WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION v. Morse
| Decision Date | 19 June 1964 |
| Docket Number | No. 17524.,17524. |
| Citation | 332 F.2d 901 |
| Parties | WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION, a Delaware Corporation, Appellant, v. Leland S. MORSE and Arthur Kraniger, Jr., Co-partners Doing Business as Morse Tuckpointing Co., and Morse Tuckpointing Co., Inc., a Minnesota Corporation, Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
James P. Miley, of Firestone, Fink, Krawetz, Miley & O'Neill, St. Paul, Minn., made argument for appellant and filed brief.
James H. Geraghty, of Altman, Geraghty & Mulally, St. Paul, Minn., made argument for appellees and filed brief.
Before VOGEL, MATTHES and RIDGE, Circuit Judges.
Plaintiff-appellant brought this action against defendants-appellees, who were repair contractors doing work on property owned by appellant. By the action, appellant sought indemnification for, or contribution toward, a settlement it had made with one of the appellees' employees. Appellees' employee had brought suit against the appellant to recover money damages for injuries sustained in a fall on appellant's premises, basing his claim on negligence. Prior to trial appellant or its liability insurance carrier made a compromise settlement with the employee in the amount of $40,000. It brought this suit against appellees to recover such sum, or a contribution thereto, plus $10,241.38 representing legal services and expenses incurred in preparing for and settling the suit against it.
This case was tried to the court without a jury and resulted in a judgment in favor of the appellees and against the appellant for costs and disbursements. In ordering judgment for the appellees, the District Court found that the appellant, as the property owner, had full and complete knowledge and notice of the dangerous condition of its premises which resulted in the employee's injury and specifically held that appellant's negligence was the proximate cause of the employee's fall and his injuries. It further held that the failure of the appellees, who had agreed to comply with all statutes and safety regulations of the State of Minnesota to assure that safety lines and other safety equipment were taken to the building and used by the employees, was not a proximate cause of the injuries and that appellant could recover on neither the theory of indemnity nor contribution between two joint tort feasors.
Appellant had also contended below that since appellees had offered to provide "complete insurance coverage", it breached its contract in that its insurance...
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Associated Engineers, Inc. v. Job
...Jones Constr. Co., supra, pp. 607 and 609 of 325 F.2d (same); Whirlpool Corp. v. Morse, 222 F.Supp. 645, 658 (D. Minn.1963), aff'd 332 F.2d 901 (8 Cir. 1964) ("fairly plain language" necessary to recover where indemnitee is more than passively negligent); Southern Pac. Co. v. Morrison-Knuds......
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Vagle v. Pickands Mather & Co., 78-1569
...of the independent contractor, for the employer's Own negligence. E. g., Whirlpool Corp. v. Morse, 222 F.Supp. 645 (D.Minn.1963), Aff'd, 332 F.2d 901 (8th Generally, the employer of an independent contractor is not liable to third parties for the negligence of the independent contractor or ......
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Conover v. Northern States Power Co.
...duty would be to inspect and to warn before turning over the jobsite. See Whirlpool Corp. v. Morse, 222 F.Supp. 645 (1963), aff'd, 332 F.2d 901 (8th Cir. 1964) (employer personally liable for injuries to repair contractor's At oral argument NSP acknowledged it could be liable for its own ne......
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Olson v. Kilstofte and Vosejpka, Inc.
...law, include servants of an independent contractor. See e. g. Whirlpool Corp. v. Morse, 222 F.Supp. 645 (D.Minn.1963), aff'd 332 F.2d 901 (8th Cir. 1964); Zuercher v. Northern Jobbing Co., 243 Minn. 166, 66 N.W.2d 892 (1954). At the same time, the rule stated in these sections of the Restat......