Uniroyal Chemical Co., Inc. v. American Vanguard Corp.

Code of Civil Procedure* section 1021.6 permits a court, upon motion and after reviewing the evidence in the principal case, to award attorney’s fees to a person who prevails on a claim for implied indemnity. Before the court can make such an award, however, it must find that: (1) the indemnitee, in protection of its own interest, was required to bring or defend an action against a third party due to a tort of the indemnitor; (2) the indemnitor was properly notified of the demand to bring the action or to provide the defense and did not avail itself of the opportunity to act; and (3) the trier of fact determined the indemnitee was without fault in the principal case that serves as the basis for the indemnity action or that the indemnitee had a final judgment entered in his or her favor granting a summary judgment, a nonsuit, or a directed verdict.

In the present case, the appellants, Helena Chemical Company (Helena) and Leffingwell Chemical Company, a division of Uniroyal Incorporated (Leffingwell), along with the respondent, American Vanguard Corporation (Amvac), were codefendants in a lawsuit in which it was ultimately determined, inter alia, that respondent Amvac was…