Title: Travelers Indem. Co. v. American Ins. Co.

State: oregon

Issuer: Oregon Supreme Court

Document:

563 P.2d 684 (1977)
278 Or. 193
TRAVELERS INDEMNITY COMPANY, a corporation, Appellant,
v.
THE AMERICAN INSURANCE COMPANY, a corporation, Respondent.

Supreme Court of Oregon.
Argued and Submitted February 11, 1977.
Decided May 3, 1977.
Michael J. Gentry, Portland, argued the cause for appellant. With him on the briefs were Paul R. Duden and Tooze, Kerr, Peterson, Marshall & Shenker, Portland.
Mark H. Wagner, Portland, argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were Ridgway K. Foley, Jr., and Souther, Spaulding, Kinsey, Williamson & Schwabe, Portland.
Before HOWELL, P.J., and BRYSON, LINDE and MENGLER, JJ.
BRYSON, Justice.
Plaintiff (Travelers) brought this action to recover contribution from defendant (American) for monies paid and legal expenses *685 incurred in the settlement of a third-party claim. Defendant counterclaimed on an express contract of indemnity for legal expenses incurred by it in connection with the same third-party claim. The circuit court granted summary judgment for defendant on its counterclaim and against the plaintiff on its claim. Plaintiff appeals.
Travelers is the insurer of To-Ro Enterprises (To-Ro) and additionally insured the city of Portland by and through its Exposition-Recreation Commission. American is the insurer of the city of Portland (City) "by and through its Exposition-Recreation Commission." To-Ro entered into a permit agreement with the City (through its Exposition-Recreation Commission), granting To-Ro the right to use the Memorial Coliseum to conduct its 1973 International Boat, Trailer & Sports Show.
The voluntary permit agreement provided:
Plaintiff alleges that a paying patron attending the boat show fell and injured herself; that the patron brought an action against the City and To-Ro; that plaintiff expended money for the settlement of said action and for attorney fees and costs. Plaintiff further alleges that this accident was caused by the negligence of the City and contends that American, as the insurer of the City, is liable for contribution to plaintiff under Lamb-Weston et al v. Or. Auto. Ins. Co., 219 Or. 110, 341 P.2d 110, 346 P.2d 643 (1959).
Defendant alleges the above indemnity provisions in the permit and contends that under the terms of the indemnity provision it is To-Ro, and not the City, which must bear the cost of the third party claim and that consequently plaintiff has no right to contribution as the funds expended by plaintiff were for the benefit of its insured, To-Ro, and not for the benefit of the parties' common insured, the City.
As hereinafter explained, the case was presented to the court in an informal manner, and the only issue to be decided was the proper interpretation of the permit agreement's indemnity provision. We understand defendant, by its conduct and argument, to have accepted the facts as presented in plaintiff's pleadings. Defendant contends that even if the accident was due to the negligence of the City, the defendant must still prevail, as a matter of law, under the terms of the indemnity agreement and our holding in Waggoner v. Oregon Auto. Ins. Co., 270 Or. 93, 526 P.2d 578 (1974).
The trial court reviewed the cases cited by counsel and the indemnity provisions of the permit agreement and rendered its opinion from the bench as follows:
Plaintiff argues that the trial court's interpretation cannot stand because, as a matter of law, "this court uniformly and consistently has refused to allow indemnity for losses solely caused by indemnitees' negligence."
Contrary to plaintiff's contentions, this court, in Waggoner v. Oregon Auto. Ins. Co., supra, wherein the lessor indemnitee was also negligent, held, at page 97, 526 P.2d at page 581, "that the indemnitee may legally contract for indemnity for a claim based in whole or in part on its own negligence, if not `wanton or criminal' in nature." (Quoting with approval from So. Pac. Co. v. Morrison-Knudsen Co., 216 Or. 398, 338 P.2d 665 (1959)). Plaintiff's complaint contains no allegations of negligence that are either wanton or criminal in nature. In Ball v. Oregon Erect. Co., 273 Or. 179, 183-84, 539 P.2d 1059, 1061 (1975), we again stated:
In this case, the written indemnity agreement is in broad terms and shows an intent by the parties to hold the City harmless and indemnified from liability for persons injured on the premises during To-Ro's occupancy of the Coliseum while conducting the boat show. We find nothing unusual or contrary to public policy in the execution of the indemnity agreement by the parties. The court did not err in this respect.
Plaintiff also contends "[t]he trial court erred in entering judgment for defendant on defendant's counterclaim" because defendant offered no evidence to support its claim of $903.97 for attorney fees and defense costs.
When this case was set before the trial judge, the attorneys for the respective parties discussed the matter prior to appearance. The transcript discloses the following colloquy between the court and counsel:
*687 The only exhibit received was the indemnity agreement. The parties appeared to have stipulated to the facts set forth in the pleadings in arguing the one legal issue in the case. Plaintiff alleged it incurred attorney fees and costs in the sum of $3,485.27, and defendant alleged it incurred $903.90 attorney fees and defense costs before plaintiff accepted the tender to defend the third-party claim. After the parties argued their respective position, the court rendered its decision as heretofore set forth.
The following then occurred:
In addition, we note that plaintiff took no exception to the trial court's determination of the counterclaim issue even though plaintiff's attorney was presented with a copy of the proposed summary judgment order 10 days prior to entry of the final judgment. We have consistently held that matters argued in appellant's brief, not presented to the circuit court, should not be considered on appeal absent special circumstances. Friesen v. Fuiten, 257 Or. 221, 231, 478 P.2d 372 (1970); Harryman v. Roseburg Fire Dist., 244 Or. 631, 633, 420 P.2d 51 (1966).
We realize that no evidence was introduced as to the reasonableness of the charges in defendant's counterclaim. However, this case was handled by both counsel in an unusual but expeditious manner. Neither party objected to the matter being disposed of by an oral motion for summary judgment. ORS 18.105. It would seem to be a vain, useless, and unnecessary expense to require the parties to again appear before the trial court for the sole purpose of proving the reasonableness of defendant's expenses.
Affirmed.