5 Walworth, LLC v. Engerman Contracting, Inc.

2023 WI 51
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedJune 20, 2023
Docket2019AP001086
StatusPublished

This text of 2023 WI 51 (5 Walworth, LLC v. Engerman Contracting, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
5 Walworth, LLC v. Engerman Contracting, Inc., 2023 WI 51 (Wis. 2023).

Opinion

2023 WI 51

SUPREME COURT OF WISCONSIN CASE NOS.: 2019AP1085 & 2019AP1086

COMPLETE TITLE: 5 Walworth, LLC, Plaintiff, v. Engerman Contracting, Inc., Defendant, Downes Swimming Pool Co., Inc. and The Cincinnati Insurance Company, Defendants-Third-Party Plaintiffs, West Bend Mutual Insurance Company and General Casualty Company of Wisconsin, Defendants-Petitioners, v. Otto Jacobs Company, LLC, Third-Party Defendant-Appellant, Acuity, A Mutual Insurance Company, Third-Party Defendant-Respondent-Petitioner.

5 Walworth, LLC, Plaintiff, v. Engerman Contracting, Inc., Defendant-Appellant, Downes Swimming Pool Co., Inc. and The Cincinnati Insurance Company, Defendants-Third-Party Plaintiffs, West Bend Mutual Insurance Company and General Casualty Company of Wisconsin, Defendants-Respondents-Petitioners, v. Otto Jacobs Company, LLC, Third-Party Defendant, Acuity, A Mutual Insurance Company, Third-Party Defendant-Petitioner.

REVIEW OF DECISION OF THE COURT OF APPEALS Reported at 399 Wis. 2d 240, 963 N.W.2d 779 PDC No: 2021 WI App 51 - Published

OPINION FILED: June 20, 2023 SUBMITTED ON BRIEFS: ORAL ARGUMENT: September 12, 2022

SOURCE OF APPEAL: COURT: Circuit COUNTY: Walworth JUDGE: Daniel Steven Johnson

JUSTICES: HAGEDORN, J., delivered the majority opinion of the Court, in which ANN WALSH BRADLEY, DALLET, and KAROFSKY, JJ., joined, and in which ZIEGLER, C.J., joined except for ¶¶5, 7, 39-42, and 49. ROGGENSACK, filed a concurring opinion. ZIEGLER, C.J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which REBECCA GRASSL BRADLEY, J., joined.

NOT PARTICIPATING:

ATTORNEYS:

For defendants-petitioners and defendants-respondents- petitioners, there were briefs filed by Henry E. Koltz, Robert F. Johnson, Douglas M. Raines, and Schmidt, Darling & Erwin, Milwaukee, and von Briesen & Roper, S.C., Milwaukee. There was an oral argument by Henry E. Koltz.

For third-party defendant-respondent-petitioner and third- party defendant-petitioner, there were briefs filed by Joseph M. Mirabella and Simpson & Deardorff, S.C. There was an oral argument by Joseph M. Mirabella.

For third-party defendant-appellant and third-party defendant, there was a brief filed by Sheila L. Shadman Emerson, Scott R. Halloin, and Halloin Law Group, S.C., Milwaukee. There was an oral argument by Sheila L. Shadman Emerson.

For defendant and defendant-appellant, there was a brief filed by Thomas G. Gardiner and Gardiner, Koch, Weisberg &

2 Wrona, Lake Geneva. There was an oral argument by Michelle LaGrota and Douglas M. Raines.

3 2023 WI 51 NOTICE This opinion is subject to further editing and modification. The final version will appear in the bound volume of the official reports. Nos. 2019AP1085 & 2019AP1086 (L.C. No. 2018CV319)

STATE OF WISCONSIN : IN SUPREME COURT

5 Walworth, LLC,

Plaintiff,

v.

Engerman Contracting, Inc.,

Defendant,

Downes Swimming Pool Co., Inc. and The Cincinnati Insurance Company,

Defendants-Third-Party Plaintiffs, FILED West Bend Mutual Insurance Company and General JUN 20, 2023 Casualty Company of Wisconsin, Samuel A. Christensen Clerk of Supreme Court Defendants-Petitioners,

Otto Jacobs Company, LLC,

Third-Party Defendant-Appellant,

Acuity, A Mutual Insurance Company,

Third-Party Defendant-Respondent-Petitioner.

v. Engerman Contracting, Inc.,

Defendant-Appellant,

Downes Swimming Pool Co., Inc. and The Cincinnati Insurance Company,

Defendants-Third-Party Plaintiffs,

West Bend Mutual Insurance Company and General Casualty Company of Wisconsin,

Defendants-Respondents-Petitioners,

Third-Party Defendant,

Third-Party Defendant-Petitioner.

HAGEDORN, J., delivered the majority opinion of the Court, in which ANN WALSH BRADLEY, DALLET, and KAROFSKY, JJ., joined, and in which ZIEGLER, C.J., joined except for ¶¶5, 7, 39-42, and 49. ROGGENSACK, filed a concurring opinion. ZIEGLER, C.J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which REBECCA GRASSL BRADLEY, J., joined.

