LeMaster Steel Erectors, Inc. v. Reliance Insurance Co.

546 N.E.2d 313, 1989 Ind. App. LEXIS 1162, 1989 WL 139796
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 20, 1989
Docket20A04-8711-CV-339
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 546 N.E.2d 313 (LeMaster Steel Erectors, Inc. v. Reliance Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
LeMaster Steel Erectors, Inc. v. Reliance Insurance Co., 546 N.E.2d 313, 1989 Ind. App. LEXIS 1162, 1989 WL 139796 (Ind. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

MILLER, Judge.

Subcontractor LeMaster Steel Erectors (LeMaster) pursuant to a contract with general contractor, Mid-States Construction Company, Inc. (Mid-States) was doing structural steel work on an addition to an existing building owned by Gladiator Van Conversions (Gladiator) when one of Le-Master’s employees allegedly caused a fire which destroyed both the addition and the existing building. In accordance with their insurance policies, Reliance Insurance Company (Reliance) paid for the damage to the addition and the contents of the existing building and State Automobile Insurance Company (State Automobile) paid for damage to the existing building. Then both filed this subrogation action against subcontractor LeMaster and contractor Mid-States. During a summary judgment proceeding against Reliance, 1 LeMaster and Mid-States asserted they were insured under Reliance’s builder’s risk endorsement, and therefore Reliance was not entitled to subrogate. The trial court found that Mid-States was an intended insured under Reliance’s builder’s risk endorsement and that LeMaster was not an insured. (However, the trial court also denied summary judgment to Mid-States because it concluded that the builder’s risk endorsement covered only the addition, not the existing building.) LeMaster brings this interlocutory appeal challenging the trial court’s denial of its motion for summary judgment. 2

We affirm.

FACTS

In 1983, Mid-States, a general contractor, contracted with Gladiator to construct an addition to an existing building 3 used for spray-painting van components. The *315 contract called for Mid-States to erect a pre-engineered metal building which was to be attached to the existing building. One of the walls of the existing building was to be removed and reused as the end wall of the addition. The Mid-States/Gladiator contract contained the following agreement:

“Contractor to furnish Public Liability and Workers’ Compensation Insurance. All Risk Builder’s Risk Insurance furnished by Owner with copy of same sent directly to Contractor prior to start of any construction. Any deductible will be paid by Owner.”

Glaval, Inc., a holding company, which owns Gladiator, insured a number of properties owned or operated by Glaval or its subsidiaries under a comprehensive insurance policy carried by Reliance. Under this policy, Reliance insured the contents of the existing building in the amount of $150,000. However, the building itself was insured by State Automobile Insurance in the amount of $141,000. Pursuant to the contract between Gladiator and Mid-States, Glaval added a builder’s risk endorsement to the comprehensive policy in the amount of $500,000.

Mid-States sub-contracted with LeMas-ter to do the structural steel placement on the project. The contract between Mid-States and LeMaster incorporated by reference the contract between Mid-States and Gladiator. LeMaster agreed to carry:

a. Statutory Workmen’s Compensation and Occupational Disease Insurance including employer’s liability $100,000.00 limit.
b. Broad form Contractor’s liability insurance with bodily injury limits of at least $500,000.00 for each occurrence and property damage limits of at least $100,-000.00 for each occurrence.

LeMaster also agreed:

Subcontractor will indemnify and hold the owner and the Contractor harmless against all claims, damages (including consequential and incidental damages), judgments, awards, or losses, including attorneys’ fees and costs of defense of whatever kind or nature arising out of any failure of the Subcontractor to perform any of its obligations under this subcontract, or which are directly or indirectly caused or contributed by any act of negligence or omission by the Subcontractor or anyone acting under him. The Subcontractor will upon request and at its own expense defend any action, suit or proceeding arising hereunder, and shall reimburse and pay the owner and/or Contractor for any loss, cost, damage or expense (including attorneys’ fees) suffered by it hereunder.

Preparatory to attaching the pre-engi-neered addition to the existing building, an employee of LeMaster used a cutting torch to notch a beam adjacent to the existing building. Sparks from the torch allegedly ignited the fumes from the spray-painting operation, causing an explosion which destroyed the existing building and its contents and damaged the new construction.

Reliance paid its $150,000.00 limit under the contents coverage of the comprehensive policy and an additional $126,530.35 for inventory and stock in the existing building. It also paid for the damage to the addition under the builder’s risk endorsement. State Automobile paid its $141,000 limits on the existing building. Reliance and State Automobile then filed this subrogation action against Mid-States and LeMaster.

Additional facts will be given when relevant to our opinion.

ISSUES

LeMaster raises four issues. We need only discuss the following two issues: 4

1. Whether, as a matter of law, LeMas-ter was an insured or an intended insured under Reliance’s builder’s risk endorsement. 5
*316 2. Whether LeMaster was entitled to partial summary judgment that Reliance was not entitled to subrogation on a payment of $126,530 in excess of the personal property limit, because it was a mere volunteer.

DECISION

LeMaster filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, Ind. Rules of Procedure, Trial Rule 12(B)(6) or in the alternative a motion for full or partial summary judgment. Ind. Rules of Procedure, Trial Rule 56. Because the trial court considered matters outside the pleadings, the motion was treated as one for summary judgment. T.R. 12(B). A denial of a motion for summary judgment is generally not an appeal-able interlocutory order, however when the defendant raises defenses which would if applicable, entitle it to judgment as a matter of law, and the trial court certifies one of the provisions of Ind. Rules of Procedure, Appellate Rule 4(B)(6) is applicable, an interlocutory appeal is permitted. Standard Mutual Insurance Co. v. Boyd (1983), Ind.App., 452 N.E.2d 1074. Here, the trial court certified the order involved a substantial question of law, the determination of which would promote a more orderly disposition of the case, A.R. 4(B)(6)(b) and this court granted the petition for interlocutory appeal.

LeMaster argued it was an intended insured under the Mid-States/Gladiator contract and/or an insured under the provisions of Reliance’s policy. Reliance contended that LeMaster was not an insured, and even if it were an intended insured under the builder’s risk endorsement, the endorsement covered only the addition, not the existing building or its contents.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

S.C. Nestel, Inc. v. Future Construction Inc.
836 N.E.2d 445 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2005)
Tri-State Insurance Co. of Minnesota v. Commercial Group West, LLC
2005 ND 114 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2005)
Vanliner Insur Co v. Sampat, Adell
320 F.3d 709 (Seventh Circuit, 2003)
Vanliner Insurance Company v. Adell Sampat
320 F.3d 709 (Seventh Circuit, 2003)
Indiana Erectors, Inc. v. Trustees of Indiana University
686 N.E.2d 878 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1997)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
546 N.E.2d 313, 1989 Ind. App. LEXIS 1162, 1989 WL 139796, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lemaster-steel-erectors-inc-v-reliance-insurance-co-indctapp-1989.