Harmony at Madrona Park v. Madison Harmony Development Inc.

253 P.3d 101
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedFebruary 22, 2011
Docket64037-2-I
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 253 P.3d 101 (Harmony at Madrona Park v. Madison Harmony Development Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harmony at Madrona Park v. Madison Harmony Development Inc., 253 P.3d 101 (Wash. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

253 P.3d 101 (2011)
160 Wash.App. 728

HARMONY AT MADRONA PARK OWNERS ASSOCIATION, a Washington condominium unit owners association, Plaintiff,
v.
MADISON HARMONY DEVELOPMENT, INC., a Washington corporation, Defendant/Third Party Plaintiff,
Ledcor Industries, a Washington corporation; and Milbrandt Architects, Inc., a Washington corporation, Third Party Defendants,
Ledcor Industries (USA) Inc., a Washington corporation, Respondent,
Margaux's Marine Graphics, Inc., a Washington corporation, d/b/a Serock Construction, Appellant.

No. 64037-2-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

February 22, 2011.

*103 Kenneth J. Cusack, Law Office of William J. O'Brien, Seattle, WA, for Appellant.

Scott A. Samuelson, Richard L. Martens, Martens & Associates PS, Seattle, WA, for Respondent.

LEACH, J.

¶ 1 This is the second appeal in this case.[1] Margaux's Marine Graphics Inc. d/b/a Serock Construction (Serock) appeals the trial court's decision denying it an offset for the amount Ledcor Industries (USA) Inc. obtained in settlement with a different defendant. It also appeals the court's calculation of Ledcor's damages and an additur awarding Ledcor attorney fees and costs incurred on remand. These claims lack merit.

¶ 2 Because Serock presented no evidence supporting its offset claim, the trial court properly denied Serock's claim a second time. Substantial evidence supports the trial court's calculation of Ledcor's damages. Finally, because the parties' contract authorizes reasonable fees and costs to the prevailing party and Ledcor, the prevailing party, supported its fee request with unrebutted evidence, the trial court did not err in awarding fees on remand. We therefore affirm.

FACTS

¶ 3 This is a construction defects case involving a 25-building condominium complex in Bellevue.[2] The case began when the condominium homeowners' association filed suit against the owner-developer, which filed a third party complaint against Ledcor, the general contractor.[3] Ledcor settled with the developer and filed a fourth party complaint against several subcontractors that worked on the project, including Serock.[4] Ledcor alleged Serock breached its subcontract and failed to fulfill its indemnification obligations.[5]

¶ 4 All subcontractor-defendants except Serock settled with Ledcor before trial.[6] After a three-day bench trial, the court determined that Serock breached its contractual obligations on 11 of 13 buildings, but the statute of limitations barred Ledcor's contract claims as to 4 buildings. The court awarded $57,375 in damages for these 4 buildings pursuant to the indemnification agreement and $95,625 in contract damages for the other 7.[7]

¶ 5 The court also awarded a pro rata share of Ledcor's defense costs incurred before its tender of defense to Serock (the "pre-tender" period).[8] Lastly, the trial court denied Serock's posttrial motion to offset damages by Ledcor's settlement amount with the other subcontractor-defendants.[9] The court ruled that Serock failed to plead offset as an affirmative defense and failed to present any evidence that Ledcor had previously recovered for repairs related to Serock's defective work.[10]

¶ 6 Serock appealed to this court. In a published opinion, Harmony at Madrona *104 Park Owners Ass'n v. Madison Harmony Development, Inc.,[11] we affirmed the trial court's award of indemnity damages but reversed the judgment on contract claims as time barred. We specifically noted that "nothing in this opinion precludes the trial court from considering whether Ledcor is entitled to indemnification for repairing the seven other buildings, for which the trial court erroneously awarded damages under a breach of contract theory."[12] We also affirmed the trial court's denial of an offset because substantial evidence supported the finding that Serock's defective work caused the damages awarded Ledcor, and Serock presented no evidence demonstrating that Ledcor previously recovered for repairing the same work.[13] We also affirmed Serock's liability for pre-tender defense costs but reversed the amount of fees awarded as arbitrarily granted.[14]

¶ 7 Serock filed a motion for reconsideration of the denial of its offset claim. In the same motion, Serock requested instructions to the trial court to reopen discovery on that issue. We denied the motion in its entirety.

¶ 8 On remand, Ledcor moved for an expedited trial date with a limited case schedule without additional discovery. Serock did not oppose an expedited trial but requested limited discovery on the issue of Ledcor's prior settlements with other subcontractors. Ledcor opposed Serock's request to reopen discovery on the grounds that Harmony fully resolved Serock's offset claim. The trial court granted Ledcor's motion. Serock has not appealed this decision.

¶ 9 Ledcor then moved for summary judgment, arguing the contract damages reversed on appeal should be awarded as indemnity damages. Ledcor also reasserted its claim for pre-tender attorney fees and costs and requested an additur for expenses accrued in bringing its summary judgment motion and in responding to any motion that Serock might file. Serock did not oppose indemnity liability for the remaining seven buildings. Instead, Serock reasserted its entitlement to an offset and alleged that Ledcor failed to establish a reasonable basis for determining Serock's share of the pre-tender defense expenses. However, Serock presented no evidence to support its offset claim.

¶ 10 The trial court granted Ledcor's motion in part, awarding Ledcor $127,500.00 in indemnity damages for the seven buildings and denying Serock's offset claim. It also granted Ledcor's request for fees and costs incurred on remand. But because Ledcor failed to establish a viable method for segregating Serock's share of pre-tender attorney fees and costs, the court denied Ledcor's pre-tender fee request. Final judgment totaled $430,153.96.

¶ 11 Serock appeals.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 12 This court reviews a summary judgment order de novo, engaging in the same inquiry as the trial court.[15] Summary judgment is proper if, after viewing all facts and reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, there are no genuine issues as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.[16]

ANALYSIS

¶ 13 Serock contends the trial court erred by denying it an offset against the indemnity damages awarded Ledcor on remand. Specifically, Serock claims that Ledcor had the burden of proving that its settlement with another subcontractor included recovery for repairs other than those required to correct Serock's defective work. Serock further claims that our opinion in Ledcor Industries (USA), Inc. v. Mutual of *105 Enumclaw Insurance Co.[17] provided the trial court with sufficient evidence of the factual basis for its offset claim. We disagree with each contention.

¶ 14 Generally the party claiming an offset has the burden of proving this claim.[18] In Puget Sound Energy, Inc. v. ALBA General Insurance Co.,[19] our Supreme Court held that a nonsettling insurer-defendant claiming a right to an offset bears the initial burden of showing that the insured-plaintiff had been made whole by the settlement. Puget Sound Energy relied on Weyerhaeuser Co. v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
253 P.3d 101, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harmony-at-madrona-park-v-madison-harmony-development-inc-washctapp-2011.