National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh v. Pennzoil Co.

866 S.W.2d 248, 1993 WL 230216
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 9, 1993
Docket13-92-234-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 866 S.W.2d 248 (National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh v. Pennzoil Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh v. Pennzoil Co., 866 S.W.2d 248, 1993 WL 230216 (Tex. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

OPINION

DORSEY, Justice.

In this worker’s compensation insurance case, appellant complains of the trial court’s granting of motions both to strike its plea in intervention and to sever its claim. By four points of error, appellant maintains that the trial court improperly granted the motions on evidentiary and procedural grounds. We affirm.

Appellant National Union is an insurance carrier for Four Flags Drilling Company. The underlying suit arises from on-the-job injuries sustained by David Pfeifer, plaintiff, while working for Four Flags in 1985. Four Flags had been hired to drill a well for Pennzoil Company and was required, under the parties’ drilling contract, to obtain worker’s compensation and liability insurance. Under the policies issued to Four Flags, appellant began paying worker’s compensation benefits to Pfeifer and reimbursed him for his medical expenses.

In June, 1986, Pfeifer filed a third party negligence action against at least Pennzoil Producing Company and Pennzoil Company (collectively Pennzoil). Other parties were Knight Oil Tools, Inc., and Oil Field Rental Service Company, appellees here. 1 National Union intervened one month later, asserting that it held subrogation rights against the defendants to the extent of all worker’s compensation benefits paid and for additional sums it might become liable to pay in the future.

Pennzoil filed a motion to strike National Union’s intervention and a motion to sever its claims, contending that National Union had waived those asserted rights of subrogation. Pennzoil contended that National Union signed a Certificate of Insurance stating that all policies held by Four Flags, without exception, contained waiver of subrogation clauses in favor of Pennzoil, its subsidiaries and affiliates. That certificate was attached to, and made a part of, the drilling contract between Pennzoil and Four Flags.

The trial court granted the motions. National Union appeals.

By point of error two, National Union maintains that the trial court improvidently granted the motion to strike because the *250 alleged waiver of subrogation was not properly pleaded by Pennzoil. National Union asserts that under Tex.R.Civ.P. 94, in response to a preceding pleading, a party is required to affirmatively plead any matter that is in confession and avoidance such as, in this case, waiver. Pennzoil counters that in its motion to strike, it quoted the waiver provision in the certificate of insurance executed by National Union. Moreover, a copy of the certificate of insurance was attached to the motion to strike.

Tex.R.Civ.P. 60 provides, “Any party may intervene by filing a pleading, subject to being stricken out by the court for sufficient cause on the motion of any party.” An entity may intervene if it could have brought the same action on its own or if it would be able to defeat recovery on some part of it; the intervenor’s interest may be legal or equitable. Guaranty Fed. Sav. Bank v. Horseshoe Operating Co., 793 S.W.2d 652, 657 (Tex.1990). We hold a motion to strike a plea in intervention is akin to a special exception or to a motion for summary judgment, asserting that, as a matter of law, the opposing party could not have brought the action or would not be able to defeat recovery. While waiver may be a valid affirmative defense, in a case such as this one it also provides the trial court with sufficient cause to strike out a party’s plea in intervention. As such, we find Rule 94 inapplicable here. Pennzoil properly assailed National Union’s petition in intervention. Point of error two is overruled.

By point of error one, appellant contends that the trial court erroneously struck its intervention because no evidence was presented to support the motion to strike. National also maintains that the trial court abused its discretion generally by striking the plea.

National concedes that Pennzoil attached a copy of the certificate of insurance to its motion to strike. Appellant argues, however, that the authenticity of the certificate was not established. Moreover, no affidavits or deposition excerpts accompanied the motion. National contends that summary judgment standards should be applied when reviewing the evidence presented to the trial court during a hearing on a motion to strike an intervention. Pennzoil, however, likens the procedure to a special exceptions analysis.

The intervenor bears the burden to show a justiciable interest in the lawsuit. Mendez v. Brewer, 626 S.W.2d 498, 499 (Tex.1982); Rogers v. Searle, 533 S.W.2d 440, 442 (Tex.Civ.App.—Corpus Christi 1976), rev’d on other grounds, 544 S.W.2d 114 (Tex.1976).

After a motion to strike a petition for intervention is filed, the intervenor should be given an opportunity to explain, and show proof of, its interest in the lawsuit. Barrows v. Ezer, 624 S.W.2d 613, 617 (Tex.Civ.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1981, no writ) (citing Womble v. Atkins, 160 Tex. 363, 331 S.W.2d 294 (1960)). However, the trial court may determine an intervening party’s justiciable interest in a lawsuit on the basis of the sufficiency of the petition in intervention. Metromedia Long Distance, Inc. v. Hughes, 810 S.W.2d 494, 497 (Tex.App.—San Antonio 1991, writ denied); McCord v. Watts, 777 S.W.2d 809, 812 (Tex.App.—Austin 1989, no writ). The trial court compares the factual allegations in the petition for intervention with those allegations asserted in the motion to strike that intervention. Metromedia, 810 S.W.2d at 497; McCord, 777 S.W.2d at 812; Rogers, 533 S.W.2d at 442. In Rogers, the intervening party offered no evidence to the trial court in support of her motion. The opposing party made several statements in its motion to strike the intervention that were not challenged or refuted by the inter-venor. This court held that the intervenor’s petition must fail because she did not allege a present justiciable interest in the subject matter of the litigation. Id. at 443.

Neither summary judgment rules nor special exception procedure are wholly applicable here. An entity need only file a petition in intervention and await a motion to strike it. When this occurs, the allegations of the opposing sides will be weighed by the court. It is the intervenor’s burden to prove up its standing in the lawsuit. National Union’s petition in intervention alleged that it had standing to sue the defendants in the lawsuit by virtue of its contractual right of subrogation under its policy with Four Flags. *251

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Bluebook (online)
866 S.W.2d 248, 1993 WL 230216, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/national-union-fire-insurance-co-of-pittsburgh-v-pennzoil-co-texapp-1993.