US Oil v. Lee & Eastes Tank Lines

16 P.3d 1278
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedFebruary 12, 2001
Docket45317-3-I
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 16 P.3d 1278 (US Oil v. Lee & Eastes Tank Lines) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
US Oil v. Lee & Eastes Tank Lines, 16 P.3d 1278 (Wash. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

16 P.3d 1278 (2001)

U.S. OIL & REFINING CO., a foreign corporation, Appellant/Cross Respondent,
v.
LEE & EASTES TANK LINES, INC., a foreign corporation, Respondent/Cross Appellant.
Lee & Eastes Tank Lines, Inc., a foreign corporation, Third-Party Plaintiff,
v.
Pettit-Morry Company; RIS Insurance Services, Third-Party Defendants.

No. 45317-3-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

February 12, 2001.
Reconsideration Denied March 28, 2001.

*1280 Daniel F. Mullin, Kristen Dorrity, Abbott, Davis, Rothwell, Mullin & Earle, P.C., Seattle, for appellants.

John T. Dalton, Nathnaiel, Justin, Reed, Smith, Molly Elizabeth Farr, Lane, Powell, Spears, Lubersky, LLP, Seattle, for Lee & Estates Tank Lines.

Thomas Charles Stratton, Scott G. Busby, Ecklund, Rockey, Stratton, P.S., Seattle, for RIS Ins. Services.

Stephen Gift Skinner, Johnson, Christie, Andrews & Skinner, P.S., Seattle, for Petit-Morry Co.

*1279 ELLINGTON, J.

This case involves the enforceability of a loan receipt agreement. Lee & Eastes admits that it breached its agreement to procure insurance covering U.S. Oil. Because the loan receipt between U.S. Oil and its own insurer is valid and enforceable, and because U.S. Oil was damaged by Lee & Eastes' breach, we affirm the trial court's summary judgment as to liability, but remand for recalculation of damages consistent with the loan receipt.

FACTS

U.S. Oil & Refining Company owns and operates a petroleum product loading facility in Tacoma, Washington. In 1985, U.S. Oil and Lee & Eastes Tank Lines, Inc. entered into a "Self-Load Participation Agreement" under which Lee & Eastes was authorized to load and transport petroleum products (hot asphalt) from U.S. Oil's facility without the presence of U.S. Oil employees.

In the self-load agreement, Lee & Eastes agreed to indemnify U.S. Oil from any claim by any third party arising out of Lee & Eastes' self-load operations, to "maintain at its own expense, policies of insurance with responsible insurers satisfactory to U.S. Oil which will afford protection and coverage,"[1] and to name U.S. Oil as an additional insured on its comprehensive general liability (CGL) policy, among other policies. Coverage was to be for "not less than $1,000,000 for injury to, or death of, any one person, and not less than $1,000,000 for injury arising out of any one occurrence."[2] Lee & Eastes also agreed to obtain blanket contractual liability insurance covering its agreement to indemnify U.S. Oil, with coverage in the same amounts. Lee & Eastes promised to deliver to U.S. Oil certificates of insurance providing that "no cancellation, termination or material change of the coverages certified shall be made by *1281 the insurer for any cause without thirty days prior written notice to U.S. Oil."[3]

U.S. Oil's former chief executive officer testified that the indemnification and insurance provisions were intended to provide U.S. Oil complete protection "for all claims which might arise out of the presence of Lee & Eastes' employees on the premises."[4] Lee & Eastes presented no contrary evidence. Lee & Eastes' vice president testified the agreement was not negotiated but merely sent by U.S. Oil and signed by him with certain modifications not relevant here.

Until 1990, Lee & Eastes maintained a blanket endorsement under which parties with whom Lee & Eastes contracted were automatically added as additional insureds. In 1990, however, Lee & Eastes' insurance broker, Pettit-Morry Company, moved Lee & Eastes' insurance coverage to Great West Casualty Company. Because Pettit Morry was not a broker for Great West, Pettit Morry entered into a joint venture with broker RIS Insurance Services (RIS). The new policy did not contain the same endorsement, and U.S. Oil was not named as an additional insured.

In April 1994, a Lee & Eastes employee, Ernest Bliss, was injured while loading petroleum products at U.S. Oil's facility. Bliss brought suit against U.S. Oil, alleging failure to maintain a safe work place and to warn of dangerous conditions.

U.S. Oil tendered its defense to Lee & Eastes and Great West. Both rejected the tender. U.S. Oil then turned to its own insurer, U.S. Fire Insurance, with which U.S. Oil had coverage for the Bliss claim. U.S. Oil and U.S. Fire executed a loan receipt agreement which provided in part:

1. U.S. Fire agrees to advance funds sufficient to cover fees and expenses incurred in defending the Bliss claim. U.S. Fire also agrees to advance the costs in settling or paying a judgment of the Bliss claim, but not to exceed U.S. Fire's stated policy limits. U.S. Fire further agrees to advance litigation costs and expenses relating to the pursuit of claims described in paragraph 2 below. All advances shall constitute a loan, repayable only out of the proceeds obtained from the claims described in paragraph 2 below. U.S. Oil acknowledges that all advanced monies are a loan and not payments or indemnification under U.S. Fire's policy.
2. U.S. Oil agrees to pursue in its own name, including the filing of suit, any and all claims it may have against Lee & Eastes for the failure to accept tender of the Bliss claim, including Lee & Eastes' promise to indemnify U.S. Oil and their breach of contract in failing to have U.S. Oil made an additional insured on its liability insurance.[5]

U.S. Oil settled with Bliss for $275,000. Attorney's fees and costs of defense totaled $50,040.66. U.S. Oil paid these sums using funds advanced by U.S. Fire under the loan receipt agreement.

In August 1998, U.S. Oil brought suit against Lee & Eastes for breach of contract and indemnification,[6] seeking to recover the entire amount of the Bliss settlement and the fees and costs of defense. Lee & Eastes admitted it "was contractually obligated under the Agreement to name plaintiff U.S. Oil as an additional insured under a comprehensive general liability insurance policy of Lee & Eastes with liability limits of not less than $1,000,000 which covered bodily injury,"[7] and that U.S. Oil was not so named, but denied that its breach damaged U.S. Oil. Lee & Eastes brought in third-party defendants Pettit Morry and RIS, alleging breach of contract and negligence in their failure to obtain from Great West the blanket additional-insured endorsement naming U.S. Oil.

*1282 U.S. Oil and Lee & Eastes both moved for summary judgment. Pettit-Morry and RIS filed motions supporting Lee & Eastes and opposing U.S. Oil. The court ruled that Lee & Eastes breached the self-load participation agreement by failing to name U.S. Oil as an additional insured, but limited U.S. Oil's damages to $25,000—the amount of its deductible under its U.S. Fire policy.[8] The court entered final judgment as to all claims involving U.S. Oil under CR 54(b). The court stayed Lee & Eastes' claims against Pettit Morry and RIS, pending resolution of this appeal. U.S. Oil appeals; Lee & Eastes cross appeals. All four parties filed briefs with this court.

DISCUSSION

This court reviews a summary judgment order de novo, drawing all inferences in favor of the nonmoving party. Summary judgment is proper if the record shows that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.[9]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
16 P.3d 1278, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/us-oil-v-lee-eastes-tank-lines-washctapp-2001.