JOHN W. ESHELMAN & SONS, INC., AND TRAVELERS INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLANTS,
v.
SEABOARD COAST LINE RAILROAD COMPANY, AND JAMES W. HICKS AND CATHERINE HICKS, HIS WIFE, APPELLEES
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
This case interprets an indemnity agreement in a commercial lease dispute. The court upheld a broad indemnity clause requiring Eshelman to indemnify Seaboard Railroad for injuries caused by Seaboard's negligence, finding the language clear and unequivocal in expressing intent to indemnify against the indemnitee's own negligence.
The court held that the indemnity clause is clear and unequivocal and therefore enforceable. The clause requires Eshelman to indemnify Seaboard for damages regardless of the extent of Seaboard's negligence, including negligence that directly caused Hicks's injury.
[1] An indemnity agreement will be upheld to indemnify against the indemnitee's negligence only if it expresses such intent in clear and unequivocal terms.
[2] An indemnity provision obligating a party to indemnify for damages regardless of the extent of the indemnitee's negligence is sufficiently clear and unequivocal.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A contract which attempts to relieve a party of its own negligence will only be upheld if it expresses an intent to indemnify against the indemnitee's negligence in clear and unequivocal terms.”
Establishes the legal standard for enforceability of indemnity clauses covering a party's own negligence
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJames Hicks, an Eshelman employee, was injured while unloading animal feed from a boxcar on a sidetrack leased from Seaboard Railroad. Hicks alleged t…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Indemnity Agreement Interpretation cases and more on FLexlaw
GRIMES, Acting Chief Judge.
This appeal involves the interpretation of an indemnity agreement.
James Hicks, an Eshelman employee, sued Seaboard for injuries which he received while unloading bags of animal feed from a boxcar located on a sidetrack used to service Eshelman’s plant. He alleged that the accident occurred through the negligence of Seaboard when the boxcar on which he was standing was struck by another boxcar. Seaboard filed a third-party complaint against Eshelman and its insurer, Travelers, relying upon an indemnity provision contained in Seaboard’s lease to Eshel-man of the sidetrack on which the accident occurred. The court entered a partial summary judgment holding Eshelman and Travelers contractually liable for any liability of Seaboard to Hicks. Eshelman and Travelers appeal this nonfinal order which determined the issue of liability in favor of a party seeking affirmative relief. Fla.R. App.P. 9.130(a)(3)(C)(iv).
The indemnity provision at issue reads as follows:
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 8 or any other provision hereof, by reason of the additional hazard created by said structures and in consideration of the Lessor agreeing, notwithstanding such hazard, to operate with its equipment and employees over said Track No. 29, the Lessee shall and does hereby assume responsibility for and agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Lessor, its successors and assigns, from and against all loss, costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, claims, suits and judgments whatsoever in connection with injury to or death of any person or persons or loss of or damage to property, including property of the Lessee, caused by or in any way connected with the installation, maintenance, use, operation or presence of said structures, or removal thereof, whether resulting from the operation of engines or cars on said Track No. 29 or from any cause whatsoever, and whether such injury, death, loss or damage results from negligence of Lessor, its agents or otherwise.
A contract which attempts to relieve a party of its own negligence will only be upheld if it expresses an intent to indemnify against the indemnitee’s negligence in clear and unequivocal terms. University Plaza Shopping Center, Inc. v. Stewart, 272 So. 2d 507 (Fla.1973). Eshelman argues that the indemnity clause is not clear and unequivocal because it does not purport to relieve Seaboard from liability as a result of its “sole” negligence. We disagree. A common sense reading of this provision leaves no doubt that Eshelman would be obligated to indemnify Seaboard for damages regardless of the extent to which Seaboard was negligent. See Joseph L. Rozier Machinery Co. v. Nilo Barge Line, Inc., 318 So. 2d 557 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975), upholding a similar indemnity provision. Cf. L. Luria & Son, Inc. v. Alarmtec International Corp., 384 So. 2d 947 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980); Middleton v. Lomaskin, 266 So. 2d 678 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972), sustaining exculpatory clauses containing comparable language.
AFFIRMED.
SCHEB and CAMPBELL, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Guerrero v. City of Coral Gables (S.D. Fla. 2021)
Authorities Cited
- Univ. Plaza Shopping Ctr., Inc. v. Stewart, 272 So. 2d 507 (Fla. 1973)
- Middleton v. Lomaskin, 266 So. 2d 678 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972)
- L. Luria & SON, Inc. v. Alarmtec Int'l Corp., 384 So. 2d 947 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980)
- Joseph L. Rozier Mach. Co. & Cont'l Cas. Co. v. Nilo Barge Line, Inc., 318 So. 2d 557 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975)