Szulc v. Siciliano Plumbing & Heating, Inc.

• Decision Date: 10 June 2021
• Docket Number: No. 20-P-928,20-P-928
• Parties: William J. SZULC, Jr. v. SICILIANO PLUMBING & HEATING, INC., & others.
• Court: Appeals Court of Massachusetts

99 Mass.App.Ct. 729

171 N.E.3d 1177

William J. SZULC, Jr.¹

v.SICILIANO PLUMBING & HEATING, INC., & others.²

No. 20-P-928

Appeals Court of Massachusetts, Hampden.

Argued April 28, 2021.

Decided June 10, 2021.

Peter A. Slepchuk, for the plaintiff.

Mark A. Darling, Lynnfield, for Siciliano Plumbing & Heating, Inc.

Present: Blake, Hanlon, & Shin, JJ.

SHIN, J.

This appeal arises from a wrongful death action in which the plaintiff claims that defendant Siciliano Plumbing and Heating, Inc.'s negligent installation of water heaters in a residential property caused the decedent's injuries and ultimately his death.³ The issue is whether G. L. c. 260, § 2B -- the six-year statute of repose that applies to certain actions arising out of improvements to real property -- bars the claims. Concluding that it does, a Superior Court judge allowed the defendant's motion for summary judgment,⁴ and the plaintiff appeals. We affirm.

Background. The following facts are drawn from the summary judgment record and are undisputed, except where otherwise noted.⁵

In September 2012 the property owner hired the defendant to install seven new water heaters and associated piping in a residential building in Springfield. Before performing the work, the defendant's principal, Mark Siciliano, who is a licensed plumber, had to determine how to route the piping "to supply the hot water to the six individual units in the building and the laundry room in a portion of the basement." To do so, Siciliano "analyz[ed] the layout of the new water heaters and what remained of the old piping drops from above as well as the location of the main water pipe coming from the meter." He also made "judgments about the design and flow of the water to maximize the hot water system for the six units in the building and the tank that served the laundry room."⁶

After the installation was complete, Siciliano tested the water temperature in each apartment. He made sure that the temperature at each faucet did not exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit and that the temperature at each showerhead was between 110 and 112 degrees Fahrenheit. Although Siciliano did not have a specific memory of having to adjust any of the shower mixing valves, he would have done so if necessary to achieve the correct temperature, per his usual practice.

On September 17, 2012, the defendant issued an invoice to the property manager for the completed work. Also on that day, a city inspector affixed a tag on each gas meter indicating that the work was "approved." On October 11, 2012, the city issued a certificate of occupancy for the building.

According to the complaint, on May 25, 2016, the decedent was taking a shower in a unit connected to one of the water heaters installed by the defendant when he suffered a seizure and fell. He was discovered slumped in the bathtub in several inches of "steaming hot water," which caused second to third degree burns

over much of his body. He later died from his burns.

The plaintiff filed this action on May 24, 2019.

Discussion. We review the grant of summary judgment de novo. See Homeowner's Rehab, Inc. v. Related Corporate V SLP, L.P., 479 Mass. 741, 750, 99 N.E.3d 744 (2018).

"A statute of repose eliminates a cause of action at a specified time, regardless of whether an injury has occurred or a cause of action has accrued as of that date." Bridgwood v. A.J. Wood Constr., Inc., 480 Mass. 349, 352, 105 N.E.3d 224 (2018). General Laws c. 260, § 2B, is such a statute. It provides an absolute six-year time limit on "[a]ction[s] of tort for damages arising out of any deficiency or neglect in the design, planning, construction or general administration of an improvement to real property." The six-year period is triggered on the "earlier of the dates of: (1) the opening of the improvement to use; or (2) substantial completion of the improvement and the taking of possession for occupancy by the owner." G. L. c. 260, § 2B.

