Kossuth Trucking, Inc. v. Caterpillar, Inc.

941 So. 2d 903, 2006 Miss. App. LEXIS 829, 2006 WL 3199598
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedNovember 7, 2006
DocketNo. 2005-CA-02032-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 941 So. 2d 903 (Kossuth Trucking, Inc. v. Caterpillar, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kossuth Trucking, Inc. v. Caterpillar, Inc., 941 So. 2d 903, 2006 Miss. App. LEXIS 829, 2006 WL 3199598 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinions

SOUTHWICK, J.,

for the Court.

¶ 1. Kossuth Trucking, Inc. brought suit against Caterpillar, Inc. alleging that an engine in one of Kossuth’s trucks was negligently repaired by a mechanic for whom Caterpillar was responsible. Caterpillar was granted summary judgment based on the trial court’s conclusion that the mechanic was not Caterpillar’s agent. We agree and affirm the judgment.

FACTS

¶2. The object at the center of the parties’ dispute is the engine in a 1993 Freightliner truck. In May 2000, the previous owner (the grandfather of the owners of Kossuth) sent the truck to N & N Diesel Service of Corinth so that its Caterpillar engine could be rebuilt. This repair work was performed after the Caterpillar warranty of five years and 500,000 miles had expired. Kossuth bought the truck in October 2000. The next month, a truck repair shop in Little Rock, Arkansas called MHC Kenworth performed repairs to the engine. Tony Mask, who along with his brother, Terry, owns Kossuth, testified that the engine was rebuilt several times in the months following the MHC repair work, until finally the truck was taken out of use indefinitely. The only evidence from Kossuth on causation was that MHC mechanics used faulty parts, but there was no evidence that these were Caterpillar parts.

¶3. Kossuth filed suit in September 2002, naming only Caterpillar, Inc. as a defendant. Kossuth alleged breaches of implied and express warranties by Caterpillar, as well as breach of contract. In June 2005, Kossuth filed an amended complaint which added language alleging vicarious liability by Caterpillar for negligence in repair work performed by MHC, as well as improper training of the MHC mechanics. Caterpillar’s motion for summary judgment was granted in September 2005.

¶ 4. The trial court’s findings of fact relied on Kossuth’s expert that MHC use of faulty parts for the repair created the problem. The court found that MHC mechanics were trained by J.A. Riggs Tractor Company, and not by Caterpillar. The court found no written agreement with MHC or other source of Caterpillar liability. MHC was merely a “second-level dealer” of Caterpillar products and an independent contractor. Since there was no evidence of an agency relationship between Caterpillar and MHC, summary judgment was entered. We now consider Kossuth’s appeal.

DISCUSSION

¶ 5. On appeal, Kossuth argues that there was a sufficient “connection” between Caterpillar and the business that conducted the repairs, MHC Kenworth, to “hold that there was an agency relationship between them under the case law.” Though Kossuth named only Caterpillar in its suit, the Caterpillar dealer, J.A. Riggs Tractor Co., and the second-level dealer MHC are the entities through which Kossuth must proceed to reach Caterpillar. Kossuth’s appellate arguments center on case law defining tort liability of principals for the acts of agents. Kossuth argues that there are disputed issues of material fact requiring reversal on the general question of agency.

¶ 6. Riggs and MHC are tractor-trailer dealerships and service centers located in Little Rock, Arkansas. Both Riggs and MHC sell Caterpillar and other tractor-trailer trucks, as well as provide service for all types of tractor-trailer trucks. Caterpillar manufactures many of the engines that are installed in these tractor-trailer [906]*906trucks, as well as replacement parts for these engines.

¶ 7. Caterpillar defines Riggs as a “dealer” of its products and MHC as a “second-level dealer” of its products. Caterpillar has no contracts with second-level dealers. MHC performed the repair work on the Caterpillar engine which ultimately led to this litigation. MHC is an authorized “second-level dealer” for Caterpillar. Riggs entered into a contract with Caterpillar called the “Caterpillar Distribution Agreement for Engines, Parts and Service.” Caterpillar’s only agreement with MHC was to grant restrictive use of the Caterpillar trade and service marks.

¶ 8. Kossuth arguesThat summary judgment was improper because it had demonstrated the existence of a fact question as to whether Caterpillar was vicariously liable for the work performed on Kossuth’s Caterpillar engine. Kossuth relies on a theory of agency to impute to Caterpillar any alleged negligence in MHC’s repair work.

¶ 9. Kossuth argues that the deposition of Caterpillar’s' representative, Joseph Saver, and the Caterpillar distribution agreement are evidence of an agency relationship between Caterpillar and MHC. Most of Saver’s deposition explained that second-level dealers have no direct relationship with Caterpillar. Second-level dealers have Caterpillar parts as inventory and their technicians perform repair work on Caterpillar engines. Caterpillar does not warrant the work performed by second-level dealers. Caterpillar does not provide training- for the mechanics and technicians of the second-level dealer or require them to use Caterpillar parts. In his deposition, Joseph Saver explained that he had no direct knowledge of the Riggs and MHC arrangement. He testified that a second-level dealer will “in most cases” contact the dealer and “request to be authorized to provide parts and service for Caterpillar engines.”

¶ 10. Saver stated that Caterpillar requires dealers to attend training workshops at the Caterpillar headquarters in Illinois. The second-level dealers are required by virtue of the distribution agreement to have personnel who have been trained by the dealer’s trainers, but that training would not occur at Caterpillar headquarters. Saver testified that Caterpillar did not issue warranties on the work of second-level dealers. Saver also stated that second-level dealers bought replacement parts for repair directly from dealers and never from Caterpillar itself.

¶ 11. Kossuth finds support for its position that there was an agency relation primarily in a precedent of this Court. Miller v. Shell Oil Co., 783 So.2d 724 (Miss.Ct.App.2000). There, we reversed a summary judgment in favor of Shell Oil Company. We found a fact question as to whether an agency relationship existed between Shell and a truck stop that we described as a “Shell branded station” leased by a third party. Id. at 729. The plaintiff had slipped on oil or fuel near the fuel pumps. The court majority found that a fact question existed as to whether Shell had a measure of control over the operation of the independently owned station. Id. at 728.

¶ 12. As Kossuth discusses, we relied in Miller on ten factors identified in a 1931 precedent. Kisner v. Jackson, 159 Miss. 424, 427, 132 So. 90, 91 (1931). Kisner was an employee of a saw mill who had been injured at the mill. The issue was whether the person operating the mill was an independent contractor or an agent of the owner. Id., 159 Miss, at 426-27, 132 So. at 90-91. In Miller, we examined the Kisner factors. Shell supplied its brand of fuel to the truck stop, required that the Shell fuel be used exclusively, retained a right of [907]*907inspection, had “control of the premises, the right to prescribe and furnish the details of the kind and character of work to be done, and the right to direct the details in the manner in which the work is done.” Miller, 783 So.2d at 727.

¶ 13. In Kisner, Justice V.A. Griffith identified these factors which we then employed in Miller:

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941 So. 2d 903, 2006 Miss. App. LEXIS 829, 2006 WL 3199598, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kossuth-trucking-inc-v-caterpillar-inc-missctapp-2006.