(DOWNLOAD) "Mcinerney v. Hasbrook Construction Co." by Supreme Court of Illinois # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Mcinerney v. Hasbrook Construction Co.
- Author : Supreme Court of Illinois
- Release Date : January 26, 1975
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 77 KB
Description
Plaintiff, Thomas McInerney, filed a multicount complaint in the circuit court of Cook County against Hasbrook Construction Company (Hasbrook) based on defendant's alleged negligence and also on alleged violations of the Structural Work Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1963, ch. 48, par. 60 et seq.). Hasbrook filed a third-party indemnity action against plaintiff's employer, Universal Painting Contractors, Inc. (Universal), predicated first on express contractual indemnity and also on an implied right of recovery due to Universal's more active culpability for the injury. The trial court directed a verdict against plaintiff on the negligence count and against Hasbrook on its claim for express contractual indemnity. The jury returned a verdict for $80,000 in favor of plaintiff based upon the Structural Work Act liability of Hasbrook. A verdict in a like amount was rendered on behalf of Hasbrook and against Universal in the third-party action based on the claim of implied indemnity. The trial court, notwithstanding the verdict, entered judgment in favor of Hasbrook on the Structural Work Act liability and against plaintiff. Judgment notwithstanding the verdict was also entered in the third-party indemnification action on behalf of Universal. Conditionally, the court found the verdicts were not sustained by a greater weight of the evidence and therefore granted Hasbrook and Universal new trials. Further the court held that Universal was entitled to a new trial on the third-party complaint even if Hasbrook was not. The appellate court reversed the judgment n.o.v. entered on behalf of Hasbrook and the trial court's order granting Hasbrook a new trial. The appellate court held that the evidence was sufficient to support the jury's determination that Hasbrook had charge of the work at the time of plaintiff's injury and was liable under the Structural Work Act for failing to provide plaintiff with proper working conditions or proper equipment. The appellate court rejected Hasbrook's assertion that its contract with Universal was applicable to sustain a claim for express indemnity. Finally, the majority of the appellate court found that the misconduct of Hasbrook was qualitatively similar to that of Universal, thereby precluding Hasbrook's implied indemnity action on a theory of active-passive misconduct. It therefore affirmed the judgment n.o.v. entered for Universal on the third-party action, thereby rendering unnecessary the consideration of the trial court's order granting a new trial to Universal. (McInerney v. Hasbrook Construction Co., 16 Ill. App.3d 464.) We granted Hasbrook's petition for leave to appeal.