Hanks

The appellant (a cross-defendant below) seeks to be relieved of a judgment rendered after a jury verdict on special interrogatories in favor of respondents (defendants and cross-complainants below) who theretofore, upon the granting of a motion for a directed verdict, had been held liable to the plaintiff upon an indemnity agreement. No appeal has been taken from the judgment in favor of the plaintiff, Insurance Company of North America, or from the judgment in favor of cross-defendant Clark E. Higgins.

Hanks, Conard & Sons, Inc. (Hanks Conard) a family corporation organized to perform construction work, contacted Carter & Higgins of California, Inc., a corporation (Carter & Higgins), through Clark E. Higgins (Higgins) an employee. Higgins held a special power of attorney authorizing him to issue contractors’ performance bonds in the name of Insurance Company of North America (INA). INA suffered a loss on a bond issued to Hanks Conard and brought suit for reimbursement from Hanks Conard and also from H. E. Hanks, his wife Dartha, Orbia Hanks and his wife, Carol, the four individuals having executed an indemnity agreement applicable to such a loss. None of the indemnitors carried…