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NOTICE: This opinion is subject to motions for rehearing under Rule 22 as well as formal revision before publication in the New Hampshire Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter, Supreme Court of New Hampshire, One Charles Doe Drive, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, of any editorial errors in order that corrections may be made before the opinion goes to press. Errors may be reported by E-mail at the following address: reporter@courts.state.nh.us. Opinions are available on the Internet by 9:00 a.m. on the morning of their release. The direct address of the court's home page is: http://www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme. THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE ___________________________ Merrimack No. 2010-296 SALVATORE RABBIA v. MAX E. ROCHA & a. Argued: June 23, 2011 Opinion Issued: November 29, 2011 Rinden Professional Association, of Concord (Paul Rinden on the brief), and Phillips Law Office, PLLC, of Concord (Roger B. Phillips on the brief and orally), for the plaintiff. Law Offices of Edward W. Richards & Associates, P.C., of Nashua (Edward W. Richards on the memorandum of law and orally), for the defendants. Winer and Bennett, LLP, of Nashua (David K. Pinsonneault on the brief and orally), for the intervenor. LYNN, J. The plaintiff, Salvatore Rabbia, appeals an order of the Superior Court (Sullivan, J.) directing that $37,000 plus interest currently

being held in escrow be dispersed to the intervenor, Automotive Finance Corporation, instead of to the plaintiff, and denying the plaintiff's motion for attorney's fees. We affirm in part, reverse in part and remand. I. Background Before going out of business in 2008, the corporate defendant, Harvard Auto Sales, Inc., d/b/a Hitcars.com (Harvard Auto), and its principals, defendants Max E. Rocha and Evangelos Karagianis, were in the salvage motor vehicle business. The intervenor and the plaintiff are two of Harvard's creditors. The intervenor financed Harvard's purchase of inventory; the plaintiff was involved in a long-standing dispute with Harvard, which settled in March 2008. The instant appeal concerns the plaintiff's and the intervenor's competing claims to funds the defendants gave to their counsel to hold in escrow in the summer of 2008, while settlement discussions with the plaintiff were ongoing. A. Harvard and the Intervenor The intervenor provided "floor plan financing" to Harvard, that is, Harvard borrowed money from the intervenor against a line of credit to purchase vehicles. See R. Billings, Jr., Floor Planning, Retail Financing & Leasing in the Automobile Industry

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