KRESSLEY-DAVIS, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
WINN-DIXIE STORES, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1976-12-07
No. 75-1712
Before BARKDULL, C. J., and PEARSON and HAVERFIELD, JJ.
340 So. 2d 501 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1976) Positive Treatment
Cited by 5 cases

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Holding

The jury's finding of no negligence by Kressley-Davis is supported by the evidence, and the subsequent court holding against Kressley-Davis is not.


Headnotes

[1] A contractual indemnification clause may require a party to indemnify the other party for losses arising from the indemnitor's activities, even if the loss was caused in…

[2] A general public liability agreement can be interpreted to require indemnification for claims arising from the presence or activity of the indemnitor's employees or agent…

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Facts & Procedural History

A jury found Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. negligent but found Kressley-Davis, Inc. not negligent. Subsequently, the court entered a judgment against Kressl…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

This appeal has been perfected by Kress-ley-Davis, Inc. to review the final judgment finding that appellee Winn-Dixie Stores is entitled to contractual indemnification from Kressley-Davis.

Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. contracted with appellant Kressley-Davis, Inc. to remodel one of its stores. Subsequently the parties entered into a “General Public Liability Agreement” which contained the following provision:

“In consideration of your permitting us or our servants, agents, employees and representatives from time to time to enter upon or to place or maintain equipment upon premises owned or controlled by you for the purpose of servicing our account, we agree to indemnify and hold you harmless from any claim or loss arising in any manner out of the presence or activity of the undersigned or any of our servants, agents, employees and representatives or out of the presence of such equipment, when such persons or equipment are on your premises for the purpose of performing services, delivering or displaying goods or otherwise transacting business or dealing with you in the interest or on behalf of the undersigned and not withstanding such accident or damage may have been caused in whole or part or negligence of you or any of your servants, agents or employees.” [Emphasis Supplied]

While the store was being remodeled, plaintiff Adeline Braik slipped and fell on a piece of peg board in the store’s parking lot. She filed an action against Winn-Dixie and Kressley-Davis to recover damages for the injuries sustained from her fall and charged both of them with having negligently caused and allowed building materials and other debris to accumulate and remain along the sidewalk and other areas around the store. Winn-Dixie filed a cross-claim for indemnity against Kressley-Davis based upon the above agreement. The cross-claim was reserved for post trial determination by the court. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Ms. Braik and against Winn-Dixie. Thereafter, the court entered a final judgment for Winn-Dixie on its cross-claim based upon the General Public Indemnity Agreement. Kressley-Davis appeals.

Under the terms of the agreement set out above, it is clear that Kressley-Davis agreed to indemnify Winn-Dixie from any claim or loss arising in any manner out of the activity of Kressley-Davis on Winn-Dixie’s premises, even if such claim or loss may have been caused in whole or in part by the negligence of Winn-Dixie or its employees. Thus, the trial judge was eminently correct in finding as a matter of law and fact that Winn-Dixie was entitled to contractual indemnification from Kressley-Davis under the terms of the indemnity agreement. See Maule Industries, Inc. v. Central Rigging & Con. Corp., 323 So. 2d 631 (Fla.3d DCA 1975).

Affirmed.

Dissent
PEARSON, Judge

PEARSON, Judge

(dissenting).

At the trial of the issue of negligence between the plaintiff and the defendants, a final judgment based upon a jury verdict was entered in favor of the plaintiffs against Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., and a final judgment in favor of Kressley-Davis, Inc., against the plaintiffs was also entered. It, therefore, appears that the jury determined that no negligence of Kressley-Davis, Inc., contributed to plaintiff’s injury. The evidence fully supports such a holding.

A subsequent holding by the court that the accident arose out of “the presence or activity of the undersigned [Kressley-Davis] or any of our servants, agents, employees and representatives or out of the presence of such equipment, when such persons or equipment are on your premises . . . ” is not supported by the evidence in this cause.

I would, therefore, hold that the judgment against Kressley-Davis is not supported by the evidence on this record. Cf. University Plaza Shopping Center v. Stewart, Inc., 272 So. 2d 507 (Fla.1973).


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Citator

Cited By

  • ALL Clean Bldg. Maint., Inc. v. Winn Dixie Stores, Inc., 655 So. 2d 1316 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)
    …PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Winn Dixie Stores, Inc. v. D & J Constr. Co., 633 So. 2d 65 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994); Kressley-Davis, Inc. v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., 340 So. 2d 501 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976).…
  • Winn Dixie Stores, Inc. v. D & J Constr. Co., 633 So. 2d 65 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)
    …the claim made against Winn Dixie upon which it was seeking contractual indemnity from D & J. See John W. Eshelman & Sons, Inc. v. Seaboard Coast Line R. Co., 431 So. 2d 345 (Fla. 2d [*66] DCA 1983); Kressley-Davis, Inc. v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., 340 So. 2d 501 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976); Joseph L. Rozier Machinery Co. v. Nilo Barge Line, Inc., 318 So. 2d 557 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975). In this case the indemnity agreement covered “any claim or loss arising in any manner out of the presence or activity of [D & J] or any…
  • …ernational, N.V. v. Miami Elevator Company, Inc., 573 So. 2d 921, 922 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990); John W. Eshelman & Sons, Inc. v. Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Company, 431 So. 2d 345, 346 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); Kressley-Davis, Inc. v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., 340 So. 2d 501, 502 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976); On Target, Inc. v. Allstate Floridian Ins. Co., 23 So. 3d 180, 185 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)). Coral Gables need not plead the validity of the indemnification clause at this stage of the proceedings. See Osorio v. State Farm Ban…
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