Capitol Construction Services, Inc. v. Gray

959 N.E.2d 294, 2011 Ind. App. LEXIS 1953, 2011 WL 6325974
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 19, 2011
Docket49A04-1005-CT-289
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 959 N.E.2d 294 (Capitol Construction Services, Inc. v. Gray) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Capitol Construction Services, Inc. v. Gray, 959 N.E.2d 294, 2011 Ind. App. LEXIS 1953, 2011 WL 6325974 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinions

OPINION

BROWN, Judge.

In this consolidated, interlocutory appeal, Capitol Construction Services, Inc. (“Capitol”) appeals the trial court’s grant of partial summary judgment in favor of Amy Gray, as personal representative of the estate of Clinton Gray (“The Estate”). Additionally, Capitol appeals the court’s denial of its cross-motion for summary judgment. Capitol raises three issues, which we consolidate and restate as:

I. Whether the court erred in granting The Estate’s motion for partial summary judgment; and
II. Whether the court erred in denying Capitol’s cross-motion for summary judgment.

We affirm.

The relevant facts as designated by the parties follow. On February 26, 2007, Capitol entered into a contract with Kroger Limited Partnership (“Kroger”), in which Capitol was to serve as the general contractor on a construction project and was to be paid a sum of $660,000. Capitol hired All One, Inc. (“All One”) to serve as a subcontractor on the project performing electrical installation.1 On May 21, 2007, Clinton, an employee of All One, was working on a portable ladder “testing electrical lines approximately 15 to 17 feet in the air,” and was “trying to connect a series of temporary lights throughout the building.” Appellant’s Appendix at 180. While performing this work at that elevation, Clinton “came in contact with live electrical lines” and fell from his ladder, striking his head on the floor.2 Id. at 51. Clinton died as a result of the fall. At the time of the fall, Capitol had one employee on site, Herschel Gant, who was serving as the jobsite superintendent.

On April 17, 2008, The Estate filed a complaint against Capitol alleging negligence. On July 31, 2008, Capitol filed its answer as well as a third party complaint against All One alleging breach of contract and indemnification. On August 17, 2009, The Estate filed a motion for partial summary judgment, brief in support, and designation of evidence, arguing that “[tjhere are no genuine issues of material fact that CAPITOL, as the general contractor, owed CLINTON a non-delegable, contractual duty of safety on the jobsite.” Id. at 44. On September 14, 2009, Capitol filed its response to plaintiffs motion for partial summary judgment and cross-motion for [297]*297summary judgment, including a memorandum in support and a “designation of materials and statement -of undisputed material facts,” arguing that Capitol did not assume a duty of care “by exercising sufficient control....” Id. at 273, 279.

On February 1, 2010, the court granted The Estate’s motion for partial summary judgment. On June 21, 2010, the court denied Capitol’s cross-motion for summary judgment. This court subsequently accepted appeals from both orders pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 14(B) and ordered the appeals consolidated.

I.

The first issue is whether the court erred in granting The Estate’s motion for partial summary judgment. Our standard of review for a trial court’s grant of a motion for summary judgment is well settled. Summary judgment is appropriate only where there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Ind. Trial Rule 56(C); Mangold ex rel. Mangold v. Ind. Dep’t of Natural Res., 756 N.E.2d 970, 973 (Ind.2001). All facts and reasonable inferences drawn from those facts are construed in favor of the nonmov-ant. Id. Our review of a summary judgment motion is limited to those materials designated to the trial court. Id. In reviewing a trial court’s ruling on a motion for summary judgment, we may affirm on any grounds supported by the Indiana Trial Rule 56 materials. Catt v. Bd. of Comm’rs of Knox Cnty., 779 N.E.2d 1, 3 (Ind.2002).

A party moving for summary judgment bears the initial burden of showing no genuine issue of material fact and the appropriateness of judgment as a matter of law. Monroe Guar. Ins. Co. v. Magwerks Corp., 829 N.E.2d 968, 975 (Ind.2005). If the movant fails to make this prima facie showing, then summary judgment is precluded regardless of whether the non-mov-ant designates facts and evidence in response to the movant’s motion. Id. Also, “[t]he fact that the parties made cross-motions for summary judgment does not alter our standard of review. Instead, we must consider each motion separately to determine whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Stumpf v. Hagerman Const. Corp., 863 N.E.2d 871, 875 (Ind.Ct.App.2007) (quoting Hartford Acc. & Indem. Co. v. Dana Corp., 690 N.E.2d 285, 291 (Ind.Ct.App.1997), trans. denied), trans. denied.

Capitol challenges the court’s grant of partial summary judgment in which the court found that;

[Tjhere is no genuine issue of material fact regarding the contractual nondele-gable duty of [Capitol], and that, as a matter of law, [Capitol] assumed in its contract with [Kroger] a contractual nondelegable duty of safety to all employees at the subject construction project, including the employees of its subcontractors, and that [The Estate] is entitled to Partial Summary Judgment on the issue of [Capitol’s] contractual nondelegable duty.

Appellant’s Appendix at 13-14. Thus, this action sounds in negligence and specifically concerns the existence and possible delegation of a duty owed by Capitol to Clinton.3 “Generally, whether a duty exists is a question of law for the court to decide.” [298]*298Rhodes v. Wright, 805 N.E.2d 382, 386 (Ind.2004) (citing Hooks SuperX, Inc. v. McLaughlin, 642 N.E.2d 514, 517 (Ind. 1994)).

Capitol argues that: (A) it did not owe a contractual duty of care to Clinton; and (B) even if a contractual duty of care existed by virtue of its contract with Kroger, Capitol delegated its duty of care to subcontractor All One. We address each of Capitol’s arguments separately.

A. Capitol’s Duty of Care by Contract

First, Capitol argues that it did not owe a duty of care to Clinton pursuant to its contract with Kroger. Under Indiana common law, it is well established that an employer does not have a duty to supervise the work of an independent contractor to assure a safe workplace and consequently is not liable for the negligence of the independent contractor. Stumpf 863 N.E.2d at 876. “The rationale behind this rule is that ‘a general contractor typically exercises little, if any, control over the means or manner of the work of its subcontractors, and requires only that the completed work meet the specifications of the owner in its contract with the general contractor.’ ” Id. (quoting Harris v. Kettelhut Constr., Inc., 468 N.E.2d 1069, 1072 (Ind.Ct.App.1984). reh’g denied, trans. denied ).

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959 N.E.2d 294, 2011 Ind. App. LEXIS 1953, 2011 WL 6325974, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/capitol-construction-services-inc-v-gray-indctapp-2011.