The Legislature's objective in enacting § 2B was "to protect providers of ‘individual expertise’ in the business of designing, planning, constructing, and administering improvements to real estate." Dighton v. Federal Pac. Elec. Co., 399 Mass. 687, 696, 506 N.E.2d 509, cert. denied, 484 U.S. 953, 108 S.Ct. 345, 98 L.Ed.2d 371 (1987). Without such protection, those engaged in designing and constructing improvements to real property would be "subject to possible liability throughout their professional lives and into retirement." Klein v. Catalano, 386 Mass. 701, 708-709, 437 N.E.2d 514 (1982). Thus, "[i]n establishing the six-year limit, the Legislature struck what it considered to be a reasonable balance between the public's right to a remedy and the need to place an outer limit on the tort liability of those involved in construction." Id. at 710, 437 N.E.2d 514. Courts have enforced this legislative determination strictly, "despite the hardship [it] may impose on plaintiffs." Bridgwood, 480 Mass. at 353, 105 N.E.3d 224.

Here, the plaintiff does not dispute that the work performed by the defendant constituted an improvement to real property within the meaning of § 2B. He contends, however, that the work did not involve the "individual expertise" or "particularized services" necessary to trigger the repose period. Dighton, 399 Mass. at 696, 506 N.E.2d 509. In support, the plaintiff relies on Colomba v. Fulchini Plumbing, 58 Mass. App. Ct. 901, 788 N.E.2d 555 (2003), where we held that the "mere installation" of a replacement boiler did not "involve[ ] the type of ‘design, planning, construction or general administration’ required by the statute of repose." Id. at 902, 788 N.E.2d 555, quoting G. L. c. 260, § 2B.

Colomba is not controlling, as it is distinguishable on its facts. There, the defendant "filed nothing" at the summary judgment stage to show that it provided individual expertise in installing the replacement boiler. Colomba, 58 Mass. App. Ct. at 902, 788 N.E.2d 555. The plumber who performed the installation also conceded in his deposition "that he did no structural work, designed nothing, and did no customization work of any kind." Id. In contrast, here, the defendant offered undisputed evidence that Siciliano designed and installed the piping system and, in doing so, had to make professional judgments about how to maximize the hot water reaching the units and the laundry room in the most efficient manner. Colomba expressly notes that there may be "situations where a plumber would perform more expanded services that might bring him within the statute of repose." Id. This is such a situation. The facts established by the summary judgment record compare favorably to those of cases deeming a defendant's design and construction activities to be covered by the statute of repose. See, e.g., McDonough v. Marr Scaffolding Co., 412 Mass. 636, 642, 591 N.E.2d 1079 (1992) (defendant "performed particularized construction services in assembling and installing the bleachers" for skating rink); Fine v. Huygens, DiMella, Shaffer & Assocs., 57 Mass. App. Ct. 397, 403, 783 N.E.2d 842 (2003) (defendant "collaborated in the design and erection of the [wall] panels" and was thus "entitled to the protection of the statute of repose"); Rosario v. M.D. Knowlton Co., 54 Mass. App. Ct. 796, 801, 767 N.E.2d 1126 (2002) (defendant "provided individual expertise and rendered particularized services in connection with the design and construction of the [hydraulic] lift").⁷

The plaintiff argues in the alternative that his claims should be allowed to go forward because they do not "aris[e] out of" the design of the piping system. G. L. c. 260, § 2B. As the plaintiff describes his claims, their crux is that the defendant was negligent in installing the single water heater connected to the decedent's unit or that he was negligent in calibrating the water temperature in the decedent's shower. These acts, the plaintiff argues, did not require individual expertise and are therefore not protected by the statute of repose.

We agree with the judge that the plaintiff cannot avoid application of the statute of repose by recharacterizing his claims in this manner. The statute "contemplates the occurrence of three phases to any improvement to real property: the design phase, the construction phase, and the administration phase following the completion of construction." Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Cape Cod v. Weston & Sampson Eng'rs, Inc., 45 Mass. App. Ct. 120, 126, 695 N.E.2d 688 (1998). "All three phases ... are part of the same continuous construction project." Penn-America Ins. Co. v. Bay...