Haakinson & Beaty Co. v. Inland Insurance
Haakinson & Beaty Co. v. Inland Insurance
Opinion of the Court
This appeal presents to the court a case of first impression in this jurisdiction and concerns itself with
R. R. Butler Construction, Inc. (Butler), a Nebraska corporation, entered into a contract with Walnut Community School District (Walnut), located in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, to construct a building addition for the school district. On February 19, 1979, Butler, as principal, executed a labor and material payment bond with Inland Insurance Company (Inland) as surety, an insurance company registered to do business in Nebraska. Among other provisions, the bond contained the following: “3. No suit or action shall be commenced hereunder by any claimant: . . . c) Other than in a state court of competent jurisdiction in and for the county or other political subdivision of the state in which the Project, or any part thereof, is situated, or in the United States District Court for the district in which the Project, or any part thereof, is situated, and not elsewhere.” The provisions of subparagraphs (a) and (b) are not material to our discussion.
During the course of construction, Butler ordered materials for the project from the appellee, The Haakinson & Beaty Co. (Beaty), a corporation doing business in Iowa. After the materials had been delivered to the jobsite and Butler failed to pay, Beaty brought suit on the bond, in the district court for Douglas County, Nebraska, to recover the amount due and owing. Although final payment on the job was certified to by the architect on July 12, 1980, suit
Inland assigns as error that (1) the trial court erred in finding that the forum selection clause in the bond was not valid and was contrary to public policy, and (2) the trial court erred in finding that a third-party beneficiary was not bound by the terms and conditions of the contract under which suit was brought.
While the question of attempting to determine whether the provisions of a contract are contrary to public policy is not always easy and clear, in the instant case we believe the answer is apparent. The provision of the bond in question is in accordance with Neb. Rev. Stat. §25-415 (Reissue 1979), which provides as follows: “If the parties have agreed in writing that an action on a controversy shall be brought only in another state and it is brought in a court of this state, the court will dismiss or stay the action, as appropriate, unless (1) the court is required by statute to entertain the action; (2) the plaintiff cannot secure effective relief in the other state, for reasons other than delay in bringing the action; (3) the other state would be a substantially less convenient place for the trial of the action than this state; (4) the agreement as to the place of the action was obtained by misrepresentation, duress, the abuse of economic power, or other unconscionable means; or (5) it would for some other reason be unfair or unreasonable to enforce the agreement.” Section 25-415 is part of the Model Uniform Choice of Forum Act adopted by the Legislature of the State of
Can we therefore say that a provision of a contract enacted pursuant to a statute adopted by the Legislature of the State of Nebraska is contrary to public policy? We believe that, under generally recognized rules applicable to cases of this nature, we cannot. What is public policy must be determined from a consideration of the federal and state Constitutions, the laws, the decisions of the courts, and the course of administration, and not by the varying opinions of laymen, lawyers, or judges. See 17 Am. Jur. 2d Contracts § 177 (1964). Constitutional or statutory provisions, absent an infirmity in the law itself, govern what is the public policy. That is to say, where the lawmaking power speaks on a particular subject, over which it has constitutional authority to speak, the public policy in such a case is what the statute provides. See, Chicago, B. & Quincy R. R. Co. v. McGuire, 219 U.S. 549, 31 S. Ct. 259, 55 L. Ed. 328 (1911); United States v. Freight Association, 166 U.S. 290, 17 S. Ct. 540, 41 L. Ed. 1007 (1897). As a general rule, courts cannot declare agreements or acts authorized by statute to be contrary to public policy unless the courts are first prepared to determine that the statute authorizing the act is itself unconstitutional. See, 17 Am. Jur. 2d, supra; Chicago, B. & Quincy R. R. Co. v. McGuire, supra. No one has contended, nor are we able to determine, that the provisions of § 25-415 are either beyond the authority of the Legislature or inherently unconstitutional. If, then, § 25-415 is a valid exercise by the Legislature, we are compelled to determine that the provision contained in Inland’s bond is not void as being contrary to public policy. Quite to the contrary; it is valid because it is consistent with the public policy as reflected in the act authorizing such provisions. To hold otherwise would be to ignore the will of the people as reflected by their elected representatives.
Beaty argues that even if the provision is not void as being contrary to public policy, nevertheless, it does not apply to Beaty because Beaty is not one of the parties who “agreed in writing” to this provision, as required by the statute, but, instead, Beaty is a third-party beneficiary who is not bound by the terms of the agreement. In support of its position Beaty cites to us the case of Forburger Stone Co. v. Lion Bonding & Surety Co., 103 Neb. 202, 170 N.W. 897 (1919). While it is true that this 4 to 3 decision
As noted by Justice Cornish in one of the three dissents in Forburger, supra at 209, 170 N.W. at 899: “Just as the stream can never rise higher than its source, nor the less include the greater, nor the accidental be more regarded than the intentional, nor one reap where he has not sown, so the promisor is never bound to more than his promise, and the stranger to the contract can have no better nor higher rights in the contract than the parties to it.
It would be a strange situation if one could sue on a contract and gain all of its benefits, and yet be permitted to ignore any of its obligations. Forburger is simply a voice in the wilderness and should be disregarded. Beaty, as a third-party beneficiary under this bond, received benefits from the bond and, likewise, was subject to all of its burdens, including the forum selection clause. To the extent that For-burger stands to the contrary, it is overruled.
Absent a showing by Beaty that any of the exceptions of § 25-415 are applicable, we believe that the forum selection clause of the bond is valid and binding on Beaty and that the trial court was in error in overruling the motion by Inland to dismiss and in granting summary judgment in favor of Beaty. For this reason the judgment of the trial court is reversed and the cause remanded with instructions to proceed in accordance with this opinion.
Reversed and remanded.
Concurring Opinion
concurring.
The Legislature, for reasons best known to itself, has seen fit to permit a licensed Nebraska insurance company to issue policies which deny persons claiming under those policies access to the courts of the State of Nebraska.
While legislation may indeed express the public policy of the state, to a greater extent the state Constitution does also.
Article I, § 13, of the Constitution of the State of Nebraska states: ‘‘All courts shall be open, and every person, for any injury done him in his lands, goods, person or reputation, shall have a remedy by due course of law, and justice administered without denial or delay.”
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-415 (Reissue 1979) excepts from the choice of forum provisions a number of categories set forth in the majority opinion. As I
I do, however, state unhesitatingly that absent the exceptions of the statute, the Model Uniform Choice of Forum Act would clearly violate our Constitution.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The Haakinson & Beaty Co., Appellee, v. Inland Insurance Company, Appellant
- Cited By
- 16 cases
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- Published