Honey Creek Stone Co. v. Telsmith Inc.

11 Pa. D. & C.5th 33
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lawrence County
DecidedDecember 31, 2009
Docketno. 11347 of 2003, C.A.
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 11 Pa. D. & C.5th 33 (Honey Creek Stone Co. v. Telsmith Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lawrence County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Honey Creek Stone Co. v. Telsmith Inc., 11 Pa. D. & C.5th 33 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2009).

Opinion

PICCIONE, J.,

Before the court for disposition is defendants’ joint praecipe for summary judgment. The current action arose out of a pur[35]*35chase of a stone crasher by Honey Creek Stone Company. In late 2002, Honey Creek contacted Telsmith Inc. for the purpose of purchasing a new stone crashing plant for its Petersberg, Ohio facility. Honey Creek desired to replace its existing plant and crasher in order to increase production. After examining the existing plant and performing an assessment of Honey Creek’s needs, Telsmith referred Honey Creek to Stewart-Amos Equipment Company, a dealer of Telsmith’s machinery in Pennsylvania. During negotiations, Stewart-Amos informed Honey Creek that money could be saved by purchasing a used or refurbished stone crasher as part of the new plant.

On December 11,2002, Honey Creek began purchasing components for its plant. On December 16, 2002, Honey Creek agreed to purchase a secondary crushing and screening plant from Telsmith and Stewart-Amos. According to Honey Creek, the agreement between the parties remained open-ended because no decision was made as to whether a new or used crusher would be purchased. Honey Creek later discovered that Telsmith had a used crasher available in Tennessee. Telsmith inspected the used crusher and reported its findings to Stewart-Amos. On January 16, 2003, Stewart-Amos wrote to Honey Creek, stating that the crusher “seems to be in good shape with roller bearings, bronze sleeves, and head and shaft all O.K.” Plaintiff’s exhibit 16. Shortly thereafter, Honey Creek agreed to purchase the used crusher. Telsmith warranted the crusher for a period of six months and included, in bold and capital letters, a disclaimer of all other warranties in its service and warranty policy manual.

[36]*36The crusher was delivered to Honey Creek in the spring of 2003 and began malfunctioning soon after it started operating. Despite numerous attempts, Telsmith and Stewart-Amos were unable to satisfactorily repair the crusher and related equipment. Citing its dissatisfaction with the crusher, Honey Creek refused to pay the balance of the purchase price to Stewart-Amos. Honey Creek continued to use the crusher until 2006, when it was discovered that the crusher needed a replacement liner. In April of 2006, Honey Creek met with a representative of Ohio-CAT, a dealer for Telsmith’s machinery in Ohio, who advised Honey Creek that there were problems with the support bowl. “Smithbond” was discovered in areas suggesting that the crusher was not properly refurbished before being delivered. Honey Creek purchased replacement parts, and the crusher continued to operate throughout 2006. During the following years, Honey Creek did not crush stone at is Petersburg, Ohio facility.

The current action commenced when Stewart-Amos filed suit against Honey Creek in September of 2003, seeking payment due on the crusher and related equipment. On December 1, 2003, Honey Creek filed a complaint against Telsmith and Stewart-Amos, asserting claims for breach of warranty, breach of contract and negligence. Defendants filed preliminary objections to the complaint, and the negligence counts were stricken by order of court dated June 23,2004. On June 12,2006, the two cases were consolidated by order of court. Seeking to add a claim of fraudulent inducement, Honey Creek filed a motion to amend its complaint, which was granted on May 20, 2008. Stewart-Amos and Telsmith each [37]*37filed motions for summary judgment dated March 20, 2009 and March 23,2009, respectively. The parties submitted briefs supporting their positions regarding the motion, and this court conducted a hearing on June 3, 2009.

Under Pennsylvania law, the standard for summary judgment is set forth by Rule 1035.2 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. The rule states that:

“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

The rule explains that summary judgment is appropriate only in those instances where “there is no genuine issue of any material fact as to a necessary element of the cause of action or defense that could be established by additional discovery” and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fine v. Checcio, 582 Pa. 253, 265, 870 A.2d 850, 857 (2005); see also, Pa.R.C.P. [38]*381035.2. The moving party bears the burden of proving that no genuine issue of material fact exists. Rush v. Philadelphia Newspapers Inc., 732 A.2d 648, 650 (Pa. Super. 1999). For the purposes of summary judgment, material facts are those that have a direct effect on the outcome of the case. Kuney v. Benjamin Franklin Clinic, 751 A.2d 662, 664 (Pa. Super. 2000).

In determining whether summary judgment is appropriate, the trial court is required to view the record in a light most favorable to the non-moving party, and “all doubts as to the existence of a genuine issue of material fact must be resolved in favor of the nonmoving party.” P.J.S. v. Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission, 555 Pa. 149, 153, 723 A.2d 174, 176 (1999) (citing Kapres v. Heller, 536 Pa. 551, 640 A.2d 888 (1994)). Atrial court should only grant a motion for summary judgment when the facts of record are so clear that reasonable minds could not disagree on the outcome. Basile v. H & R Block Inc., 563 Pa. 359, 365, 761 A.2d 1115, 1118 (2000) (citing Cochran v. GAF Corp., 542 Pa. 210, 215, 666 A.2d 245, 248 (1995). It is not the function of the court ruling on a motion for summary judgment to weigh evidence and to determine the truth of the matter. Keenheel v. Pennsylvania Securities Commission, 134 Pa. Commw. 494, 504, 579 A.2d 1358, 1363 (1990).

In Counts I and II of the amended complaint, Honey Creek alleges that both Telsmith and Stewart-Amos breached various express and implied warranties regarding the plant and, specifically, the crusher. Stewart-Amos initially argues that it did not provide any warranty to Honey Creek relative to the crusher or any other equip[39]*39ment used in the plant and that any warranties from the contracts between Stewart-Amos and Honey Creek were from Telsmith.

Honey Creek provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that a warranty from Stewart-Amos existed.

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11 Pa. D. & C.5th 33, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/honey-creek-stone-co-v-telsmith-inc-pactcompllawren-2009.