Opinion ID: 1430936
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Judgment for Southern Pacific Against Rock

Text: Southern Pacific's claim for recovery over against Rock is based upon its claim that under its industrial track agreement with Rock the duty of maintaining the crossing was assumed by Rock and Rock's breach of this contract duty resulted in Cali's damages, for which Southern Pacific was compelled to pay. The portions of the industrial track agreement relevant to the consideration of this claim read as follows: 4. Railroad agrees to operate said track and to serve Industry thereon, subject to any lawful charges that may be made by Railroad for such service; said track shall be under full control of Railroad and may be used at discretion of Railroad for its business or for shipment or delivery of any freight, but not to the detriment of the business of the Industry.... 6. Industry hereby releases and discharges and agrees to indemnify and save harmless said Railroad, its agents, successors and assigns, from all liability for destruction of, or damage to any property of the Industry and any property in the possession or custody of Industry by fire, resulting directly or indirectly from the operation of said track by Railroad, its agents, successors or assigns.... 8. Railroad shall, at its own cost and expense, construct and thereafter maintain that portion of said track and its appurtenances extending from the point of initial switch thereof, where said track diverges from the track of Railroad, to the clearance point in the center line thereof, which said clearance point is thirteen (13) feet distant measured at right angles from the center line of the track from which said track diverges, and Industry shall, at its own cost and expense, construct and thereafter maintain the remaining portion of said track and its appurtenances. 9. In the event Industry fails, neglects or refuses to maintain the portion of said track and its appurtenances, which under the terms of this agreement it has agreed to maintain, in good condition and repair and to the satisfaction of Railroad for the operation of trains and cars thereon and thereover, Railroad may perform such work as may be necessary, at the expense of Industry, which expense Industry agrees to pay.... 11. In addition to and not in qualification of the provisions of Section 6 of this agreement, Industry hereby releases and discharges and agrees to indemnify and save harmless said Railroad, its agents, successors and assigns, from all liability resulting directly or indirectly from the operation over said track by Industry of its locomotive crane and/or any other equipment of Industry. It is admitted that by section 8 of the industrial track agreement Rock bound itself to maintain the portion of the spur track which was constructed upon and across the highway, including the area in which the accident to the Cali equipment occurred. It is Southern Pacific's theory, which was adopted by the trial court, that the breach of this contractual duty by Rock proximately and foreseeably led to the accident to the Cali truck and the necessity of Southern Pacific's responding in damages therefor. [9] Southern Pacific therefore argues that it is not an action for indemnification but rather a simple contract action for the damages proximately resulting to it from Rock's breach of the contract to maintain. But the cases in California upon which Southern Pacific relies have treated such an action based upon the violation of a contract duty to the plaintiff by the defendant which resulted in a tort judgment against the plaintiff by a third person as being upon a cause of action on an implied promise to indemnify ( De La Forest v. Yandle, 171 Cal. App.2d 59, 61-62 [340 P.2d 52]; San Francisco Unified Sch. Dist. v. California Bldg. etc. Co., 162 Cal. App.2d 434, 440, 449 [328 P.2d 785]) and the cases cited and discussed in the latter case (162 Cal. App.2d at pp. 444-448) indicate that courts generally, where they allow such an action, treat it as one for recovery on an implied promise to indemnify the promisee for damages which the promisee is compelled to pay because of the breach by the promisor of his express promise. Rock argues that there can be no implied promise here to indemnify Southern Pacific because the contract construed as a whole negatives the inference of such implied promise. In this we are satisfied that Rock is correct. [10] Where parties have entered into written engagements which industriously express the obligations which each is to assume, the courts should be reluctant to enlarge them by implication as to important matters. The presumption is that having expressed some they have expressed all of the conditions by which they intended to be bound. ( Foley v. Euless, 214 Cal. 506, 512 [6 P.2d 956]; Loyalton etc. Co. v. California etc. Co., 22 Cal. App. 75, 77 [133 P. 323].) [11a] The industrial track agreement contains two express provisions by which Rock agrees to indemnify Southern Pacific for Southern Pacific's liability for negligence, i.e., paragraphs 6 and 11. It expresses the obligation of indemnity in paragraph 11 to be [i]n addition to and not in qualification of the provisions of Section 6 of this agreement. Since the parties industriously expressed these provisions for indemnity, we should be reluctant to engage Rock in another separate and independent obligation of indemnity by implication. The contract itself in paragraph 9 thereof gave an express remedy to Southern Pacific by providing that if Rock failed in its duty of maintenance, Southern Pacific could itself do the necessary work at Rock's expense. [12] Finally Southern Pacific prepared the contract, and it is thus to be strictly construed against it. (Civ. Code, § 1654; Weil v. California Bank, 219 Cal. 538, 541 [27 P.2d 904]; Payne v. Neuval, 155 Cal. 46, 50 [99 P. 476].) [11b] It is reasonable to conclude that Southern Pacific, having carefully provided in express terms for indemnity for its own negligence in two particulars, would have likewise made express provision for indemnity against liability based on its negligent failure to maintain the spur track in proper condition if it had intended to bind Rock to such an obligation. The judgment in favor of the county of Alameda on the complaint is affirmed. The judgment in favor of Southern Pacific Company on its cross-complaint is reversed.