IT Corp. v. Superior Court

This petition for writ of mandate involves the right under federal maritime law of a person sued for negligently inflicted personal injury to recover indemnity from the employer of the injured person, where the employer has fully satisfied the obligation imposed upon it by the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA). Specifically, the petition raises the issue of the applicability of the immunities provided in section 905, subdivisions (a) and (b), of the act to a subcontractor-employer of the injured person from whom the general contractor seeks indemnity when sued by the employee of the subcontractor.

Recognizing that the federal decisions are not consistent, we accept as better reasoned the rule of the cases, including those in the Ninth Circuit and in the California district courts, that extend a broad sweep to the immunities. Accordingly, we conclude that: (1) absent an express or implied contract of indemnity, the employer of a person injured in circumstances covered by the LHWCA has no liability to indemnify a third person sued by the employee for the same injury; and (2) the employer has established as a matter of law that there is not an…