‘‘[o]n the
    whole, the court accepts [the] analysis [of the plaintiff’s expert] as consistent
    with commercial real estate appraisal purposes and an appropriate means
    to ascertain market value.’’ Elsewhere in its opinion, the court noted that
    the ‘‘court generally accepts the report and testimony of [the plaintiff’s
    expert] that the after taking value of [70 South Main] is slightly over $200,000,
    a decrease of over 80 percent from before taking value.’’
    6
    The defendant argues that we should ignore these difficulties because
    the court’s statement that they were ‘‘arguably not directly relevant’’ to the
    inverse condemnation issue meant that the court did not base its decision
    on them. (Emphasis added.) On the contrary, the court made express findings
    of fact on this point and indirect evidence is still evidence. See, e.g., Griffin
    v. Nationwide Moving & Storage Co., 
    187 Conn. 405
    , 422–23, 
    446 A.2d 799
     (1982).
    7
    The plaintiff’s offer stated:
    ‘‘OFFER OF COMPROMISE
    ‘‘Pursuant to General Statutes § 52-192a and Practice Book § 17-14, the
    Plaintiff, hereby offers to compromise the above-captioned matter as
    follows:
    ‘‘1. Plaintiff stipulates to damages in the total amount of $500,000.00 to
    be paid by the defendant, City of Norwalk, to the Plaintiff as full settlement
    of the claims underlying this action.
    ‘‘2. Defendant agrees to pay Plaintiff interest of 7.5% per annum on this
    amount from the date of the taking, January 17, 2002, to the date of payment
    of damages set forth above.
    ‘‘3. Defendant agrees to pay all appraisal fees and other fees and costs
    expended by the Plaintiff to prosecute this action up to $20,000.00.
    ‘‘4. Defendant agrees to issue all necessary land use certificates and/or
    approvals to allow Plaintiff and his successors in interest to use the property
    at 70 South Main Street for its intended use as a mixed use retail/office
    building.’’ (Emphasis added.)
    8
    Here, the plaintiff’s two positions were not inconsistent, but for purposes
    of this condition we analyze them as if they were.
    9
    The obvious argument, which the defendant does not make, would be
    that the plaintiff derived an advantage by valuing 65 South Main so as
    to maximize its independent value in the proceeding devoted solely to
    compensation for 65 South Main and then undervalued 65 South Main as a
    parking lot so as to inflate the value of the building it served, 70 South Main,
    in the proceeding devoted solely to compensation for70 South Main.
    The defendant does not make this argument because the court in the
    eminent domain proceeding calculated the value of 65 South Main as a
    parking lot and found that value to be $334,000; slightly higher than the
    $310,000 value it found for 65 South Main as a mixed use development.
    Norwalk v. Barton, supra, 
    2009 WL 323785
    , *10. Although it is conceivable
    that the plaintiff could have gotten increased damages for 65 South Main
    by valuing it as a mixed use development in the eminent domain proceeding,
    there is no evidence that that happened here—indeed, what evidence does
    exist suggests the opposite.
    10
    Article first, § 11, of the constitution of Connecticut provides: ‘‘The
    property of no person shall be taken for public use, without just compensa-
    tion therefor.’’
    11
    The trial court in Citino found that the property was still worth $50,000
    to $75,000 compared to its pre-taking value of roughly $150,000 and that
    ‘‘with completed redevelopment of the area the value m[ight] increase.’’
    Citino v. Redevelopment Agency, Superior Court, judicial district of Hart-
    ford-New Britain, Docket No. CV-95-0545209-S (January 30, 1997) (
    18 Conn. L. Rptr. 567
    , 573), aff’d and remanded, 
    51 Conn. App. 262
    , 
    721 A.2d 1197
    (1998), overruled in part on other grounds by Kaczynski v. Kaczynski, 
    294 Conn. 121
    , 
    981 A.2d 1068
     (2009). Nevertheless, the court found that ‘‘[f]or
    all intents and purposes th[e] building ha[d] no actual economic value’’
    because the plaintiff had taken on nearly $250,000 in debt to renovate it, at
    the defendant’s urging, and the building’s present rents were too low to
    recoup that cost. 
    Id.
     The same reasoning underlay the conclusion of the
    trial court in Citino that even if the defendant finished redeveloping the area,
    the plaintiff’s property would still have no ‘‘realistic’’ economic value. 
    Id.
    12
    The defendant opined at oral argument in the present case that Citino
    ‘‘would not come out the same way if it were decided after Bristol [v. Tilcon
    Minerals, Inc., supra, 
    284 Conn. 55
    ],’’ a more recent inverse condemnation
    case from our Supreme Court. We note that in Bristol, the Supreme Court
    expressly considered Citino and did not overrule it. 
