Cincinnati Insurance Co. v. Gray

455 N.E.2d 1080, 7 Ohio App. 3d 374, 7 Ohio B. 474, 1982 Ohio App. LEXIS 11189
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 5, 1982
Docket3-82-8
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 455 N.E.2d 1080 (Cincinnati Insurance Co. v. Gray) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cincinnati Insurance Co. v. Gray, 455 N.E.2d 1080, 7 Ohio App. 3d 374, 7 Ohio B. 474, 1982 Ohio App. LEXIS 11189 (Ohio Ct. App. 1982).

Opinion

Guernsey, J.

By reason of a fire loss to its church building occasioned by the plaintiff First Church of Christian Scientist, it and its subrogee, the plaintiff Cincinnati Insurance Co., commenced action in the Court of Common Pleas of Crawford County against the defendant-minor, Jeffrey Allen Gray, and his defendant-parents, Verlin and Geneva Gray, to recover damages for the fire loss occurring April 5, 1979, which they claimed was caused by the minor while trespassing in the church building. This complaint contained no jury demand.

The defendant-parents filed an answer to the complaint of the plaintiffs and a cross-complaint against the plaintiff-insurer for libel and slander. Concurrently the defendant-parents filed a third-party complaint against the Buckeye Union Insurance Company, hereinafter referred to as Buckeye Union, to recover any loss incurred by them due to the plaintiffs’ complaint. As part of the caption of the document constituting the answer and cross-complaint appear the words “Jury of eight (8) demanded,” but no jury demand appears otherwise on or in the document. As part of the caption of the document constituting the third-party complaint appear the words “Jury of eight (8) demanded,” and as the last *375 phrase of the prayer thereof appear the words, “and Third-Party Plaintiffs demand that all issues made herein be submitted to a jury of eight (8) persons.”

On July 2, 1980, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, without jury demand, and on August 21,1980, the defendant-parents and the minor son through his guardian ad litem, filed answers to the amended complaint, without jury demand.

Notwithstanding that Buckeye Union had previously been made a third-party defendant and had filed its answer to the third-party complaint, it moved on January 12, 1981, to intervene as a defendant in the action between the plaintiffs and the individual defendants on the theory that its policy of insurance insuring the minor and the parents against personal liability provided no coverage to the minor if his actions were intentional and not to exceed $3,000 coverage to the parents if they were required to pay for the minor’s actions. The court sustained the motion and the intervenor filed its answer.

Subsequently on request of the plaintiffs, the defendants admitted that the fire loss amounted to $7,404.75 and that the plaintiff-insurer had paid such amount to the plaintiff-church becoming its subrogee.

On March 30,1981, apparently on motion or suggestion of the defendant-parents, the court dismissed the third-party complaint against Buckeye Union, finding that same was premature.

On October 23, 1981, with leave of court, Buckeye Union, as “Defendant-in-tervenor,” filed its motion for summary judgment on the complaint. As exhibits to its memorandum on the motion it filed a copy of its policy of insurance purporting to insure the defendants, a document purporting to be a statement made by the defendant-minor concerning the fire certified by the affidavit of a fire department officer witness to same, and a document purporting to be a certified copy of a journal entry of the Juvenile Court Division, Court of Common Pleas of Crawford County, rendered on April 30, 1979, finding the minor defendant to be a delinquent child “as set forth in section[s] 2909.03 and 2151.02 of the Ohio Revised Code,” but not otherwise associating such delinquency with the fire loss in this case involved.

On November 25, 1981, the plaintiffs filed a deposition of the minor defendant taken as upon cross-examination, which was brought to the trial court’s attention in connection with the hearing on the motion for summary judgment held on the same date.

On December 21,1981, the trial court found that “there are still certain issues of fact remaining” and ordered the motion for summary judgment denied.

The cause then went to trial to a jury with the trial court reciting in its journal entry filed February 25, 1982 that the jury “found that Jeffrey Allen Gray acted negligently, and not willfully, in causing damage to the First Church of Christian Scientist, Galion, Ohio on April 6, 1979,” finding in that journal entry that “upon additional matters raised by defendant, Buckeye Union Insurance Company, that Jeffrey Allen Gray is an insured under its policy,” rendering judgment in favor of the plaintiff-insurer against the defendant-minor in the amount of $7,404.75, ordering that Buckeye Union, as insurer of the defendant-minor, pay said amount to the plaintiff-insured, and ordering the defendant-parents dismissed.

It is from this judgment that Buckeye Union appeals assigning error of the trial court as a matter of law (1) in finding that a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether Jeffrey Gray acted willfully or intentionally, (2) in finding that a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether appellant, under its policy of insurance, was liable in excess of $250, and (3) in granting appellees a jury trial.

Except for the application of the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of *376 Balson v. Dodds (1980), 62 Ohio St. 2d 287 [16 O.O.3d 329], which, though an affirmance, reversed a ruling of this court, we would find that the trial court’s denial of Buckeye Union’s motion for summary judgment would not be reviewable, the case having gone to trial resulting also in judgment adverse to the movant thus demonstrating that the movant had not been prejudiced by the summary judgment ruling. However, we are bound by the Supreme Court’s Balsón decision and must review the first two assignments of error, as well as the third.

Although many questions might appear as to the procedural propriety of the i intervention of Buckeye Union in an action between its insured and a third party, including whether such intervention was premature or whether their claims should have been postponed for the filing of a supplemental “petition” under the provisions of R.C. 3929.06, such issues have not been raised by the appeal and we confine our opinion and decision to the specific issues raised by the three assignments of error.

The first assignment of error relates to the issue of whether within the terms of its contractual liability, if any, to the defendant-minor, Buckeye Union became liable as a matter of law to the plaintiffs by reason of the defendant-minor’s tort liability, if any, to the plaintiffs. This appears to be a proper issue for determination by summary judgment but only if there is no genuine issue as to any material fact.

The second assignment of error relates only to the extent of such liability and is not within the scope of the motion for summary judgment which was “for an order dismissing the complaint of plaintiffs and for entry of summary judgment, that plaintiffs take nothing and defendant-intervenor may recover its costs in this action.” The issue of extent of liability only exists as a secondary issue, i.e., secondary to the primary issue of liability itself. If a genuine issue as to any material fact exists as to the issue of liability, it also exists as to the extent of liability.

Under Civ. R.

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Bluebook (online)
455 N.E.2d 1080, 7 Ohio App. 3d 374, 7 Ohio B. 474, 1982 Ohio App. LEXIS 11189, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cincinnati-insurance-co-v-gray-ohioctapp-1982.