HANOVER AMER. INS. CO. v. Trippe Mfg. Co.

843 So. 2d 571, 2003 WL 1825610
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 9, 2003
Docket37,060-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 843 So. 2d 571 (HANOVER AMER. INS. CO. v. Trippe Mfg. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
HANOVER AMER. INS. CO. v. Trippe Mfg. Co., 843 So. 2d 571, 2003 WL 1825610 (La. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

843 So.2d 571 (2003)

HANOVER AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
TRIPPE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, Chubb Insurance Company, Gary Godard d/b/a Godard Tv Service and Commercial Union Insurance Company, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 37,060-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

April 9, 2003.

*572 Bienvenu, Foster, Ryan & O'Banion By John W. Waters, Jr., David E. Walle, New Orleans, for Appellant.

Mayer, Smith & Roberts By Caldwell Roberts, Caldwell Roberts, Jr., Shreveport, for Appellees, Trippe Manufacturing Company and Federal Insurance Company.

O'Neal Walsh & Associates By Matthew T. Lofaso, William J. Mitchell, II, Baton Rouge, for Appellee/Third-Party Defendant, Maida Development Company.

Bernard, Cassisa, Elliott & Davis By Howard B. Kaplan, Metairie, for Appellee/Third-Party Defendant, Magnetek, Inc.

Before WILLIAMS, CARAWAY and KOSTELKA (Pro Tempore), JJ.

KOSTELKA, Judge Pro Tempore.

Hanover American Insurance Company ("Hanover") appeals the grant of summary judgment in favor of Trippe Manufacturing Company ("Trippe") and Federal Insurance Company ("Federal"). Trippe also files an answer to Hanover's appeal. For the following reasons, the judgment of the trial court is reversed.

FACTS

This products liability lawsuit arises from fire damage to a building owned by Mr. and Mrs. James T. Strong (the "Strongs") which was leased to Easy Way, Inc. ("Easy Way"), a company owned by the Strongs. As a result of the fire, the building was destroyed, as was all of Easy *573 Way's inventory. Additionally, Easy Way's business was interrupted, allegedly resulting in lost profits and extra expense. The Strongs and Easy Way were insured by Hanover, which, as subrogee to the Strongs and Easy Way, brought this lawsuit.

Hanover named as a defendant, Trippe, the designer and manufacturer of an uninterruptible power supply ("UPS"), a device which provided electrical power to Easy Way's computer file server in the event of a power interruption. Hanover specifically claimed that the UPS was unreasonably dangerous in its construction and composition and in its design. Hanover further claimed that Trippe failed to warn of the alleged defects of the UPS. Also made a defendant was Trippe's insurer, Federal.[1] Trippe later named as third-party defendants, Magnetek, Inc. ("Magnetek")[2], the manufacturer of the transformer used inside the UPS, and Maida Development Company ("Maida"), the manufacturer of another component part used inside the UPS.

Trippe, Magnetek and Maida each filed separate motions for summary judgment. In its Motion for Summary Judgment, Trippe maintained that Hanover lacked sufficient evidence to carry its burden of proof under the Louisiana Products Liability Act. After oral arguments on the motions for summary judgment, the trial court granted Trippe's motion and dismissed the motions of Magnetek and Maida as moot upon Trippe's dismissal from the lawsuit. The trial court's judgment also dismissed Trippe's third-party claims against Magnetek and Maida. This appeal by Hanover ensued. Additionally, Trippe answered the appeal, requesting that the third-party demands against Magnetek and Maida be reinstated in the event its summary judgment is reversed.

DISCUSSION

Hanover appeals the grant of summary judgment in Trippe's favor and argues that material facts are in dispute, making summary judgment improper in this case. Specifically, Hanover maintains that its expert opinions are contrary to Trippe's expert opinion regarding the cause of the fire and the defective nature of the UPS and that the trial court erred in assessing the conflicting expert opinions on those issues.

In determining whether summary judgment is appropriate, appellate courts review the evidence de novo. Reynolds v. Select Properties, Ltd., 93-1480 (La.04/11/94), 634 So.2d 1180. Summary judgments are now favored. La. C.C.P. art. 966(A)(2). Nonetheless, both the evidence and all inferences drawn from the evidence must be construed in favor of the party opposing the motion, and all doubt must be resolved in his favor. Willis v. Medders, 2000-2507 (La.12/08/00), 775 So.2d 1049; South Central Bell Telephone Co. v. Sewerage and Water Bd. of New Orleans, 94-1648 (La.App. 4th Cir.03/16/95), 652 So.2d 1090, writ denied, 95-0949 (La.05/19/95), 654 So.2d 1090. Ultimately, the burden of proof remains with the mover who must meet the initial burden of making a prima facie showing of entitlement to summary judgment. See, Mark Tatum and Judge William Norris, III, Summary Judgment and Partial Judgment in Louisiana: The State We're In, 59 La. L.Rev. 131, 141 (1998). Taking into *574 account these standards, we find that summary judgment is improper in the case sub judice.

Here, Hanover relies on the opinion of its retained experts as well as circumstantial evidence which it argues created material issues of fact regarding the cause of the fire and its claim of the defective construction or composition of the UPS. Hanover's experts appear by depositions filed as exhibits to pleadings made part of the record.[3] Trippe's expert appears by affidavit filed in support of its Motion for Summary Judgment. On appeal, Hanover argues that the expert opinions of the parties are conflicting, signifying a disputed material fact at issue, which makes summary judgment in this case improper. We agree.

One material fact at issue is the initial dispute of whether the fire was caused or ignited by the UPS. Specifically, Trippe argues that the fire was caused by a source external to the UPS. Hanover, on the other hand, maintains that the fire was ignited by the UPS due specifically to internal defects in the device. In ruling on Trippe's Motion for Summary Judgment, the trial court stated that "[A]ll agree that [the fire re-enactment testing] showed clearly that the problems with the UPS was [sic] post ignition. That has not been disputed by [Hanover] and neither today in argument nor in [b]rief has [Hanover's attorney] really strongly urged that he has expert testimony in support of his position...." Despite this finding by the trial court, the record reflects the opposite, and Hanover has expert testimony contrary to Trippe's position. The issue of whether the UPS burned as a result of the fire (which would make the "problems with the UPS" post-ignition problems) or whether the UPS itself ignited the fire are indeed contested facts in this litigation, despite the trial court's statement to the contrary.

In its Statement of Undisputed Facts, Trippe claims that it is undisputed, after a joint destructive inspection of the UPS and the transformer within it, that the "faults" or arcing of the copper wire in the transformer occurred after the ignition of the fire and could not be the source of the fire. In other words, Trippe takes the position that the fire was ignited somewhere other than by the UPS. This fact is reiterated in the opinion of Trippe's expert, Robert Bartlett ("Bartlett"), in his affidavit attached to Trippe's Motion for Summary Judgment. Bartlett states that the arcing or "faults" discussed by Montgomery in his deposition "... were all post-ignition arcing events or faults which occurred when the supporting structure of the UPS began to melt and deform due to the heat of the surrounding fire causing the transformer to sink downward and come into contact with the electrical leads ...." coming out of the UPS battery, which remained energized during the fire.

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Bluebook (online)
843 So. 2d 571, 2003 WL 1825610, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hanover-amer-ins-co-v-trippe-mfg-co-lactapp-2003.