Case Title: Behr v. Hook

Citation: 173 Vt. 122, 787 A.2d 499

Docket Number: 

State: vermont

Court: Vermont Supreme Court

Date: 2001-09-28T00:00:00Z

Document:
Behr v. Hook (2000-223); 173 Vt. 122; 787 A.2d 499

[Filed 28-Sep-2001]

[Motion for Reargument Denied 14-Nov-2001]

       NOTICE:  This opinion is subject to motions for reargument under
  V.R.A.P. 40 as well as formal  revision before publication in the Vermont
  Reports.  Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of  Decisions,
  Vermont Supreme Court, 109 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05609-0801 of
  any  errors in order that corrections may be made before this opinion goes
  to press.

                                No. 2000-223

Peter and Marjorie Behr	                         Supreme Court

                                                 On Appeal from
     v.	                                         Windsor Superior Court

Norman Hook, d/b/a Norm's Painting,	         June Term, 2001 
Dead River Company of Maine and 
Jaynes and Berge, Inc.

Alan W. Cheever, J.

Richard J. Windish, Jr. of Eaton & Hayes, Woodstock, and Richard C. Glazer of 
  Cozen and O'Connor, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

James E. Preston of Pierson, Wadhams, Quinn & Yates, Burlington, for 
  Defendant-Appellee Hook

Kimberly L. Carboneau of Boylan & Richards, P.C., Springfield, for 
  Defendant-Appellee Dead River Company of Maine.

PRESENT:  Amestoy, C.J., Morse, Johnson and Skoglund, JJ., and Cook, D.J., 
          Specially Assigned

       SKOGLUND, J.   Plaintiffs Peter and Marjorie Behr, whose newly
  constructed home was  destroyed by fire shortly before they were to move
  into it, appeal the superior court's summary  judgment ruling upholding a
  waiver-of-subrogation provision contained in the construction contract 
  entered into between the Behrs and their general contractor.  Under the
  court's ruling, the Behrs'  insurer - the real party in interest in this
  subrogation action - may not recoup from defendant 

 

  subcontractors, who are alleged to have caused the fire, the $1.4 million
  the insurer paid the Behrs  for the fire loss.  We reject plaintiffs'
  arguments that (1) given their allegations of gross negligence,  public
  policy considerations precluded the superior court from enforcing the
  waiver-of-subrogation  provision; (2) apart from considerations of public
  policy, the provision should not apply because the  general contractor
  failed to obtain waivers from the subcontractors, as required by the
  contract; and  (3) a portion of the damages were outside the scope of the
  provision, even if it was applicable.   Accordingly, we affirm the superior
  court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants.

       In March 1995, the Behrs contracted with Jaynes & Berge, Inc. for the
  construction of their  new home.  They signed a standard contract published
  by the American Institute of Architects (AIA).  The contract required the
  Behrs to purchase and maintain property insurance in the amount of the 
  initial contract plus any later modifications for work done at the site. 
  The contract explicitly required  the policy to insure against the perils
  of fire, among other things.  The contract also included a 
  waiver-of-subrogation provision that required the Behrs and the general
  contractor to waive all rights  against each other and any of their
  subcontractors for damages caused by fire to the extent covered  by
  insurance obtained pursuant to the contract.  Further, the provision
  required that the insurance  policies obtained pursuant to the contract
  provide waivers of subrogation, as set forth in the contract,  by
  endorsement or otherwise. (FN1)

 

       Construction on the home proceeded through the summer and fall of
  1995.  Then, in the early  morning hours of December 8, 1995, the Behrs'
  recently completed home was destroyed by fire.  The  state police fire
  marshal determined that a propane heater owned by one subcontractor and
  left  unattended by another subcontractor was the most probable source of
  the ignition that caused the  fire.  The Behrs' insurer paid the Behrs $1.4
  million for the loss and initiated a subrogation action, in  the Behrs'
  name, against the subcontractor who owned the heater, Dead River Company of
  Maine  d/b/a Leonard's Gas & Electric Service (hereinafter Dead River), and
  the painting subcontractor who  left the heater unattended, Norman Hook
  d/b/a Norm's Painting.  Plaintiffs alleged that the painting  subcontractor
  acted in a grossly negligent manner by leaving the heater unattended
  propped near a  freshly painted porch to accelerate the drying process on a
  cold night.  Plaintiff also alleged both  ordinary and gross negligence
  against Dead River, claiming that the heating subcontractor failed to 
  instruct others how to use the heater safely around combustible material,
  failed to place proper 

 

  warnings on the heater, and failed to provide an appropriate guard or other
  safety device on the  heater to prevent ignition of combustible materials.

       Both defendants filed motions for summary judgment based upon the
  waiver-of-subrogation  provision contained in the construction contract. 
  After hearing oral argument, the superior court  granted the motions. 
  Relying on Fairchild Square Co. v. Green Mountain Bagel Bakery, Inc., 163 
  Vt. 433,