Stoneledge at Lake Keowee Owners' Ass'n, Inc. v. Builders FirstSource-Se. Grp.
| Decision Date | 19 August 2015 |
| Docket Number | 2013–001404.,Appellate Case No. 2013–001404.,Nos. 5344,s. 5344 |
| Citation | 413 S.C. 630,776 S.E.2d 434 |
| Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
| Parties | STONELEDGE AT LAKE KEOWEE OWNERS' ASSOCIATION, INC., C. Dan Carson, Jeffrey J. Dauler, Joan W. Davenport, Michael Furnari, Donna Furnari, Jessy B. Grasso, Nancy E. Grasso, Robert P. Hayes, Lucy H. Hayes, Ty Hix, Jennifer D. Hix, Paul W. Hund, III, Ruth E. Isaac, Michael D. Plourde, Mary Lou Plourde, Carol C. Pope, Steven B. Taylor, Bette J. Taylor, and Robert White, individually and on Behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. BUILDERS FIRSTSOURCE–SOUTHEAST GROUP, IMK Development Co., LLC, Keowee Townhouses, LLC, Ludwig Corporation, LLC, SDI Funding, LLC, Medallion at Keowee, LLC, Bradford D. Seckinger, John Ludwig, Larry D. Lollis, William C. Cox, Integrys Keowee Development, LLC, Marick Home Builders, LLC, M Group Construction and Development, LLC, Bostic Brothers Construction, Inc., Rick Thoennes, Mel Morris, Joe Bostic, Jeff Bostic, Clear View Construction, LLC, Michael Franz, MHC Contractors, Miguel Porras Choncoas, Mike Green, Southern Concrete Specialties, Carl Compton d/b/a Compton Enterprise a/k/a Compton Enterprises, Gunter Heating & Air, All Pro Heating, A/C & Refrigeration, LLC, Coleman Waterproofing, Heyward Electrical Services, Inc., Tinsley Electrical, LLC, Hutch N Son Construction, Inc., Carl Catoe Construction, Inc., T.G. Construction, LLC, Delfino Construction, Francisco Javier Zarate d/b/a Zarate Construction, Alejandro Avalos Cruz, Herberto Acros Hernandez, Martin Hernandez–Aviles, Francisco Villalobos Lopez, Ambrosio Martinez–Ramirez, Ester Moran Mentado, Socorro Castillo Montel, Upstate Utilities, Inc., Southern Basements, Inc., MJG Construction and Homebuilders, Inc. d/b/a MJG Construction, KMAC, Inc., d/b/a KMAC North Carolina, Eufacio Garcia, Everado Jarmamillio, Garcia Parra Insulation, Inc., J & J Construction, Jose Nino, Jose Manuel Garcia, Eason Construction, Inc., and Vincent Morales d/b/a Morales Masonry, Miller/Player & Associates, Defendants, Of whom Marick Home Builders, LLC, and Rick Thoennes are the Appellants, And Builders FirstSource–Southeast Group, Southern Concrete Specialties, Inc., Clear View Construction, LLC, and Michael Franz are the Respondents, Bostic Construction, Inc., Third Party Plaintiffs, v. Southern Stone, Inc. and Buck Smith Construction, Third Party Defendants. |
Jason Michael Imhoff and Carl Reed Teague, The Ward Law Firm, PA, both of Spartanburg, for appellants.
Robert T. Lyles, Jr., Lyles & Lyles, LLC, of Charleston, for all respondents.
David A. Root, Kernodle Root & Coleman, of Charleston, for respondent Builders FirstSource;
Mason A. Goldsmith, Elmore Goldsmith, PA, of Greenville, for respondent Southern Concrete Specialties;
Michael B.T. Wilkes and Ellen S. Cheek, Wilkes Law Firm, PA, both of Spartanburg, for respondents Clear View Construction, LLC, and Michael Franz.
Marick Home Builders, LLC served as one of several general contractors for the construction of townhomes known as Stoneledge at Lake Keowee. The Stoneledge at Lake Keowee Owners' Association, Inc. (“Stoneledge”) brought suit against Marick and others alleging construction defects in the townhomes. The circuit court granted summary judgment against Marick on its cross-claims for breach of contract and breach of warranty, finding these claims were “merely disguised ... claims for equitable indemnity and are not viable as alternative causes of action.” We affirm.
IMK Development Company developed a lakefront community known as Stoneledge at Lake Keowee. IMK hired Marick as a general contractor for the construction of townhomes in the community. Marick subcontracted with Builders FirstSource–Southeast Group, Southern Concrete Specialties, Inc., Clear View Construction, LLC, and others. Rick Thoennes is the principal of Marick.
In 2012, Stoneledge brought this lawsuit seeking damages resulting from construction defects that allowed water into the townhomes. Marick denied liability and brought cross-claims for breach of contract (including a claim for contractual indemnity), breach of warranty, negligence, and equitable indemnity. The cross-claim defendants included the respondents Builders FirstSource, Southern Concrete, Clear View and Michael Franz—Clear View's owner.
The respondents filed motions for summary judgment on all of Marick's cross-claims, which the circuit court granted. The circuit court found Marick's breach of contract and breach of warranty claims were “merely disguised ... claims for equitable indemnity.” The court explained the claims “stem from the potential liability Marick faces from the claims brought against it by [Stoneledge]” because “Marick is not alleging personal injury or property damage as to it[self].”
