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Interstate Cold Storage v. General Motors Corporation12/3/1999
FOR PUBLICATION
OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION
Interstate Cold Storage, Inc. ("Interstate") appeals from the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of General Motors Corporation ("GMC") on Interstate's complaint. We affirm.
Issue
Interstate raises two issues for our review, which we consolidate and restate as one: whether the trial court properly granted summary judgment for GMC on its complaint for negligence and strict liability upon finding that the only damage suffered was to the product itself.
Facts and Procedural History
On June 19, 1995, an Interstate employee was driving a 1992 GMC vehicle owned by a subsidiary of Interstate. The employee heard a strange sound and saw smoke coming from the vehicle. He pulled over to the side of the road and saw flames near the engine. The vehicle was declared a total loss. Neither the employee nor any other property was damaged as a result of the fire.
Interstate filed the instant lawsuit against GMC alleging strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty claims. GMC moved for summary judgment on the strict liability and negligence claims. The trial court, finding that there was no allegation of bodily injury or damage other than to the vehicle itself, granted summary judgment for GMC. Interstate now appeals.
Discussion and Decision
I. Standard of Review
Our standard of review of a summary judgment order is well-settled: summary judgment is appropriate if the "designated evidentiary matter shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Ind. Trial Rule 56(C). Relying on specifically designated evidence, the moving party bears the burden of showing prima facie that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Estate of Pflanz v. Davis, 678 N.E.2d 1148, 1150 (Ind. Ct. App. 1997). If the moving party meets these two requirements, the burden shifts to the non-movant to set forth specifically designated facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Id. A genuine issue of material fact exists where facts concerning an issue which would dispose of the litigation are in dispute or where the undisputed material facts are capable of supporting conflicting inferences on such an issue. Downs v. Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Co., 694 N.E.2d 1198, 1200 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998), trans. denied. Even if the facts are undisputed, summary judgment is inappropriate where the record reveals an incorrect application of the law to the facts. General Accident Ins. Co. of America v. Hughes, 706 N.E.2d 208, 210 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999), trans. denied.
On appeal, we are bound by the same standard as the trial court, and we consider only those matters which were designated at the summary judgment stage. Pflanz, 678 N.E.2d at 1151. We liberally construe all designated evidentiary material in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party to determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial. Dunifon v. Iovino, 665 N.E.2d 51, 55 (Ind. Ct. App. 1996), trans. denied. The party that lost in the trial court has the burden to persuade the appellate court that the trial court erred. Id. Specific findings and Conclusions by the trial court are not required, and although they offer valuable insight into the rationale for the judgment and facilitate our review, we are not limited to reviewing the trial court's reasons for granting or denying summary judgment. Jones v. Western Reserve Group, 699 N.E.2d 711, 714 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998), trans. denied. A grant of summary judgment may be
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