Bethlehem Steel Corp. v. MATX, Inc.

703 A.2d 39, 1997 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3374, 1997 WL 688723
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 21, 1997
DocketNo. 00783
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 703 A.2d 39 (Bethlehem Steel Corp. v. MATX, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bethlehem Steel Corp. v. MATX, Inc., 703 A.2d 39, 1997 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3374, 1997 WL 688723 (Pa. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

CERCONE, President Judge Emeritus.

This is an appeal from an order of the lower court granting summary judgment in appellee’s (plaintiffs) favor. We affirm.

The lower court summarized the pertinent facts of the ease as follows:

Presently before the court are the motion for summary judgment of plaintiff Bethlehem Steel Corporation (“Bethlehem Steel”) and the cross motion for summary judgment of defendant MATX, Inc. (“MATX”). In the current action Bethlehem Steel seeks indemnification from MATX. The following factual background explains the basis of Bethlehem Steel’s claim.
In July 1985 defendant Robert Snyder was injured while operating a crane manufactured by defendant The Manitowae Company (“Manitowae”) and owned by Bethlehem Steel. The incident occurred on the latter party’s premises. At the time Snyder was working as an employee of MATX which had contracted with Bethlehem Steel to perform a Finishing Building Contract (“Building Contract”). In July 1987 Snyder brought an action in negligence and strict liability against Bethlehem Steel and Manitowae. Bethlehem Steel moved to join MATX as an additional defendant in October 1988. The motion was denied. On March 8, 1989 Bethlehem Steel instituted the present action with a request for declaratory judgment regarding MATX’s responsibility to indemnify Bethlehem Steel. The action was brought [41]*41against all other parties whose interests would be affected by the declaratory judgment, namely, Manitowac, Snyder, and his wife Audrey.
On October 16, 1995 Snyder’s suit was resolved through a settlement agreement with Bethlehem Steel and Manitowac. Bethlehem Steel agreed to pay or cause to be paid to Snyder $1,950,000.00 but disavowed any inferences that the settlement agreement constituted admissions of liability. Bethlehem Steel also stated that the “Release” executed with the settlement agreement did not “discharge its claim for indemnity ... against MATX.”
Bethlehem Steel filed the present motion on December 14, 1995. Plaintiff requests the court to grant judgment in its favor and rule that MATX must indemnify ... Bethlehem Steel for the amount which the latter party agreed to give Snyder. Bethlehem Steel further asks the court to make MATX responsible for all reasonable fees and costs incurred by Bethlehem Steel while defending against Snyder’s action. MATX filed a cross motion for summary judgment on January 11, 1996. The matter was argued before an en banc court in March 1996. We will grant plaintiff’s motion and deny defendant’s.

Trial court opinion, August 26, 1996, at 1-2. Following the lower court’s decision to grant appellee’s motion for summary judgment, appellant (MATX) filed this timely appeal in which it raises the following issues:

1. Whether an indemnification provision in a contract between MATX and Bethlehem Steel that specifically covers equipment-related injuries governs Bethlehem Steel’s indemnification claim against MATX with respect to injuries sustained by a MATX employee in a crane accident?
2. Whether the applicable contractual provision contains the “clear and unequivocal” language necessary to overcome the Workmen’s Compensation Act bar that would otherwise preclude Bethlehem Steel from obtaining indemnification from MATX with respect to a negligence claim by a MATX employee?
3. Whether the applicable contractual provision contains the “clear and unequivocal” language necessary to overcome the Workmen’s Compensation Act bar that would otherwise preclude Bethlehem Steel from obtaining indemnification from MATX with respect to a strict liability claim by a MATX employee?
4.Whether the applicable contractual provision requires MATX to reimburse Bethlehem Steel for attorneys’ fees and defense costs incurred in defending against a MATX employee’s claims?

Before considering these issues, we will first set forth our standard of review.

In reviewing an order of summary judgment, we consider the following:

The evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, and he must be given all the reasonable inferences created by his evidence. Nonetheless, if there are no material issues of fact in dispute, and plaintiff has failed to allege facts sufficient to make out a prima facie case, as a matter of law, then summary judgment may be granted properly. Thus, where there are no credibility issues and the allegations of the appealing party, if accepted as true, fail to make out a prima facie case as a matter of law rather than as a matter of fact, summary judgment is appropriate.

Hunger v. Grand Central Sanitation, 447 Pa.Super. 575, 578, 670 A.2d 173, 174 (1996), appeal denied, 545 Pa. 664, 681 A.2d 178 (1996) (citations omitted).

The current dispute centers on two paragraphs of a contract between the parties. The relevant paragraphs are the second and third paragraphs of section seven of the contract, entitled “RESPONSIBILITY AND INSURANCE”. Those paragraphs provided:

The Company [Bethlehem Steel] assumes no obligation to furnish to the Contractor [MATX] any tools, equipment or materials for the performance of the Work except as may be expressly provided herein. If the Contractor or its subcontractors or the employees, representatives, agents or invitees of any of them shall make use of any other tools, equipment or materials, with or without the consent of the Compa[42]*42ny, such tools, equipment or materials shall be accepted in “as is” condition, without any warranty whatsoever, express or implied, and the Contractor shall indemnify and save harmless each of the Bethlehem Companies from and against all loss or liability in respect of any damage, destruction, injury or death arising from the use of such tools, equipment or materials as well as in respect of any failure of the same to be suitable for the intended purpose. [hereinafter Paragraph Two].
The Contractor shall indemnify and save harmless each of the Bethlehem Companies from and against all loss or liability for or on account of any injury (including death) or damages received or sustained by the Contractor or any of its subcontractors or any employee, agent or invitee of the Contractor or any of its subcontractors by reason of any act or omission, whether negligent or otherwise, on the part of any of the Bethlehem Companies or any employee, agent or invitee thereof or the condition of the Site or other property of any of the Bethlehem Companies or otherwise. The Contractor shall further indemnify and save harmless each of the Bethlehem Companies from and against all loss or liability for or on account of any injury (including death) or damages received or sustained by any person or persons by reason of any act or neglect on the part of the Contractor or any of its subcontractors or any employee, agent or invitee of the Contractor or any of its subcontractors, including any breach or alleged breach of any statutory duty which is to be performed by the Contractor hereunder but which is or may be the duty of any of the Bethlehem Companies under applicable provisions of law_ [hereinafter Paragraph Three].

We will now consider appellant’s contentions on appeal.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
703 A.2d 39, 1997 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3374, 1997 WL 688723, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bethlehem-steel-corp-v-matx-inc-pasuperct-1997.