Common-Law Indemnification Unavailable to Defendant Seeking a Recovery for its Own Wrongdoing

On November 30, 2018, Justice Sherwood of the New York County Commercial division issued a decision in Board of Mgrs. of the 650 Sixth Ave. Condominium v. K-W 650 Assoc. LLC, 2018 NY Slip Op. 33050(U), holding the common-law indemnification was not available to a defendant seeking a recovery for its own wrongdoing, explaining:

[C]ommon-law indemnification is unavailable where the direct claims against a defendant seek recovery for defendant's own wrongdoing. The motion must be granted dismissing the second cross-claim as against GACE.

We frequently litigate issues relating to the advancement or indemnification of litigation expenses such as attorneys' fees to corporate officers, directors and employees. Such litigation involves both statutory law and parsing the terms of employment agreements and corporate documents. Less common in commercial litigation are claims for common law indemnification or contribution. Contact Schlam Stone & Dolan partner John Lundin at jlundin@schlamstone.com if you or a client have questions regarding a situation where you may be held liable for someone else's negligence.