MORRIS, Judge.
Pilot Construction Services, Inc. (Pilot), appeals a final summary judgment entered on its cross-claims against Babe's Plumbing, Inc. (Babe's), in litigation initiated by New College against Pilot and Babe's.
Pilot served as the general contractor on the renovation of a residence hall on New College's Sarasota campus. After completion of the project, New College discovered that some of the subcontractors either failed to perform the work on the residence hall's bathrooms and shower stalls pursuant to the plans and specifications or failed to make the necessary repairs. The defects resulted in leaks that caused significant damage to the residence hall. When the parties were unable to reach a resolution, New College filed suit.
New College's initial complaint alleged counts for breach of contract and breach of express warranty against Pilot. New College alleged that Pilot had breached its agreement with New College by "failing to properly manage the work, failing to properly assure quality control of the construction[,] and failing to properly supervise the work of subcontractors involved in the construction of the shower stalls." New College also alleged a count of breach of express warranty against Babe's, alleging that "there were numerous defects in the workmanship and materials and the work performed by Babe's." New College described the defects as including the "improper installation of shower pans, corner frames[,] and shower drains."
After the suit was filed, Babe's and New College entered into a settlement. New College then filed an amended complaint dropping Babe's as a defendant but maintaining the same counts originally asserted against Pilot. The amended complaint alleged that Pilot breached the contract "by failing to properly manage the work on the [p]roject, failing to properly assure quality control of the construction of the [p]roject, and by failing to properly supervise and inspect the work of subcontractors involved in the construction of the [p]roject." New College continued to allege that the shower pans and drains were improperly installed.
Pilot filed a cross-claim against Babe's for indemnity. Pilot then settled with New College and was granted leave to amend its cross-claim against Babe's to allege counts for indemnity, breach of warranty, and equitable subrogation. Pilot sought indemnity for the portion of its settlement sum paid to New College that was attributable to the work for which Babe's was responsible. Pilot also alleged that Babe's failed to honor its written warranty for work it performed on the project.
Babe's moved for summary judgment, claiming that New College's settlement with Babe's included a release which covered any claims that Pilot could make against Babe's and that section 725.06 barred Pilot's claims of indemnity. Without stating its rationale, the trial court granted Babe's' motion and entered summary judgment in favor of Babe's.
Summary judgment should be granted only when "there is no genuine issue of material fact and . . . the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law."
In support of their motion for summary judgment, Babe's relied on the release between Babe's and New College signed pursuant to their settlement. On appeal, Pilot claims that the release did not limit Pilot's claims against Babe's or absolve Babe's of its liability to Pilot and that questions of fact exist regarding Babe's' or Pilot's responsibility for the defects in the project. We agree.
The release between Babe's and New College included the following language: "Nothing within this Release is intended to be nor shall it be construed as any kind of waiver, limitation, or compromise to any claim or defense New College has or may have against any party or entity other than Babe's Plumbing, Inc." This provision reflects Babe's' and New College's intent to not limit New College's claims against other parties. However, the release also included language which releases Babe's together with
This provision purports to release Babe's for any claim another entity may have against Babe's for Babe's' negligence or responsibility for the defects. The record before us is silent as to how the trial court reconciled these apparently conflicting portions of the release at issue in light of the facts in this case. After executing the release and settling with Babe's, New College continued to assert its claims against Pilot, which Pilot argued were rooted in Babe's' faulty work. To the extent that the language of the release purports to bar Pilot's claims against Babe's, we conclude that it cannot preclude Pilot from pursuing its claims against Babe's because the release was between Babe's and New College and Pilot was not a party to the release.
Because the language of the release does not apply to bar Pilot's claims against Babe's, the trial court erred in granting summary judgment against Pilot. There remain material issues of fact regarding whether Pilot's responsibility to New College was based on Babe's' faulty work and, if so, whether Babe's is liable to Pilot.
Babe's' motion for summary judgment also argued that Pilot's claims were barred by section 725.06 because Pilot was seeking indemnification from Babe's for Pilot's own negligence.
The 1997 version
Section 725.06 would only bar Pilot's claims for indemnification if Pilot's claims were based on Pilot's own negligence. A plain reading of Pilot's claims against Babe's shows that Pilot's suit against Babe's was based on Babe's' failures to correctly install shower pans and drains in the residence hall bathrooms. Whether the defects in the project resulted from Pilot's negligent supervision of Babe's or from Babe's' own negligence or both are disputed issues of material fact that preclude summary judgment in this case.
Summary judgment was improvidently granted in this case as there are disputed issues of material fact. Accordingly, we reverse the final summary judgment and remand for further proceedings.
LaROSE and CRENSHAW, JJ., Concur.
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED.