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International Maintenance Corp. v. Inland Paper Board & Packaging Inc.6/26/2002
This is an appeal of the trial court's dismissal of intervenors International Maintenance Corp. ("IMC") and National Union Fire Insurance Co. ("National Union") from the underlying personal injury action. The intervenors also appeal the dismissal of two defendants who settled with the plaintiffs. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
The underlying claim arose on January 24, 1996, when a removable steel staircase and platform fell on Jonathan Massey, severing his spinal cord and rendering him paralyzed from the waist down. It is undisputed that Massey was injured in the course of his employment with IMC. IMC was insured by National Union for workers' compensation claims, subject to a large deductible retained by IMC. The staircase and platform were owned and maintained by Inland Paper Board and Packaging, Inc. ("Inland"), had been designed by Mid-South Engineering Co. ("Mid-South"), and had been constructed by Reynolds Industrial Contractors ("Reynolds"). The accident took place at a sawmill owned by Inland, where Massey was engaged in the maintenance and repair of certain equipment. As a result of his accident, Massey received workers' compensation benefits paid by IMC, his employer, and National Union.
Massey and his wife filed suit alleging personal injury and loss of consortium claims against defendants/appellees Inland, Mid-South, and Reynolds on October 21, 1997. Appellants IMC and National Union intervened in the action pursuant to OCGA § 34-9-11.1 (b), seeking to assert a subrogation lien to recover medical and disability benefits they had paid to Mr. Massey. The Masseys subsequently settled with Mid-South and Reynolds and dismissed their claims against those defendants. Over the objections of IMC and National Union, the trial court approved the dismissal of Mid-South and Reynolds.
Inland moved for summary judgment, and IMC and National Union filed a brief urging the court to grant the motion. Because IMC was contractually obligated to indemnify and provide liability coverage to Inland with regard to maintenance work it performed at Inland's facility, it was not in IMC's interest for Mr. and Mrs. Massey to recover damages from Inland. Additionally, a related conflict of interest existed because National Union was both the workers' compensation carrier for IMC and its liability carrier. Because IMC was obligated to indemnify Inland, National Union was in effect also the liability carrier for Inland through Inland's agreement with IMC. On the motion of Mr. and Mrs. Massey, the trial court entered an order dismissing the appellants' intervention and leaving them to prosecute a separate action if they wished to perfect and enforce a subrogation lien. The court expressly stated that IMC and National Union acted wrongfully in joining the effort to defeat the plaintiffs' recovery and that they abused the privileges granted by OCGA § 34-9-11.1. Mr. and Mrs. Massey subsequently settled their claim against Inland and filed a final dismissal with prejudice on June 25, 2001. The present appeal followed.
Mr. and Mrs. Massey have moved to dismiss IMC and National Union's appeal. They contend that because the trial court has not issued a judgment or order regarding the enforceability of the appellants' subrogation lien, IMC and National Union's appeal is premature. OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (1). Additionally, the Masseys argue that reversal of the trial court's orders would leave IMC and National Union in the same position in which they are at present, because they would still be required to prove that Mr. Massey had been fully and completely compensated in order to establish the validity of their lien.
The procedural posture of the litigation is complex, as is the
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