The court addressed Marick's claims for negligence and equitable indemnity in a separate order not at issue in this appeal. Marick filed a motion under Rule 59(e), SCRCP, which the circuit court denied.
Rule 56(c)of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure provides the circuit court shall grant summary judgment if “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” When the circuit court grants summary judgment on a question of law, we review the ruling de novo. Town of Summerville v. City of N. Charleston, 378 S.C. 107, 110, 662 S.E.2d 40, 41 (2008). “In determining whether any triable issue of fact exists, the evidence and all inferences which can reasonably be drawn therefrom must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.” Quail Hill, LLC v. Cnty. of Richland, 387 S.C. 223, 235, 692 S.E.2d 499, 505 (2010) (citation omitted). “However, it is not sufficient for a party to create an inference that is not reasonable or an issue of fact that is not genuine.” Town of Hollywood v. Floyd, 403 S.C. 466, 477, 744 S.E.2d 161, 166 (2013).
Marick argues its cross-claims for breach of contract and breach of warranty are separate causes of action from its equitable indemnity claim, and thus, the circuit court erred in granting summary judgment.1 We disagree.
“The character of an action is primarily determined by the allegations contained in the complaint.” Seebaldt v. First Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 269 S.C. 691, 692, 239 S.E.2d 726, 727 (1977). The issue Marick raises—whether the circuit court properly interpreted its claims for breach of contract and breach of warranty as one claim for equitable indemnity—requires us to construe its cross-complaint, and thus presents a question of law. See Monteith v. Harby, 190 S.C. 453, 455, 3 S.E.2d 250, 250 (1939) (). We therefore review the circuit court's ruling de novo. Town of Summerville, 378 S.C. at 110, 662 S.E.2d at 41 ; see also Fields v. J. Haynes Waters Builders, Inc., 376 S.C. 545, 564, 658 S.E.2d 80, 90 (2008) ().
In its cross-complaint, Marick alleged the following to support its claims for breach of contract and breach of warranty, respectively:
Marick's allegations demonstrate it did not sustain its own damages as a result of any breach of contract or breach of warranty by the respondents. Rather, the allegations show Stoneledge is the party that suffered damages, and Marick's injuries arose exclusively from having to defend itself in Stoneledge's lawsuit. Consequently, the damages Marick seeks to recover resulted only from its potential liability to Stoneledge and from the expenses Marick incurred defending itself. When pressed at oral argument, Marick's counsel could not identify any damages it claimed in this lawsuit that did not arise exclusively from the claims made by Stoneledge.2
To support the finding that Marick's breach of contract and breach of warranty cross-claims were actually claims for equitable indemnity, the circuit court relied on two federal district court cases—South Carolina National Bank v. Stone, 749 F.Supp. 1419 (D.S.C.1990) and United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Patriot's Point Development Authority, 788 F.Supp. 880 (D.S.C.1992) (USF & G ). In Stone, the defendants asserted cross-claims for breach of contract, negligence, and fraud against co-defendants that settled with the plaintiffs. 749 F.Supp. at 1432–33. The district court barred the non-settling defendants from asserting these cross-claims against the settling defendants because it found they were not independent causes of action. 749 F.Supp. at 1433. The court explained the cross-claims arose only if the non-settling defendants were liable to the plaintiffs, and “these purported causes of action are nothing more than claims for ... indemnification with a slight change in wording.” Id.
Similarly, in USF & G , the defendants argued they had “independent claims” against a co-defendant in addition to their claim for indemnification. 788 F.Supp. at 881 n. 1. The district court barred the defendants from bringing these claims, finding “without [the] plaintiffs suing the ... defendants[,] the ‘independent claims' ... would not exist,” and thus “these claims are really nothing more than claims for indemnity.” Id.
We agree with Stone and USF & G and find the reasoning in those...
To continue reading
Request your trial
- Stoneledge at Lake Keowee Owners' Ass'n, Inc. v. Clear View Constr., LLC
-
PCS Nitrogen, Inc. v. Cont'l Cas. Co.
...law. Accordingly, our standard of review on that issue is de novo. See Stoneledge at Lake Keowee Owners' Ass'n, Inc. v. Builders FirstSource-Southeast Grp. , 413 S.C. 630, 634-35, 776 S.E.2d 434, 437 (Ct. App. 2015) ("When the circuit court grants summary judgment on a question of law, we r......
-
BEI-Beach, LLC v. Christman
...in litigation; such contingent claims properly lie in indemnity. Stoneledge I, 413 S.C. at 622, 776 S.E.2d at 430; Stoneledge II, 413 S.C. at 637, 776 S.E.2d at 438. In the Stoneledge cases, a association sued a general contractor and its subcontractors for construction defects at a townhom......
-
Holland v. Hucks Pool Co., Civil Action No.: 4:15-cv-00141-RBH
...Carolina Court of Appeals squarely addressed this issue in the recent decision of Stoneledge at Lake Keowee Owners' Ass'n, Inc. v. Builders FirstSource-Se. Grp., 413 S.C. 630, 776 S.E.2d 434 (Ct. App. 2015), cert. denied (Oct. 20, 2016).9 In Stoneledge, a homeowners' association sued a gene......