Ohio Casualty Insurance Co. v. Wilson

923 S.W.2d 904, 1996 Ky. App. LEXIS 26, 1996 WL 76113
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedFebruary 23, 1996
DocketNo. 94-CA-2089-MR
StatusPublished

This text of 923 S.W.2d 904 (Ohio Casualty Insurance Co. v. Wilson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ohio Casualty Insurance Co. v. Wilson, 923 S.W.2d 904, 1996 Ky. App. LEXIS 26, 1996 WL 76113 (Ky. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

KNOPF, Judge:

Ohio Casualty Insurance Company (Ohio) appeals from a jury verdict awarding Sarah B. Kayser, who goes by the name Diane, as guardian for her minor daughter, Sarah Neal Wilson, $72,300 against Ohio for its obligation as the surety on a performance bond. After reviewing many issues in this appeal regarding conflict of interest, a surety’s right of indemnification from co-guardians, jury instructions and apportionment, and prejudgment interest, we affirm the trial court on some issues and reverse and remand the case on other issues.

On March 23,1981 Diane Kayser (formerly Wilson), and her husband Michael L. Wilson were appointed co-guardians of their infant daughter Sarah’s estate. Sarah was injured in an automobile accident. In settlement of Sarah’s claim, the district court authorized Diane and Michael to accept $35,966.74. At that time, Diane and Michael purchased a performance bond issued by Ohio for $35,-966.74.

Initially, Michael and Diane invested Sarah’s settlement proceeds in certificates of deposit and bank stock. In the fall of 1985, the Wilsons initiated divorce proceedings and Diane learned that Michael had diverted the entire amount of money from Sarah’s estate into his various business ventures. In 1986 the Wilsons’ divorce became final and Michael was removed as a guardian. Michael repaid the estate $10,000.00 and wrote a promissory note for the remaining $25,-966.74, which Diane accepted on behalf of Sarah. Later, Michael called Diane and said his business would go under if she did not loan him $7,300.00 from Sarah’s estate. Fearing that Michael would not pay his child support if his business failed, Diane loaned him the $7,300.00 in return for a promissory note and his oral promise to pay the money back in two weeks.

Michael failed to pay both promissory notes. Instead, he filed for bankruptcy. No party objected to the notes being listed as dischargeable debts. On February 4, 1991 the promissory notes were discharged in bankruptcy.

On January 5, 1993, Diane filed a complaint against Michael for breach of his fiduciary duty as a guardian and against Ohio for its obligation as the surety on the bond. Michael filed a motion to dismiss himself from the lawsuit based on his discharge in bankruptcy. The trial court granted the motion explaining that Michael “shall remain as a named defendant in this action for the purposes of the Plaintiffs (Diane’s) prosecution of claims as against the defendant, Ohio Casualty Insurance Company. As such, the defendant, Michael L. Wilson, shall not be exposed to any personal or money judgment and shall not be required to respond to discovery as if he were a nonparty to this action.” [sic] Neither Diane nor Ohio appealed from this order.

Ohio filed a counterclaim against Diane seeking indemnification for Diane’s breach of her duty as guardian to the estate. Ohio then moved to join Diane as a defendant. The trial court granted the motion. Subsequently, Ohio moved the court to dismiss the complaint because Diane could not effectively represent the estate against herself. Ohio [906]*906claimed that the conflict of interest justified dismissal of the complaint. The court denied this motion. Ohio also made a motion to remove Diane as guardian based on the conflict of interest, which the court denied. The case went to trial and the jury returned a verdict for Sarah’s estate in the amount of $72,300.00.

In this appeal Ohio first argues that the ease should be dismissed because, as a surety, Ohio is not obligated to pay the bond until a guardian has committed an act resulting in a loss to the estate. Ohio contends that the jury in this case found that Diane did not commit any breach of her fiduciary duties as per the jury’s verdict for instruction no. III.1 Consequently, Ohio reasons that since Diane was the only guardian who was a party at trial, and she did not breach any duty, then Ohio cannot be liable as the surety. Ohio argues that the surety has no liability to pay on a bond unless the principal is liable.

To make this argument, Ohio relies on jury instruction no. Ill which it later condemns in its brief. Regardless of Ohio’s contradictory arguments, we believe that all the jury verdicts were unreliable because of Diane’s conflict of interest, as discussed below.

Furthermore, Diane was not the only principal involved in this case. Michael was also a principal on the bond. The trial court properly retained Michael as a named defendant for the purpose of prosecuting the estate’s claims. At trial, substantial evidence was offered regarding the alleged breach of duties by both Michael and Diane. Thus, we believe the estate maintains a viable cause of action against Ohio for the default by Michael and Diane.

Next, Ohio alleges that a conflict of interest arose when Sarah’s estate was represented by the same person who was also a named defendant. While we agree with the trial court that this conflict of interest was not appropriate grounds for dismissal of the ■ case, we do believe that the appropriate remedy would have been to remove Diane as guardian during the pendency of this action.

In the opening statements, plaintiffs counsel said that the estate will not be making a claim for the $7,300.00 which Diane loaned to Michael. Counsel clearly informed the jury that this amount should be “taken out” of the claimed damages. He said that Diane will be penalized for that amount. Diane admitted in her direct examination that she was responsible for the loss of $7,300.00. She testified that she should have known that Michael would not pay the money back to the estate. On cross-examination, Diane testified that she did not have the $7,300.00 and has not paid the money to the estate. Finally, plaintiffs own expert witness on damages subtracted the $7,300.00 from the total loss of the estate. In short, Diane was not penalized, Sarah was.

We cannot imagine any facts that would present a clearer case for a conflict of interest and harm resulting from that conflict. Diane, on Sarah’s behalf, failed to pursue a claim for a certain amount of loss that occurred to Sarah’s estate. Diane did not obtain a judgment for that amount nor did she confess judgment against herself even though she seemed to confess liability. At the very least, Sarah’s estate suffered from the failure to pursue the $7,300.00 portion of the claim.

Diane’s conflict inevitably arose from her dual role representing Sarah and defending against the estate’s claims. Trial strategy [907]*907could not and did not absolve that conflict. In Kentucky Bar Association v. Roberts, Ky., 579 S.W.2d 107 (1979) an attorney was suspended from practice because he represented the plaintiff in one suit and the defendant in another lawsuit. The court explained that the two cases arose from a common fact situation, so that the attorney’s dual representation created an actual conflict of interest.

The facts presented in this case are worse than those in KBA v. Roberts, supra. Here, Diane represented the plaintiff and at the same time was an actual defendant in the very same lawsuit. The conflict was further aggravated because Diane represented the actual plaintiff, rather than being the plaintiff herself. If Diane had been the plaintiff, at least she would have been aware of her conflicting interests and the compromises her case would have to make.

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Bluebook (online)
923 S.W.2d 904, 1996 Ky. App. LEXIS 26, 1996 WL 76113, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ohio-casualty-insurance-co-v-wilson-kyctapp-1996.