Tag Archives: severability

BAILOUT FOR AN IMPROPERLY DRAFTED INDEMNIFICATION PROVISION

Posted on by

shutterstock_1060051475A recent opinion came out that held that even though an indemnification provision in a subcontract was unenforceable per Florida Statute s. 725.06, the unenforceable portion is merely severed out of the indemnification clause leaving the rest of the clause intact.  In essence, an otherwise invalid indemnification clause is bailed out by this ruling (which does not even discuss whether this subcontract had a severability provision that states that if any portion of any provision in the subcontract is invalid, such invalid portion shall be severed and the remaining portion of the provision shall remain in full force and effect). 

 

This opinion arose from a construction defect case, CB Contractors, LLC v. Allens Steel Products, Inc.,43 Fla.L.Weekly D2773a (Fla. 5thDCA 2018), where the general contractor, sued by an association, flowed down damages to subcontractors based on the contractual indemnification provision in the subcontracts.  Subcontractors moved to dismiss the contractual indemnification claim because it was not compliant with Florida Statute s. 725.06.  The indemnification provision required the subcontractors to indemnify the general contractor even for the general contractors own partial negligence, but failed to specify a monetary limitation on the extent of the indemnification as required by Florida Statute s. 725.06.  (The indemnification clause in the subcontract was the standard intermediate form of indemnification that required the subcontractor to indemnify the general contractor for claims regardless of whether the claims were caused in part by the general contractor.) 

 

The trial court held that because the indemnification clause was unenforceable under Florida Statute s. 725.06, the general contractor’s contractual indemnification claims fail.   But, the appellate court reversed providing a bailout to an unenforceable indemnification clause by simply severing out the unenforceable portion. Thus, while a subcontractor would be required to indemnify the general contractor for its own negligence, it would not be required to indemnify the general contractor for any partial negligence caused by the general contractor.  

 

This case leads to a couple of very important takeaways:

 

  • Make sure the indemnification clauses in your construction contracts comply with Florida Statute s. 725.06.  Have a construction attorney review the indemnification provision.  Do not, and I mean, do not, bank on this ruling that even if the indemnification provision is noncompliant, only the unenforceable part will be severed.  That is not good practice.

 

  • Include a severability provision in your contract. Always.  Even though this case did not discuss such a clause, the clause will bolster the argument that only the unenforceable aspect of the provision should be severed. 

 

Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.

QUICK NOTE: UNENFORCEABLE LANGUAGE IN ARBITRATION PROVISION

Posted on by

imagesAlthough arbitration is a dispute resolution provision provided for in a contract, the scope of judicial review of an arbitrator’s award is still governed by law.  There are limited circumstances in which an arbitrator’s award can be challenged under the law.  One of those circumstances is not because a party believes that an arbitrator applied the incorrect law.  

 

In a recent construction case, discussed in more detail here, an arbitration provision provided that a party can essentially appeal/challenge an arbitrator’s award to the circuit court if the arbitrator applied the incorrect law.  The appellate court held this language was unenforceable because it attempted to expand the legal scope of judicial review of an arbitration award.  The issue, here, became more than just the unenforceable language but whether the entire arbitration clause should be deemed unenforceable.  In other words, the issue became whether the unenforceable language that expanded the scope of judicial review of an arbitration award could be severed from the provision such that the parties would still be required to arbitrate (hence, the importance of a severability provision in a contract) OR the entire arbitration provision should be deemed unenforceable.  This is a HUGE difference because in one instance the parties still can arbitrate absent the expanded scope of judicial review and in the other instance the arbitration clause is unenforceable in entirety and the parties would be required to litigate. 

 

Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.