Smith v. Arcadian Corp.

657 So. 2d 464, 1995 WL 323278
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 31, 1995
Docket95-97
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 657 So. 2d 464 (Smith v. Arcadian Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. Arcadian Corp., 657 So. 2d 464, 1995 WL 323278 (La. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

657 So.2d 464 (1995)

Joseph L. SMITH, III, et al., Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
ARCADIAN CORPORATION, Arcadian Fertilizer, L.P., et al., Defendant-Appellants.

No. 95-97.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

May 31, 1995.

*465 J.J. McKernan, for Joseph L. Smith, III et al.

R. Joshua Koch Jr., Gregory Preston Massey, James R. Sutterfield, Daniel A. Tadros, Ralph D. McBride, Ileana M. Blanco, Richard Sanders, for Arcadian Corp., et al.

Caleb H. Didriksen, III, Michael D. Carbo, Denise A. Bostick, for Lexington Ins. Co., et al.

Rudie Ray Soileau Jr., Randy Donato, for Phoenix Assurance PLC, et al.

Huntington Blair Downer Jr., for Insurance Co. of North America.

Terrence Charles McRea, for Industrial Risk Insurers, et al.

Allen L. Smith Jr., Stepheanie A. Landry, for Arthur G. McKee and Davey McKee.

Mark N. Bodin, for Stami-Carbon B.V., Stami-Carbon N.V. & DSM N.V.

William Joseph Mize, David Ross Frohn, for Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.

Before DOUCET, C.J., and THIBODEAUX and PETERS, JJ.

DOUCET, Chief Judge.

These ten consolidated cases concern the applicability of the peremptive period provided in La.R.S. 9:2772 to claims arising out of the failure of a high pressure reactor used in a fertilizer plant.

In 1964, Olin Corporation (Olin) contracted with Arthur G. McKee, Inc. (predecessor to Davy-McKee & Company) to design a urea production plant at the Olin facility in Westlake, Louisiana. The project included a urea autoclave, a high pressure reactor used to convert ammonia carbamate and water to urea. This piece of equipment was known as the R-2 reactor. In 1965, Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI) built the reactor vessel using a design provided by McKee. CBI delivered and installed the vessel. In 1989, Olin sold the ammonia and urea plant to a predecessor of Arcadian Corporation.

On July 28, 1992, there was an explosion at the plant. The explosion was caused by the rupture of the R-2 reactor. As a result of the explosion, a number of claims for personal injury and property damage were brought against Arcadian Corporation, Arcadian Fertilizer, L.P., Arcadian Partners, L.P. (Arcadian) and their insurers. The claims were later consolidated.

On December 2, 1993, Arcadian filed third-party claims against Arthur G. McKee, Inc. and Davy-McKee & Company (McKee). McKee moved for summary judgment, alleging that Arcadian's third party claim had been perempted pursuant to La.R.S. 9:2772. The trial court granted the motion and rendered judgment in favor of McKee dismissing the third party demand of Arcadian and its insurers. Arcadian appeals.

CONTINUANCE

Arcadian argues that the trial court erred in failing to grant it a continuance of the hearing on the motion for summary judgment under La.Code Civ.Proc. art. 967. La. Code Civ.Proc. art. 967 provides that the trial court may grant a continuance where the party opposing a motion for summary judgment shows the court that he cannot present by affidavit facts essential to justify his opposition. McKee filed its motion for summary judgment on June 2, 1994. The hearing on the motion was set for June 30, 1994. On June 23, 1994, Arcadian filed a memorandum in opposition to McKee's motion *466 for summary judgment. In that memorandum Arcadian included a section entitled "request for further discovery" which included a request for a continuance. No other motion for continuance was filed. Arcadian did not request that the motion be set for a hearing. At the hearing on McKee's motion for summary judgment, Arcadian argued the motion for summary judgment without requesting that the motion for continuance be heard or objecting to the failure to try the motion. Under the circumstances, Arcadian waived its objections to the trial court's failure to rule on its motion for continuance and abandoned the motion. Pursuant to La.Code Civ.P. art. 1635, it may not now raise this issue on appeal. See Cedotal v. Hopkins, 589 So.2d 20 (La.App. 1 Cir.1991).

SUMMARY JUDGMENT

We must next determine whether McKee was entitled to summary judgment.

"Appellate courts review summary judgments de novo, applying the same standards of review used by trial courts in rendering the judgments at the district court level. Reynolds v. Select Properties, Ltd., 634 So.2d 1180, 1183 (La.1994). A motion for summary judgment is properly granted if there is no genuine issue of material fact, and the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La.Code Civ.P. art. 966. The mover bears the burden of proving that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that he is entitled as a matter of law to the requested judgment. All summary judgment evidence is scrutinized closely and any inferences to be drawn from it are viewed in a light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. In addition, all allegations made by the opposing party are taken as true and any doubt arising between his allegations and the mover's is resolved in his favor. Self v. Walker Oldsmobile Co., Inc., 614 So.2d 1371 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1993)."

Hartman v. Vermilion Parish Police Jury, 94-893 (La.App. 3 Cir. 3/1/95), 651 So.2d 476. Accordingly, in order to obtain a summary judgment, McKee had to eliminate all issues of material fact with regard to the peremptive period provided for in La.R.S. 9:2772, by showing that the statute was applicable to the third party demand of Arcadian, that the peremptive period had run and that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

Arcadian contends that McKee failed to carry its burden of showing that La.R.S. 9:2772 is applicable to this claim.

La.R.S. 9:2772 has been amended several times since its enactment in 1964. However, the evidence of record indicates that the original version of the statute is applicable here. Affidavits of George Jones and Richard Campbell, both Olin employees at the time Olin owned the facility, were introduced in support of McKee's motion. Those affidavits state that the reactor was delivered in 1965 and that Olin began possessing it at that time. Arcadian has introduced nothing to dispute this information. La.R.S. 9:2772 as it existed at that time provided that:

"No action, whether ex contractu, ex delicto or otherwise, to recover on a contract or to recover damages shall be brought against any person performing or furnishing the design, planning, supervision, inspection or observation of construction or the construction of an improvement to immovable property:
(a) More than ten years after the date of registry in the mortgage office of acceptance of the work by owner; or
(b) If no such acceptance is recorded within six months from the date the owner has occupied or taken possession of the improvement, in whole or in part, more than ten years after the improvement has been thus occupied by the owner; or
(c) If the person furnishing the design and planning does not perform any inspection of the work, more than ten years after he has completed the design and planning with regard to actions against that person.
Section 2. The causes which are pre-empted within the time described above include any action:
(a) For any deficiency in the design, planning, inspection, supervision or observation of construction, or in the construction of any improvement to immovable property;
*467 (b) For damage to property, movable or immovable, arising out of any such deficiency;

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Bluebook (online)
657 So. 2d 464, 1995 WL 323278, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-arcadian-corp-lactapp-1995.