BISCHOFSHAUSEN, ETC. v. DW Jaquays Min.

700 P.2d 902, 145 Ariz. 204
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedApril 17, 1985
Docket2 CA-CIV 5220
StatusPublished

This text of 700 P.2d 902 (BISCHOFSHAUSEN, ETC. v. DW Jaquays Min.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
BISCHOFSHAUSEN, ETC. v. DW Jaquays Min., 700 P.2d 902, 145 Ariz. 204 (Ark. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

145 Ariz. 204 (1985)
700 P.2d 902

BISCHOFSHAUSEN, VASBINDER, AND LUCKIE, Plaintiff/Appellant,
v.
D.W. JAQUAYS MINING AND EQUIPMENT CONTRACTORS CO., an Arizona corporation; D.W. Jaquays and Ethelyn Jaquays, husband and wife, Defendants/Appellees.

No. 2 CA-CIV 5220.

Court of Appeals of Arizona, Division 2, Department A.

April 17, 1985.

*205 Harrison & Lerch, P.C. by Mark I. Harrison, Douglas R. Christian and Bonnie C. Gordon, Phoenix, for plaintiffs/appellants Bischofshausen & Vasbinder.

Sparks & Siler, P.C. by Joe P. Sparks and Kevin T. Tehan, Scottsdale, for plaintiff/appellant Luckie.

Robbins & Green, P.A. by Jill H. Grossman, Phoenix, for defendants/appellees.

*206 OPINION

HOWARD, Judge.

Appellants sued for damages for personal injuries allegedly caused by exposure to asbestos particles. Among the many defendants in the case are Jaquays Mining Corporation (Mining Corporation), D.W. Jaquays Mining & Equipment Contractors Company (Equipment Company) and D.W. Jaquays and his wife Ethelyn Jaquays. The complaint alleged, inter alia, claims for relief based on negligence and nuisance against Mining Company, Equipment Company and the Jaquays. The Jaquays and Equipment Company moved for summary judgment which was granted by the trial court. Appellants contend that there still exist legal theories and disputed material issues of fact which precluded summary judgment. We agree and reverse.

The facts considered in the light most favorable to appellants are as follows: The City of Globe has been and is presently the site of several asbestos mills. One of these was operated by Mining Corporation. Mining Corporation was incorporated on April 25, 1952, by D.W. Jaquays his wife Ethelyn Jaquays, and his brother Glenn A. Jaquays. When Mining Corporation was formed, D.W. Jaquays was president, Glenn A. Jaquays was vice-president and Ethelyn Jaquays was secretary/treasurer. D.W. Jaquays and Ethelyn Jaquays have held their respective offices continually since the original incorporation. Prior to forming Mining Corporation, D.W. Jaquays procured a lease and option to purchase certain asbestos claims and an agreement to purchase certain unpatented lode mining claims and the Globe mill site. He and his wife assigned these lease options and purchase agreements and the Globe mill site to Mining Corporation for 6,000 shares of capital stock of the corporation. At the time of incorporation, this represented 48 per cent of the corporate stock. Relatives of the Jaquays family held the balance of the stock. To date, D.W. and Ethelyn Jaquays are still the majority share holders in Mining Corporation, jointly owning approximately 60 per cent of the stock.

The principal place of business of Mining Corporation is in Globe, Arizona. It is located to the east of Mountainview Mobile Homes Estates subdivision and is adjacent to it. The mill is located on 15 acres of contiguous land with a 1,700-foot frontage on Highway 70. The asbestos milling operation, which is presently owned by Mining Corporation, sits on property which was originally acquired by D.W. Jaquays by filing ten mill-site claims with the Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, on February 13, 1958. Three of these sites were patented on February 2, 1961. When the asbestos mining facility was built on this property, its construction was financed in part by loans and advances of $133,000 from Equipment Company. Twenty-four per cent of the Mining Corporation stock was issued to Equipment Company in exchange for this assistance.

Mining Corporation's business consisted of mining and milling asbestos ores. In order to identify Mining Corporation more closely with its product, the corporation at one time operated under the name "Jaquays Asbestos Corporation." Jaquays Asbestos Corporation purchased tons of asbestos from the United States General Services Administration in the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1955 Equipment Company was incorporated by D.W. and Ethelyn Jaquays. Until May 1, 1983, D.W. and Ethelyn Jaquays jointly held 99 per cent of the Equipment Company stock. D.W. Jaquays was president of Equipment Company from its inception until May 1, 1983. The principal place of business of Equipment Company is 1219 South 19th Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona. From the time of its inception to the present, Equipment Company has been engaged exclusively in the business of selling, leasing, distributing and occasionally manufacturing mining equipment and supplies. Equipment Company has never engaged in the mining or milling of asbestos ore and does not cater in any way to asbestos mining or milling companies. It sells its products to anyone.

*207 Equipment Company held 24 per cent of the Mining Corporation stock for approximately 15 years. This stock was eventually distributed as a dividend to the shareholders of Equipment Company in accordance with their percentages of ownership.

In approximately 1975, Mining Corporation began losing money. Equipment Company began loaning money to Mining Corporation on an as-needed basis. The decision to loan Mining Corporation money from Equipment Company was a decision made solely by D.W. Jaquays. Mining Corporation eventually became indebted to Equipment Company for $217,000 in loans and supplies. These loans were made to cover expenses of operation. Equipment Company eventually demanded satisfaction of the $217,000 debt, and on December 15, 1980, Mining Corporation transferred both its real property and its mill facility located adjacent to the subdivision to Equipment Company in satisfaction thereof. At the time of the transfer D.W. Jaquays valued the property at $300,000. Equipment Company gave Mining Corporation an $83,000 note, payable on demand, to make up for the excess value of the property. Equipment Company owned the milling facility and the real property continuously for two years, during which time it leased the property back to Mining Corporation. The lease expired on December 28, 1982. In December 1980 the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and Governor Bruce Babbitt declared the subdivision a disaster area. In late 1980 and early 1981 ADHS made demands on Mining Corporation for correction of circumstances existing around the outside of the milling facility. These requests included dust control, covering piles of asbestos and modifying the loading and unloading facilities at the mill building.

On December 28, 1982, Equipment Company conveyed the land and improvements back to Mining Corporation in exchange for the cancellation of the $83,000 promissory note and $100,000 worth of mining equipment. No independent appraisal was obtained on the mining equipment at the time of the exchange. There was also no professional valuation of the land and improvements at the time of the transfer back to Mining Corporation.

Equipment Company maintained a branch store in Globe, Arizona, which is located in the Mining Corporation mill building. Frank Stevenson, the superintendent of Mining Corporation, also managed the branch store for Equipment Company. The branch store kept a basic inventory of mining supplies and explosives.

Until December 1982, D.W. Jaquays owned the office building located at 1219 South 19th Avenue in Phoenix where Equipment Company headquarters is located. Mining Corporation's business office is also located in this building. There are four offices in the building. Equipment Company uses three offices and Mining Corporation uses one.

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Bluebook (online)
700 P.2d 902, 145 Ariz. 204, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bischofshausen-etc-v-dw-jaquays-min-arizctapp-1985.