    Id., 85
    .
    13
    The court ultimately held that the plaintiff was still entitled to damages,
    albeit on a theory of permanent trespass rather than inverse condemnation.
    Bristol v. Tilcon Minerals, Inc., supra, 
    284 Conn. 91
    .
    14
    The defendant submitted a letter of supplemental authority after oral
    argument before this court, in which it brought to our attention our Supreme
    Court’s recent decision in Caruso v. Zoning Board of Appeals, 
    320 Conn. 315
    ,       A.3d       (2016). We conclude that Caruso is consistent with our
    analysis. In Caruso, the court held that, where ‘‘the [property owner] offered
    no evidence of the current value of the property’’; id., 320; no evidence of
    ‘‘efforts to market, sell, or develop the property,’’ and no evidence ‘‘that the
    property [was] unfit for any permitted use because of a peculiar characteris-
    tic of the property,’’ there was insufficient evidence to prove a taking.
    (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., 325–26. Here, the plaintiff submitted
    evidence of (1) a drastic decline in the property’s value; (2) a decade of
    failed efforts to market the property; and (3) a peculiar characteristic, in
    that the property lacked parking. Such evidence was sufficient to prove
    a taking.
    15
    General Statutes § 52-192a (a) provides in relevant part: ‘‘[A]fter com-
    mencement of any civil action . . . seeking the recovery of money damages,
    whether or not other relief is sought, the plaintiff may . . . file . . . a
    written offer of compromise . . . offering to settle the claim underlying
    the action for a sum certain. . . .’’ (Emphasis added.)
    16
    General Statutes § 52-192a (c) provides in relevant part: ‘‘After trial the
    court shall examine the record to determine whether the plaintiff made an
    offer of compromise which the defendant failed to accept. If the court
    ascertains from the record that the plaintiff has recovered an amount equal
    to or greater than the sum certain specified in the plaintiff’s offer of compro-
    mise, the court shall add . . . eight per cent annual interest on said amount
    . . . .’’ (Emphasis added.)
    17
    Here, the defendant had raised two counterclaims: (1) a claim for title
    to 70 South Main if the court held that it had been inversely condemned;
    and (2) a claim for any post-taking income earned from 70 South Main if
    the court held that it had been inversely condemned. The court ultimately
    denied both counterclaims.
    18
    We note that even if the permits could be assigned a dollar value, which
    they were not here, it would have been improper simply to ask whether the
    plaintiff had recovered an amount equal to or greater than the total of
    $500,000 with interest, plus $20,000, plus the value of the permits. First,
    such an approach would nullify the provision of § 52-192a that limits the
    relief a plaintiff may seek, in exchange for the withdrawal of an action, to
    a ‘‘sum certain.’’ If the legislature had wanted to allow plaintiffs to request
    permits or easements or real property or any other nonmonetary relief in
    an offer eligible for § 52-192a interest, it easily could have done so. It did
    not. Second, § 52-192a is a punitive statute; Cardenas v. Mixcus, 
    264 Conn. 314
    , 321, 
    823 A.2d 321
     (2003); designed to punish a defendant for the waste
    of judicial resources that occurs when a defendant fully litigates a case only
    for the plaintiff to get the exact same relief that he had offered to settle for
    before trial. See DiLieto v. County Obstetrics & Gynecology Group, P.C.,
    supra, 
    297 Conn. 153
     (‘‘interest awarded under § 52-192a is solely related
    to a defendant’s rejection of an advantageous offer to settle before trial’’
    [emphasis added; internal quotation marks omitted]). That rationale does
    not apply in a case, as here, where the defendant may well have been willing
    to pay a larger sum of money but was unwilling to promise the plaintiff the
    desired nonmonetary relief. Indeed, the present case illustrates that dilemma
    particularly well, since it is not even clear that the defendant—or the court—
    had the authority to give the plaintiff the permits he sought without first
    going through the required channels. Those channels likely would have
    included a public hearing with notice to affected third parties, who would
    have had a right to speak on the matter and who might well have raised
    legal grounds for denying some permits that the zoning board would have
    been compelled to obey. See General Statutes §§ 8-6 (duties of zoning board)
    and 8-7d (notice and hearing requirements). It would hardly serve the pur-
    pose of § 52-192a—i.e., to promote the acceptance of reasonable settlement
    offers; Cardenas v. Mixcus, supra, 321;—if we were to punish a defendant
    for refusing an offer that it knew it might be unable legally to fulfill.