Opinion ID: 1935516
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Appeal of the Third-Party Defendant

Text: The third-party defendant contended, first, that it is not liable to the primary defendant on the grounds that the trial justice was clearly wrong in finding that the primary defendant had breached a warranty made to plaintiff. We have already disposed of this contention in dealing with the appeal of the primary defendant and find it without merit. The third-party defendant contends further that there was no evidence that the cylinder containing the gas had been sold by the third-party defendant to the primary defendant. This contention, in our opinion, is also without merit. We have in this opinion already decided that a sale of the container is not necessary for a warranty to exist. As we have already held, it is sufficient to give the warranty if the cylinder is supplied as part of the contract of sale. The trial justice reasonably inferred, in our opinion, since the third-party defendant conceded that the gas had been put into the container at its South Sudbury plant, that it was sold by the third-party defendant to the primary defendant. It is clear, then, in our opinion, that the cylinder was supplied as part of the contract of the sale of the gas from the third-party defendant to the primary defendant just as it was sold as part of the contract of sale when the primary defendant sold the gas to plaintiff. It is also contended by the third-party defendant that it was error on the part of the trial justice to overrule its motion to vacate the February 21, 1967 order granting the primary defendant's motion to implead Union Carbide as a third-party defendant. The primary defendant's motion to implead the third-party defendant was made under Super. R.Civ.P. 14, which provides, in pertinent part, as follows: (a) When Defendant May Bring in Third Party. At any time after commencement of the action a defendant, as a third-party plaintiff, may cause a summons and complaint to be served upon a person not a party to the action who is or may be liable to him for all or part of the plaintiff's claim against him. Such a motion is addressed to the discretion of the trial justice. 1 Kent, R.I. Civ. Prac., § 14.3 at 141 Discretion of Court, states in pertinent part as follows: Although the defendant may cause a third-party complaint to be served without leave of court if he acts not later than ten days after service of his answer, the court has broad discretion as to the appropriateness of impleader in each case. The trial justice's decision on such a motion will not be overturned unless it is shown that the trial justice has abused his discretion. Colitz v. Gilbert, 53 R.I. 319, 320-321, 166 A. 685, 686. The third-party defendant's motion to vacate said order was based on the ground that the defendant was guilty of laches. The third-party defendant has neither briefed nor argued the propriety of the dismissal of said motion made on this ground and, therefore, such issue must be deemed to have been waived. Sunny Day Restaurant, Inc. v. Beacon Restaurant, Inc., 103 R.I. 707, 709, 241 A.2d 295, 296. The third-party defendant argues finally as an additional ground of appeal the doctrine of collateral estoppel. It contends that its liability to the primary defendant has been extinguished by the judgment which was entered in the United States District Court in its favor after a full trial on the merits in the original proceedings brought against it by Pettella and that, therefore, the trial justice was clearly wrong in denying its motion for summary judgment to the third-party complaint based on this ground. We perceive no merit in this contention. The third-party defendant argues, in part at least, that its motion was for a summary judgment to dismiss the third-party complaint, and it is to be noted that this is the way the motion was made to the trial justice. However, in other parts of the brief the third party labels its motion as one to Dismiss the Plaintiff's Complaint. The record indicates quite clearly, however, that the third-party defendant intended and made a motion for summary judgment as to the third-party complaint, and the record also discloses that said motion was denied by the trial justice. In effect, the third-party defendant attempted to invoke the doctrine of collateral estoppel as enunciated in Harding v. Carr, 79 R.I. 32, 83 A.2d 79, and in Hill v. Bain, 15 R.I. 75, 23 A. 44. We do not question the appropriateness of such a pleading if it had been advanced in the primary proceedings by the primary defendant or even by the third-party defendant under Super. R.Civ.P. 14 (a) which permits in such a proceeding the assertion of any    defenses which the third-party plaintiff has to the plaintiff's claim. If used in that proceeding the assertion would have been by one not a party to the prior suit against one who was such a party. But that is not the situation here for in these proceedings the plea was asserted, not in the primary suit, but in a suit for contribution, and the assertion was made by a party to the prior litigation against one who was not a party to that suit. In those circumstances, to permit the use of collateral estoppel as a shield would preclude the primary defendant from a full and fair opportunity to assert its claim procedurally and evidentially, and would deny that defendant its day in court. That we will not permit. See Pat Perusse Realty Co. v. Lingo, 249 Md. 33, 238 A.2d 100. The appeal of the primary defendant and the appeal of the third-party defendant are denied and dismissed, and the judgments appealed from are affirmed.