Appellate Law

Eleventh Circuit Certifies Two Indemnity Questions to Alabama Supreme Court

Before it will decide an appeal from a summary judgment in Ohio Casualty Ins. Co. v. Holcim, No. 07-15931 (11th Cir. Nov. 17, 2008), an action in which the plaintiff seeks indemnity under the terms of a supply agreement for a settlement payment in an underlying personal injury action, the Eleventh Circuit has certified two questions about Alabama indemnity law to the Alabama Supreme Court pursuant to Rule 18 of the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure.  "When substantial doubt exists about the answer to a material state law question upon which the case turns, a federal court should certify that question to the state supreme court to avoid making unnecessary state law guesses and to offer the state court the opportunity to explicate state law . . . Only  a state supreme court can provide what we can be assured are 'correct' answers to state law questions, because a state's highest court is the one true and final arbiter of state law."  Id. (citations omitted).  

The Eleventh Circuit has asked the Alabama Supreme Court to explain whether, under Alabama law, "an indemnitee may enforce an indemnification provision and recover damages from an indemnitor resulting from the combined or concurrent fault or negligence of the indemnitee and indemnitor," and whether "a court may look behind (or beyond) the pleadings (in particular, the complaint) of an underlying tort action in determining the application of an indemnification provision between an indemnitor and an indemnitee?"

Full post as published by Alabama Appellate Watch on December 05, 2008 (boomark / email).