LINPRO FLORIDA INC., APPELLANT,
v.
RICHARD ALMANDINGER AND MEISNER ELECTRIC INC. OF FLORIDA, APPELLEES

Fla. 4th DCA | 1992-08-12
No. 91-3307
GLICKSTEIN, C.J., and OWEN, WILLIAM C., Jr., Senior Judge, concur.
603 So. 2d 666 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1992) Caution
Cited by 17 cases

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Synopsis

Linpro Florida Inc. appealed the dismissal of its third-party complaint seeking contractual and common law indemnification against Meisner Electric Inc. The court reversed the dismissal, holding that a defendant may plead indemnification claims even when the third party's liability depends on the jury's resolution of factual questions in the main claim.


Holding

A defendant may plead contractual and common law indemnification claims against a third party even when the third party's liability to indemnify turns on the jury's precise resolution of the main claim. The words 'or may be liable' in Rule 1.180(a) were intended to cover situations where indemnification liability depends on the jury's findings.


Headnotes

[1] A defendant may bring a third-party claim for indemnification at any time after the commencement of the action if the third party is or may be liable for all or part of t…

[2] A motion to dismiss a third-party complaint for indemnification is premature if the third party's liability depends on the resolution of factual issues in the main claim.

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Key Quotes

“At any time after the commencement of the action a defendant may have a summons and complaint served on a person not a party to the action who is or may be liable to the defendant for all or part of the plaintiff's claim against the defendant”

The court interpreted Rule 1.180(a) to permit third-party claims where liability is contingent on factual determinations

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Facts & Procedural History

Linpro Florida Inc. was sued and filed a third-party complaint against Meisner Electric Inc., seeking indemnification under a contract between them. T…

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Opinion of the Court
FARMER, Judge.

FARMER, Judge.

We reverse to allow the defendant to plead a third party claim for both contractual and common law indemnity. The trial court dismissed appellant’s third party claim seeking indemnification under all theories. While we agree with the trial court that Linpro’s claim for indemnification under the release did not state a cause of action, we cannot agree that the contractual and common law indemnification theories were equally misplaced. Thus we reverse the dismissal and remand for further proceedings.

The apparent basis for the trial court's dismissal of the third party claim for contractual indemnification on pleading grounds under rule 1.140(b)(6) was that the jury may ultimately resolve plaintiff’s claim against Linpro by finding it actively, rather than merely passively, negligent. That is certainly true, but it is entirely irrelevant to whether Linpro should be al lowed to plead contractual indemnification against Meisner’s negligence, if that instead be the jury’s finding.

Rule 1.180(a), Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, says:

At any time after the commencement of the action a defendant may have a summons and complaint served on a person not a party to the action who is or may be liable to the defendant for all or part of the plaintiff’s claim against the defendant * * *. [e.s.]

The words “or may be” were undeniably intended to cover the situation, as here, where the third party’s indemnification liability turns on the jury’s precise resolution of the main claim. Meisner’s contract with Linpro requires Meisner to indemnify Lin-pro for Meisner’s negligence but not for Linpro’s own fault.1 Hence Linpro is entitled to recover from Meisner if the jury finds Linpro passively negligent and Meis-ner actively so.

This conclusion is essentially identical to the holding in L.M. Duncan & Sons Inc. v. City of Clearwater, 478 So. 2d 816 (Fla.1985), where the court said:

[Duncan’s] first point is that the City cannot seek indemnification under the contractual provision because the plaintiff sued the City for its sole negligence in allegedly reopening an unsafe construction site. The City counters that a motion to dismiss a complaint may not serve as a vehicle to resolve issues of fact. Conceding that it would not be able to seek indemnification if found actively negligent, the City argues that it is Duncan that is actively negligent and the City is, at most, passively negligent. We agree with the City that dismissal of the third party complaint was premature.

478 So. 2d at 817-18. We are simply unable to distinguish Linpro’s position in this case with the City’s position in Duncan. It seems clear to us that Linpro should be allowed to plead its contractual and common law indemnification claims. Whether it will prevail on them is not for us to say now.

REVERSED.

GLICKSTEIN, C.J., and OWEN, WILLIAM C., Jr., Senior Judge, concur. . The use of the phrase "in whole or in part" in the indemnification provision in the contract also can be read to allow Linpro to seek indemnification from Meisner for Linpro’s own negligence. We agree with Meisner that, if the intention of the drafter was to allow Linpro to collect for its own negligence from the contractor, then the provision is unenforceable to that extent because it does not comply with section 725.06, Florida Statutes (1991). The provision is enforceable, however, to recover for Meisner’s fault.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Gortz v. Lytal, 769 So. 2d 484 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)
    …defendant’s third-party complaint for indemnity against an attorney for malpractice did not state a cause of action because Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.180 provides the basis for the defendant’s indemnity action); see also Linpro Florida Inc. v. Almandinger, 603 So. 2d 666 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992) (reversing to allow third-party claim for indemnity based on “or may be” language of Rule 1.180); Century Utils., Inc. v. Palm Beach County, 458 So. 2d 1178, 1180 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984) (allowing a third-party claim in section 120.6…
  • Safecare Med. Ctr. v. Donald C. Howard, D.O., 670 So. 2d 1020 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)
    …party claims for indemnity at the beginning of a lawsuit. Seaboard Coast Line R. Co. v. Brown, 297 So. 2d 843 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974); Central Truck Lines, Inc. v. White Motor Corp., 316 So. 2d 579 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975); Linpro Florida, Inc. v. Almandinger, 603 So. 2d 666 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992). This liberality fulfills a purpose of Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.180, to bring all interested parties into the same action. Seaboard, 297 So. 2d at 843. The cases also recognize that a third party plaintiff should not be…
  • REA v. Barton Protective Servs., Inc., 660 So. 2d 772 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)
    …rs Ltd. v. J.J. Gumberg Co., 611 So. 2d 55 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992). In addition, the cases cited by the majority do not necessarily support the position that the summary judgment in this case was prematurely granted. Linpro Florida Inc. v. Almandinger, 603 So. 2d 666 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992), was a case involving the granting of a motion to dismiss based solely on the pleadings. Jerome Nagelbush, Inc. v. Frank J. Rooney, Inc., 342 So. 2d 121 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977), involved a summary judgment in favor of third-party liab…
    1 / 2

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