Construction and Motor Carrier Transportation Anti-Indemnity Statutes Updated in Contractual Risk Transfer
This release of Contractual Risk Transfer (CRT)
contains an updated and expanded discussion of construction anti-indemnity statutes as
well as an updated discussion of
motor carrier transportation anti-indemnity statutes.
Construction anti-indemnity statutes define the scope of permissible
indemnity under the contract. It is important to remember that the scope of
such permissible indemnity differs by state. For example, certain construction
anti-indemnity statutes may prohibit the transfer of any liability attributable
to the indemnitee's negligence, or alternatively, such statutes may
prohibit only the transfer of liability arising from the indemnitee's sole
negligence. In addition, some construction anti-indemnity statutes limit the
ability of one contracting party to require additional insured status under the
other party's insurance policies. Learn more about construction anti-indemnity statutes,
including how courts interpret these statutes as well as the impact of
construction anti-indemnity statutes on insurance requirements in this
CRT release.
Indemnity provisions are routinely found in motor carrier transportation
contracts. However, shippers usually have more economic power than motor
carriers do and, therefore, have typically demanded that motor carriers
indemnify the shippers for any losses, claims, and damages arising out of the
services to be performed under the contract, even if the damages were caused by
the shipper's own negligence or intentional acts. Since the majority of
motor carriers are small entities with little negotiating power, such shifting
of liability was perceived by many in the transportation industry as
inequitable and ultimately led to the enactment of motor carrier transportation
anti-indemnity statutes by 46 states. This CRT release contains an
updated discussion of
motor carrier transportation anti-indemnity statutes, including updated
summaries of each state's motor carrier transportation anti-indemnity
statutes. States that do not have motor carrier transportation anti-indemnity
statutes are also noted.