PIH Beaverton, LLC v. Super One, Inc.

294 P.3d 536, 254 Or. App. 486
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedJanuary 9, 2013
DocketC072107CV; A142268; C072107CV; A142301
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 294 P.3d 536 (PIH Beaverton, LLC v. Super One, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
PIH Beaverton, LLC v. Super One, Inc., 294 P.3d 536, 254 Or. App. 486 (Or. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

HADLOCK, J.

These consolidated cases involve claims related to the allegedly negligent construction of a hotel. Plaintiff PIH Beaverton, the current owner of the hotel, brought a negligent-construction claim against Super One, a general contractor, and various subcontractors (collectively, “defendants”). Super One, in turn, sought indemnity from two subcontractors: (I) Gary Thompson dba Portland Plastering Company (Portland Plastering), via a cross-claim, and (2) Wood Mechanix, Inc., via third-party claims.1 Defendants moved for summary judgment against plaintiff’s negligence claim, and the trial court granted those motions on the ground that plaintiff’s claim was time barred because it was brought after the 10-year ultimate repose period set forth in ORS 12.135. We discuss plaintiff’s appeal from that decision (A142268) in the first section of this opinion, below. Wood Mechanix and Portland Plastering then moved to dismiss Super One’s claims for contractual indemnity. In granting that motion, the trial court agreed with the subcontractors’ argument that Super One’s indemnity claims also were time-barred under ORS 12.135. We discuss Super One’s appeal from that decision (A142301) in the second section of this opinion.2

In the end, we conclude that the trial court erred when it granted summary judgment to defendants on the ground that plaintiff’s negligent construction claim was time-barred. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to defendants and remand for further proceedings. We reach a different conclusion, however, with respect to the trial court’s dismissal of defendant Super One’s indemnity claims against Wood Mechanix and Portland Plastering. We affirm that aspect of the trial court’s judgment.

[491]*491PLAINTIFF’S APPEAL FROM SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN DEFENDANTS’ FAVOR ON PLAINTIFF’S NEGLIGENT CONSTRUCTION CLAIM (A142268)

As noted above, the trial court granted summary judgment to defendants on the ground that plaintiff’s negligent construction claim was time barred. On appeal, plaintiff argues that the trial court erred in concluding that the claim is barred by ORS 12.135(1) (2007),3 a statute of ultimate repose. Defendants contend that the trial court’s ruling was correct and alternatively argue that, if ORS 12.135(1) does not bar plaintiff’s claim, ORS 12.115 does. We agree with the trial court that ORS 12.135(1) is the applicable statute. Unlike the trial court, however, we conclude that evidence in the record creates a genuine issue of material fact that precludes summary judgment in defendants’ favor.

“On review of a trial court’s grant of summary judgment, we view the record in the light most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment to determine whether there is any genuine issue of material fact and, if not, whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Pincetich v. Nolan, 252 Or App 42, 46, 285 P3d 759 (2012). In this case, there is no dispute about the majority of the historical facts. Rather, the parties’ arguments relate primarily to the proper interpretation of ORS 12.135(1) and whether the facts on summary judgment establish, as a matter of law, that plaintiff’s action was untimely under that statute.

The facts, described in the light most favorable to plaintiff, are as follows: In December, 1995, VIP’s Industries, Inc., and VIP’s Motor Inns, Inc.,4 contracted with defendant Super One, a general contractor, to build a hotel and perform certain related site work. Super One engaged [492]*492the remaining defendants, as subcontractors, to perform specific aspects of the construction. On February 13, 1997, VIP’s filed a “Notice of Completion” of the hotel pursuant to ORS 87.045, a statute related to the filing of construction liens.5 Also on February 13, 1997, Washington County issued a certificate for “Temporary Occupancy from 2/13/97-3/3/97” for the hotel. According to Steven Johnson, the then-president of VIP’s Motor Inns, Inc., posting and recording a notice of completion was always done “as a routine matter when a hotel was about to open.” He explained that VIP’s sometimes “might even take possession of the property under a temporary certificate of occupancy” before the property was fully complete. Here, the parties agree that VIP’s did, in fact, begin accepting guests and operating the hotel on or around February 13,1997.

Regarding the status of the hotel’s construction in early 1997, Johnson testified that he did not “have an independent recollection of exact dates,” but said that he did “not believe [defendants] had completed their work as of [February 13].” Johnson asserted that he knew that “construction efforts and work by Super One on the job site” continued even after the contractors had submitted all pay applications “because work just needed to be done. Things needed to be completed.” Johnson further testified that he specifically recalled “there being quite a bit of work to be done between ourselves in order to * * * complete the project.” When asked if particular contractors had performed work after February 13,1997, Johnson testified that he knew “for a fact” that Super One had. He explained further:

“To the best of my recollection, specifically, there was work to do at the back of the property having to do with storm drainage and wetlands * * * [n]ot after the building itself was completed [,] * * * [but] after we took possession and occupied and opened for business.”

Johnson did not “have a specific recollection of individual items as to the structure,” as opposed to the storm-drainage and wetlands work, that were left to be done after February 13, 1997, but reiterated that the company’s “typical practice [493]*493and experience was to have quite a bit of work still left to do” after the initial occupancy, given that it “usually pushed very, very, hard to get into possession and open for business as soon as possible.”

Johnson also filed a declaration commenting on when he would have considered the hotel to be complete. Specifically, Johnson declared:

“To the best of my recollection, I did not provide written acceptance of Super One’s work under the terms of the Construction Contract, nor do I recall that the project architect, Charles Hagel, provided a Certificate of Substantial Completion.[6] I considered construction of the Hotel by Super One to be complete once all Washington County approvals were obtained, a final certificate of occupancy issued, and Super One completed all work required under the contract for construction of the Hotel.”

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Bluebook (online)
294 P.3d 536, 254 Or. App. 486, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pih-beaverton-llc-v-super-one-inc-orctapp-2013.