C.A. 4th;
E063551

The Fourth Appellate District affirmed in part and reversed in part a judgment. The court held that the trial court erred in granting a party an offset against a jury award based on a prior settlement payment for different claims.

Kadena Pacific, Inc. hired Global Modular, Inc. to build, deliver, and install 53 modular units for a construction project. Delivery of the units was delayed from summer to winter, and, despite Global's efforts to protect them, the units ended up suffering extensive damage during the rainy season. Global sued Kadena for failure to pay. Kadena countersued for its costs to remediate the water damage, as well as for the pre-rain delay and alleged faulty workmanship. Global paid Kadena $321,975 to release all of Kadena's claims those covered by Global's insurance policy with North American Capacity Insurance Company (NAC). Global, in turn, received $153,025 to dismiss its failure-to-pay claims. At trial, Kadena presented evidence on the scope and cost of its water remediation and argued Global was contractually responsible for the damage. The jury agreed and awarded Kadena slightly over $1 million. In a separate suit brought by NAC, Kadena and NAC filed competing motions for summary judgment on the issue of whether NAC's policy required it to indemnify Global for the jury's damage award. The trial court ruled in favor of Kadena, finding the damage award covered under NAC's policy as a matter of law. The court also ruled that the award must be offset by the $321,975 Global paid in settlement and that Global was liable to Kadena for $360,000 in attorney fees.