Pfaff v. Chrysler Corp.

567 N.E.2d 52, 208 Ill. App. 3d 910, 153 Ill. Dec. 337, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 193
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedFebruary 11, 1991
DocketNo. 2—90—0909-
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 567 N.E.2d 52 (Pfaff v. Chrysler Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pfaff v. Chrysler Corp., 567 N.E.2d 52, 208 Ill. App. 3d 910, 153 Ill. Dec. 337, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 193 (Ill. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE REINHARD

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant and third-party plaintiff, Chrysler Corporation (Chrysler), brings this interlocutory appeal from an order of the circuit court of Boone County enjoining Chrysler from proceeding with an indemnity action against third-party defendant, Skyline Industrial Service, Inc. (Skyline), which it filed in the State of Michigan. The trial court determined that the Michigan action, which was filed after the Illinois court ruled that Chrysler’s indemnity actions would not lie in Illinois, represented an attempt by Chrysler to evade the prior jurisdiction of the circuit court.

At issue on appeal is whether the trial court properly enjoined Chrysler from proceeding with the out-of-State action.

The instant litigation commenced on July 2, 1987, with the filing of a complaint in the circuit court of Cook County by plaintiff, Richard Pfaff, an employee of Skyline, against Chrysler and J.S. Alberici Construction Company, Inc. (Alberici), seeking to recover for personal injuries sustained at Chrysler’s Belvidere, Illinois, plant. Count I of plaintiff’s complaint sought recovery under the Structural Work Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 48, par. 60 et seq.), and count II was based on allegations of negligence. On September 21, 1987, Chrysler filed a forum non conveniens motion seeking transfer of the cause to the circuit court of Boone County. The circuit court of Cook County granted Chrysler’s motion and ordered the cause transferred to the circuit court of Boone County.

On June 2, 1988, plaintiff filed his first amended complaint adding J.P. Cullen & Sons, Inc., and J.P. Cullen & Son Construction Corp. (Cullen) as defendants. By an agreed order entered August 25, 1988, plaintiff voluntarily dismissed its complaint insofar as it sought recovery against Alberici.

On October 14, 1988, Chrysler filed a third-party complaint against Skyline and Cullen. The first eight counts of the third-party complaint were against Skyline, with whom Chrysler had entered into a series of contracts for various construction and repair jobs. Count I sought recovery from Skyline under a theory of common-law indemnity; count II sought recovery pursuant to the Contribution Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 70, par. 302); and counts III, IV, and VI through IX were based on contractual indemnity provisions and sought to compel Skyline to indemnify Chrysler for any judgment against it and for the costs incurred in defending against plaintiff’s suit. Count VI specifically alleged that Skyline breached a contractual obligation to purchase liability insurance which would hold Chrysler harmless. Counts X through XVII were against Cullen. There was no count V in the third-party complaint.

On December 29, 1988, Skyline filed both its answer to count II of Chrysler’s third-party complaint and a motion to dismiss the remaining counts against it. Citing Thatcher v. Commonwealth Edison Co. (1988), 123 Ill. 2d 275, 527 N.E.2d 1261, Skyline moved to dismiss count I of the third-party complaint on the ground that common-law indemnity is no longer recognized in Illinois. Again citing Thatcher and the statutory prohibition against indemnity provisions in construction contracts (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 29, par. 61), Skyline also moved to dismiss counts III through IX on the basis that an action for either implied or contractual indemnification is not available in Illinois. Skyline additionally moved to dismiss the breach of contract portion of count VI on the basis that Chrysler waived any claim it had against Skyline for its alleged failure to purchase insurance. Chrysler responded by contending that Thatcher does not foreclose all common-law indemnity actions and that the contractual indemnity provisions are valid under Michigan law, which was to govern the contracts.

A hearing on Skyline’s motion to dismiss the implied and contractual indemnity provisions of Chrysler’s third-party complaint was held on June 29, 1989. The trial court first held that count I would be dismissed because Illinois does not recognize actions for common-law indemnity. The court then ruled that, pursuant to Donaldson v. Fluor Engineers, Inc. (1988), 169 Ill. App. 3d 759, 523 N.E.2d 1113, the contractual indemnity provisions would be governed by Illinois law rather than Michigan law. The court concluded that the remaining counts at issue, which were based on contractual indemnification provisions, were void under Illinois law and would be stricken. The court stated that only count VI, which dealt with an alleged breach of Skyline’s contractual obligation to purchase insurance, might be curable. The trial court entered an order dismissing count I and counts III through IX of the third-party complaint and allowing Chrysler 28 days to file an amended complaint. The court specified that its order of dismissal was without prejudice to refiling an amended complaint, but it ruled that the validity of the indemnity counts would not be relitigated.

On July 28, Chrysler filed an amended third-party complaint which again advanced eight counts against Skyline based on common-law indemnity, contractual indemnity and contribution. Skyline filed a motion to dismiss count I and counts III through IX of the amended third-party complaint because of Illinois’ policy against indemnity and indemnity agreements, the same basis upon which the trial court had earlier dismissed the corresponding counts of the original third-party complaint. Without responding to Skyline’s motion, Chrysler filed a second amended third-party complaint. Count I of the second amended third-party complaint sought contribution from Skyline, and count II sought contribution from Cullen. No indemnity counts were included in Chrysler’s second amended third-party complaint.

On May 17, 1990, Skyline filed a motion asking the court to enter an order pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 304(a) (134 Ill. 2d R. 304(a)) declaring that there was no just reason to delay enforcement or appeal of the court’s June 29, 1989, order dismissing the indemnity counts of Chrysler’s original third-party complaint. The motion set forth the following additional allegations regarding Chrysler’s conduct following the filing of its first amended third-party complaint:

“3. Subsequent to SKYLINE’S filing its Motion to Dismiss CHRYSLER’S Amended Third Party Complaint, SKYLINE’S attorneys were contacted by CHRYSLER’S attorneys who stated that they will be withdrawing CHRYSLER’s Amended Third Party Complaint and would be filing a Second Amended Third Party Complaint solely under the Illinois Contribution Act. ***
4. It is apparent that by CHRYSLER’S filing of a Second Amended Complaint that CHRYSLER has conceded that there is no basis for recovery under the previously stricken theories set forth in its original and first amended pleadings. ***
5. Despite this Court’s order and its own concession, on February 20, 1990, CHRYSLER filed a cause of action against SKYLINE in Wayne County Circuit Court, State of Michigan, docket No. 90 — 004448CK, seeking recovery against SKYLINE under the same causes of action that were previously rejected by this Court.”

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Bluebook (online)
567 N.E.2d 52, 208 Ill. App. 3d 910, 153 Ill. Dec. 337, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 193, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pfaff-v-chrysler-corp-illappct-1991.