Opinion ID: 1159187
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Respondent's Counterclaim

Text: Respondent counterclaimed against each appellant. Respondent alleged that Dahle had improperly welded the drying chamber and that Mueller had omitted certain vertical joining flanges from the chamber, decreasing its structural integrity. Claiming that these and other defects rendered the chamber worthless, respondent requested damages from appellants under theories of negligence, breach of contract and slander of title. The trial court denied respondent's counterclaim. In appealing the denial of its counterclaim, respondent relies solely on negligence theory, contending that appellants owed to it a manufacturer's duty of due care. Respondent claims that a manufacturer must exercise care not only to guard against injury to foreseeable users of its product, but also to protect such users from economic loss attributable to nondangerous defects in the product. In support of this proposition, respondent cites W.R.H. v. Economy Builders Supply, [7] a case decided after issuance of the trial court's final order. Respondent urges this Court to consider that order in light of the W.R.H. decision. Assuming, arguendo, that the W.R.H. case established a duty of reasonable care on the part of a manufacturer to guard against economic loss to users of its product, such a duty would not apply to appellants in the present case. Appellants are not manufacturers comparable to the manufacturer in the W.R.H. case. While the latter manufactured products destined for retail sale to unknown and potentially inexperienced purchasers, appellants provided their products and services to a presumably knowledgeable contractor in accordance with detailed contract specifications. Appellants in no way concealed the alleged defects in the drying chamber from Maxum and were in no better position to anticipate possible economic consequences of such defects than was Maxum itself. Having contracted directly with Maxum and knowing of Maxum's close supervision of the entire installation process, appellants had reason to expect that Maxum would protect respondent's interest by observing and obtaining correction of obvious defects. The trial court correctly found that Maxum bore responsibility for correction of such defects. Even if appellants had breached a duty towards respondent by defectively constructing the drying chamber, the evidence would not support recovery by respondent in the absence of a showing that the alleged defects actually caused damages to respondent. Although respondent in its brief alleges that the drying chamber fails to meet U.S.D.A. standards and that it has no value, testimony shows that it was using the chamber and other drying equipment at the time of trial. The evidence shows no actual loss to respondent's business resulting from the alleged defects and respondent's brief contains no discussion whatsoever concerning either causation or damages. We hold that respondent has shown neither a duty on the part of appellants to protect it against nondangerous, nonconcealed defects in the drying chamber nor the additional elements of causation and damages. The trial court therefore correctly denied respondent's counterclaim.