State Supreme Court to rule in plumbing dispute

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court is scheduled to decide Thursday whether a Waukesha plumbing contractor is entitled to direct payment from an insurance company for work at a vacant rental property.

Pennsylvania-based Erie Insurance Exchange hired Best Price Plumbing Inc. in 2008 to replace frozen pipes in a residential rental property in Milwaukee owned by Willtrim Group LLC, Menomonee Falls.

But after completing the job, Best claimed, it never received payment. The company sued Erie in Waukesha County Circuit Court for breach of contract, claiming Best was due $8,897, the amount listed on its invoice.

During trial, Willtrim employee Trevor Trimble testified he received a two-party check from Erie for the amount due Best. But, according to court documents, he said he was dissatisfied with the plumbing work and gave the check to a handyman at the job site who obtained a check endorsement from a Best employee.

But Paul Price, Best‘s president, testified that nobody from his company endorsed the check and that payment terms never were discussed with Erie’s insurance adjustor.

According to court documents, the adjustor claimed two-party checks are the usual course of business in the insurance industry, and to pay a contractor directly, the company would have needed authorization from Willtrim.

The jury decided Best’s contract was with Erie and that the insurance company had not breached its plumbing services contract.

But Waukesha Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren ruled contrary to the jury verdict. According to his ruling, payment should have been made directly to Best, and there was no credible evidence that Erie complied with its contractual obligation to Best, which was awarded $14,650.31 in damages.

Erie appealed. The Wisconsin District 2 Court of Appeals reversed the circuit court decision and vacated the judgment on the grounds Bohren was wrong to disregard the jury verdict.

Best sought review by the Supreme Court which held oral arguments in the case Feb. 7.

According to court documents, Best contends Erie never raised any concern about the quality of the plumbing work, and Trimble simply converted the money due to Best.