REVIEW of a decision of the Court of Appeals. Affirmed.

¶1 BRIAN HAGEDORN, J. This is an insurance dispute over

damages allegedly caused by the deficient construction of an in-

ground pool. The pool cracked and caused vast amounts of water to leak into the surrounding soil. In the end, the homeowner Nos. 2019AP1085 & 2019AP1086

had to demolish the entire pool structure and construct a new

one. Two of the insurers in this case issued commercial general

liability (CGL) polices to the general contractor, and the other

issued a CGL policy to the supplier of the shotcrete pump mix

used to construct the pool. In this suit by the homeowner, all

three insurers seek summary judgement declaring that their

policies do not provide coverage to their insureds.

¶2 A threshold question in this case concerns how to

analyze whether there has been "property damage" caused by an

"occurrence" under the three CGL policies. The argument centers

around our decision in Wisconsin Pharmacal Co., LLC v. Nebraska

Cultures of California, Inc., where we stated that "property

damage" under a CGL policy requires damage to "other property"

and utilized the "integrated systems analysis"——a test derived

from tort law——to assess whether other property was damaged.

2016 WI 14, ¶28, 367 Wis. 2d 221, 876 N.W.2d 72. At a basic

level, the integrated systems analysis asks whether the product

is part of an integrated whole such that any damage can be ascribed only to the product itself, rather than to other

property. Wausau Tile, Inc. v. Cnty. Concrete Corp., 226

Wis. 2d 235, 249-50, 593 N.W.2d 445 (1999). The insurers here

argue we must first undertake this analysis to determine whether

any "property damage" occurred for purposes of determining an

initial grant of coverage under their policies.

¶3 We do not see it the same way. With the benefit of

hindsight, we conclude our approach in Pharmacal was a departure from our well-established law. The decision flatly contradicted 2 Nos. 2019AP1085 & 2019AP1086

prior cases without addressing those conflicts head on. See,

e.g., Am. Fam. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Am. Girl, Inc., 2004 WI 2, ¶¶6,

24, 35, 268 Wis. 2d 16, 673 N.W.2d 65. Pharmacal wrongly stated

that "property damage" must be to "other property" for purposes

of determining an initial grant of coverage in a CGL policy. It

then improperly imported the integrated systems analysis to

determine if "other property" was damaged. Accordingly, we

overrule these portions of Pharmacal, and affirm, as we have

repeatedly said, that our task in insurance coverage disputes is

to read the policy and give effect to the parties' agreement.

Therefore, we return to that contract-focused analysis here.

¶4 General Casualty Company of Wisconsin, the insurer for

general contractor Engerman Contracting, Inc., contends that its

policy does not provide an initial grant of coverage because the

issues related to the pool did not constitute "property damage"

caused by an "occurrence" as those terms are defined in the

policy. We disagree. Reviewing the record before us on summary

judgment, we conclude that a trier of fact could conclude that the water leakage and consequent cracks in the pool and damage

to the surrounding soil constituted property damage caused by an

occurrence. Accordingly, General Casualty is not entitled to

summary judgment.

¶5 West Bend Mutual Insurance Company, which also insures

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Saratoga Fishing Co. v. J. M. Martinac & Co.
520 U.S. 875 (Supreme Court, 1997)
Daanen & Janssen, Inc. v. Cedarapids, Inc.
573 N.W.2d 842 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1998)
Everson v. Lorenz
2005 WI 51 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2005)
Baumeister v. Automated Products, Inc.
2004 WI 148 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2004)
Kalchthaler v. Keller Construction Co.
591 N.W.2d 169 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1999)
Weedo v. Stone-E-Brick, Inc.
405 A.2d 788 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1979)
Gaastra v. Village of Fairwater
252 N.W.2d 60 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1977)
Kaloti Enterprises, Inc. v. Kellogg Sales Co.
2005 WI 111 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2005)
Glendenning's Limestone & Ready-Mix Co. v. Reimer
2006 WI App 161 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2006)
Tietsworth v. Harley-Davidson, Inc.
2007 WI 97 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2007)
American Family Mutual Insurance v. American Girl, Inc.
2004 WI 2 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2004)
Sunnyslope Grading, Inc. v. Miller, Bradford & Risberg, Inc.
437 N.W.2d 213 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1989)
Burbank Grease Services, LLC v. Sokolowski
2006 WI 103 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2006)
Atkinson v. Atkinson
120 N.W.2d 109 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1963)
Foremost Farms USA Cooperative v. Performance Process, Inc.
2006 WI App 246 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2006)
ESTATE OF SUSTACHE v. American Family Mutual Insurance Company
2008 WI 87 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2008)
Northridge Co. v. W.R. Grace & Co.
471 N.W.2d 179 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1991)
United Cooperative v. Frontier FS Cooperative
2007 WI App 197 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2023 WI 51, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/5-walworth-llc-v-engerman-contracting-inc-wis-2023.