Opinion ID: 1192606
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: city of portland's cross-claim

Text: The state contends that the circuit court in Morgan erred in granting the City of Portland's motion for summary judgment on the City's cross-claim for indemnity. We agree. The state is not obligated to indemnify the City of Portland for any damages, including attorney fees, that the City is required to pay the Morgan plaintiffs. The legislature has not, outside the context of a tort claim, authorized an indemnity action by a political subdivision against the state, and courts are not empowered to expand the legislature's chosen indemnification policies by exposing the state, in its sovereign capacity, to liabilities that it has not expressly undertaken. Accordingly, we hold that the circuit court erred in Morgan in granting the City of Portland's motion for summary judgment and in denying the state's motion for summary judgment on the City's cross-claim for indemnification.