Florida Litigation Guide

Indemnification

[1] Elements and Case Citations

(1) Plaintiff discharges a duty owed to another party as a result of some vicarious, constructive, derivative or technical liability;

(2) Defendant should have discharged the duty satisfied by Plaintiff;

(3) Plaintiff is without any fault; and

(4) Plaintiff suffered in damages by discharging the liability that should be borne by Defendant.

Indemnification claims may be contractual or equitable in nature. E.g., Allstate Ins. Co. v. Metropolitan Dade County, 436 So. 2d 976, 978 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1983); In cases involving contractual indemnity, the terms of the agreement will determine whether the indemnitor is obligated to reimburse the indemnitee for a particular claim. Certainly contracts purporting to indemnify a party against its own negligence will only be enforced if they clearly express such an intent and a general provision indemnifying the indemnitee "against any and all claims," standing alone, is not sufficient. Camp, Dresser, & Mckee, Inc. v. Paul N. Howard Co., 853 So. 2d 1072, 1077 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003).

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Florida State Courts

Supreme Court: Dade County School Board v. Radio Station WQBA, 731 So. 2d 638, 642 (Fla. 1999); Houdaille Industries, Inc. v. Edwards, 374 So. 2d 490, 493 (Fla. 1979)

First District: Heapy Engineering, LLP v. Pure Lodging, Ltd., 849 So.2d 424, 425 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003)

Second District: Welch v. Complete Care Corp., 818 So. 2d 645, 649 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002)

Third District: National Beverage Corp. v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 736 So. 2d 143, 144 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)

Fourth District: Zeiger Crane Rentals, Inc. v. Double A Indus., Inc., 16 So.3d 907, 911 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009).

Fifth District: Horowitz v. Laske, 855 So. 2d 169, 174 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003)

Florida Federal Courts

Southern District: Arnold M. Ganz Residual Trust v. Growthink Sec., Inc., 2010 WL 146847, *2 (S.D. Fla. Jan. 11, 2010).

Eleventh Circuit: Foley v. Luster, 249 F.3d 1281, 1288 (11th Fla. Cir. 2001)

Middle District: Fidelity & Guar. Ins. Co. v. Ford Motor Co., __ F.Supp.2d __, 2010 WL 1627288, *10 (M.D. Fla. April 20, 2010).

Northern District: Kesslak v. Tower Hill Preferred Ins. Co., 2009 WL 3161808, *2 (N.D. Fla. Sept. 28, 2009).

[2] Defenses to Claim for Breach of Indemnification

(1) Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.110(d) (pleading affirmative defenses), and other standard defenses. See § 60.

(2) Statute of Limitations: § 95.11(3)(p), Fla. Stat. (four years); see also Dominion of Canada v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, 754 So. 2d 852, 855 (Fla.2^nd DCA 2000)(citations omitted). The statute does not begin to run until the Plaintiff discharges the duty owed by the defendant. E.g., Attorneys’ Title Ins. Fund, Inc. v. Punta Gorda Isles, Inc., 547 So. 2d 1250, 1252 (Fla. 2^nd DCA 1989)

(3) A party seeking indemnity must be without fault. Houdaille Indust., Inc. v. Edwards, 374 So. 2d 490, 493 (Fla. 1979).