Fisher v. A.O. Smith Harvestore Products, Inc.

145 A.3d 738, 2016 WL 4429748
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 12, 2016
Docket727 EDA 2013
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 145 A.3d 738 (Fisher v. A.O. Smith Harvestore Products, 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
Fisher v. A.O. Smith Harvestore Products, Inc., 145 A.3d 738, 2016 WL 4429748 (Pa. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinions

OPINION BY

STABILE, J.:

Plaintiff, Danielle Fisher, filed this lawsuit after she injured her hand operating a roller mill manufactured by Appel-[740]*740lee/Cross-Appellant A.O. Smith Corporation (“Smith”). A roller mill is a machine that grinds grain for use in animal feed. Harvestore Systems tyd/b/a Harvestore (“Harvestore”), a former subsidiary of Smith, manufactured the involved roller mill (the “Roller Mill”) in 1981. Presently in dispute is whether Smith or Appellant/Cross-Appellee CST Industries, Inc. (“CST”) is liable for the Roller Mill.

After Fisher commenced her product liability claim, Smith demanded indemnification and a defense from CST, claiming CST acquired liability for the Roller Mill through a series of asset purchase agreements. CST declined to defend or indemnify Smith, and the two entities filed cross-claims for indemnification against each other. On January 14,2013, the trial court granted Smith’s motion for summary judgment against CST, finding CST assumed liability for the Roller Mill. Smith subsequently petitioned for counsel fees and expenses it incurred in defending Fisher’s claims and litigating against CST. On February 8, 2013, the trial court entered an order accepting the parties’ settlement of the Fisher litigation.1 On June 13, 2013, the trial court denied Smith’s petition for counsel fees.

These consolidated appeals arise from the trial court’s February 8, 2013 and June 13, 2013 orders. CST filed a “protective appeal” from the trial court’s February 8, 2013 order, concerned that it rendered the summary judgment order final. Both parties appealed from the June 13, 2013 order — Smith as the aggrieved party and CST to protect itself if the February 8, 2013 order was not the final appealable order.2 On December 9, 2014, a divided three-judge panel of this Court vacated the trial court’s order entering summary judgment in favor of Smith.3 We granted reargument en banc by order of February 20, 2015. After careful review, we vacate the order granting Smith’s motion for summary judgment and dismiss the remaining appeals as moot.

We begin with CST’s appeal of the trial court’s order granting Smith’s motion for summary judgment on Smith’s cross-claim. CST raises the following assertions of error:

1. Did the Court of Common Pleas err as a matter of law in determining that CST expressly assumed liabilities from a line of business other than the line that CST had acquired? In particular, did the trial court err when it:
[741]*741a. failed to construe the Asset Purchase Agreement (“APA”) in its entirety and thus did not give proper weight to the structure of assumed and excluded liabilities or defined terms, including, inter alia, “Division” and “Business”;
b. inferred from the inclusion of a single case on an exhibit to A.O. Smith’s representations and warranties about litigation pending against it that CST assumed all of the liabilities of all lines of business manufactured by A.O. Smith’s former subsidiary; and
c. failed to address the language the parties used in the APA?
2. Did the Court of Common Pleas fail to correctly apply principles of Illinois law governing indemnity agreements and successor liability, as well as Pennsylvania summary judgment principles?
3. Could the trial court have corrected its errors in this regard before it entered a final order on the merits?

CST’s Substituted Principal Brief, at 6-7.

We will address CST’s first two arguments together. Based on our resolution of those, we have no need to address the third. The Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure govern summary judgment motions as follows:

Rule 1035.2. Motion
After the relevant pleadings are closed, but within such time as not to unreasonably delay trial, any party may move for summary judgment in whole or in part as a matter of law
(1) whenever there is no genuine issue of any material fact as to a necessary element of the cause of action or defense which could be established by additional discovery or expert report, or
(2) if, after the completion of discovery relevant to the motion, including the production of expert reports, an adverse party who will bear the burden of proof at trial has failed to produce evidence of facts essential to the cause of action or defense which in a jury trial would require the issues to be submitted to a jury.

Pa.R.C.P. 1035.2. Smith moved for and won summary judgment under Rule 1035.2(1). The trial court’s entry of summary judgment presents a question of law, and therefore our standard of review is de novo and our scope of review is plenary. City of Philadelphia v. Cumberland Cnty. Bd. of Assessment Appeals, 622 Pa. 581, 81 A.3d 24, 44 (2013).

When considering a motion for summary judgment, the trial court must take all facts of record and reasonable inferences therefrom in a light most favorable to the non-moving party. In so doing, the trial court must resolve all doubts as to the existence of a genuine issue of material fact against the moving party, and, thus, may only grant summary judgment where the right to such judgment is clear and free from all doubt.

Summers v. Certainteed Corp., 606 Pa. 294, 997 A.2d 1152, 1159 (2010) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). We will reverse the trial court only if we discern an error of law or abuse of discretion. Id.

Smith argues, and the trial court found, that CST assumed liability for the Roller Mill through the following series of events. In 1996, Harvestore entered an asset purchase agreement (the “Recknell Agreement”) with Recknell Industries, Ltd. (“Recknell”), whereby Recknell purchased Harvestore’s line of automated products, including roller mills. Harvestore retained liabilities arising from automated [742]*742products manufactured prior to the closing date of the Recknell Agreement. The parties dispute whether those retained liabilities included the Roller Mill. Smith dissolved Harvestore in 1997 and transferred its assets and liabilities to a division of Smith known as Engineered Storage Products Company (“ESPC”). CST and ESPC entered an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “APA”) on December 15, 2000, whereby CST purchased ESPC’s assets and certain of its liabilities. The trial court determined that Harvestore retained liability for the Roller Mill after the Recknell Agreement, and that CST assumed liability for the Roller Mill pursuant to the APA. The trial court further determined that the APA required CST to indemnify Smith for liability arising out of this action.

The parties call upon us to construe the APA and the Recknell Agreement, both of which are governed by Illinois law.

The basic rules of contract interpretation are well settled. In construing a contract, the primary objective is to give effect to the intention of the parties. A court will first look to the language of the contract itself to determine the parties’ intent.

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Related

Fisher, D. v. A.O. Smith Harvestore Prod. Inc.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020
Branton, K. v. Nicholas Meat, LLC
159 A.3d 540 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
145 A.3d 738, 2016 WL 4429748, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fisher-v-ao-smith-harvestore-products-inc-pasuperct-2016.