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Ragin v. Porter Hayden Co.6/29/2000
ellate court reviewing a contract must determine whether the trial court was legally correct. See id. If the trial court determined that the contract is ambiguous, and that determination is upheld on appeal, then the clearly erroneous standard is implicated as to the lower court's use of extrinsic evidence with respect to the contract. See id.
The parties disagree about whether appellant is one of "the Plaintiffs" subject to the Stipulation. It is evident from the court's ruling at the close of the motion hearing that the court did not find the Stipulation ambiguous. Relying on the parol evidence rule, the court expressly refused to consider extrinsic evidence proffered by the parties as to the intent of the stipulating parties. We agree with the trial court that the Stipulation was not ambiguous. Moreover, we conclude from the unambiguous language of the document that it does not apply to appellant's case.
As set forth more fully above, the Stipulation provided, in part:
Each of the Plaintiffs represented by the undersigned counsel whose cases have been consolidated in the case number captioned above, hereby agree with Defendant Porter Hayden Company that Porter Hayden waives proof of its alleged negligence and strict liability, in exchange for which each Plaintiff waives and dismisses with prejudice his or her claim for punitive damages and any claim of breach of warranty, fraud, conspiracy, and/or market share. (Emphasis added).
The Stipulation expressly states that it applies to those plaintiffs "whose cases have been consolidated in the case number captioned above." It is equally clear that Consolidation number 93076701 is the only case number listed on the Stipulation. Moreover, it is undisputed that 93076701 is the trial number assigned to Abate II. Further, it is uncontroverted that appellant was a common issue plaintiff in Abate I, not Abate II. Thus, by its terms, the Stipulation was expressly limited to those plaintiffs represented by Ness, Motley whose cases were part of the consolidation in Abate II. Therefore, the Stipulation does not apply to appellant as an Abate I plaintiff.
II.
Regardless of whether the Stipulation applied to appellant, the trial court concluded that appellant was barred from recovery because Pettiford's exposure to asbestos-containing products ended in 1945, and the court believed that the Abate I jury exonerated appellee for the period prior to 1956. Appellant asserts that, even if the Stipulation does not apply to her case, the court erred in granting summary judgment, because it erroneously interpreted the significance of the 1956 date in the Abate I verdict, and incorrectly found that Porter Hayden is not liable for compensatory damages to any common issue plaintiff who was last exposed to asbestos prior to 1956. Appellant seems to maintain that the jury's finding with respect to appellee's liability as of 1956 meant that, beginning at that time, appellee owed Pettiford a continuing duty to warn him of hazards associated with his earlier exposure to asbestos-containing products and was negligent for failing to do so. Appellee counters that the jury verdict in Abate I indisputably established that "there was no breach of a duty to warn at the date of Mr. Pettiford's exposure," and no liability to anyone who was exposed prior to 1956.
In essence, appellant asserts that the Abate I jury determined that appellee became liable for asbestos-related injuries as of 1956, irrespective of the date of a plaintiff's exposure. In contrast, appellee argues that the jury determined that appellee could only be liable for injuries to a plaintiff who was exposed in 1956 or later. To coin our own phrases, a
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