Opinion ID: 768108
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Amount of Indemnification

Text: 16 We next must determine the amount of indemnification to which BN is entitled. See Bellaire, 921 F.2d at 763. The indemnity clause provides that if any claim or liability, other than from fire, shall arise from the joint or concurring negligence of both parties hereto, it shall be borne by them equally. In Bellaire, we interpreted this language to mean that, even if an indemnity clause has been triggered, a railroad may only recover one-half of its liability if 'the [lessee] can prove that the railroad was negligent and its negligence contributed to the injury.' See 921 F.2d at 763 (quoting Hughes Brothers, 671 F.2d at 284). The district court concluded that BN was entitled to $200,000 in indemnification from Farmers Union, reasoning that this amount was proper even if BN was negligent because it represents one-half of the $400,000 that BN paid to Cahill. We agree with the court's conclusion, but not its reasoning. 17 The district court overlooked the fact that BN had already received $200,000 in indemnification from Rolla Grain prior to the commencement of BN's action against Farmers Union. Thus, the loss for which Farmers Union has an obligation to indemnify BN under the terms of the indemnity clause is no longer $400,000, but rather $200,000. We therefore believe that $200,000 is the maximum amount of indemnification that BN can recover from Farmers Union and that it is this amount that is subject to a one-half reduction if BN negligently contributed to cause the Cahill accident. To hold otherwise would permit BN to receive full indemnification--$200,000 from both Farmers Union and Rolla Grain--even if it were found to be negligent, a result inconsistent with the terms of the indemnity clause and the reasoning of Bellaire. See 921 F.2d at 763. 18 That being said, we nonetheless affirm the district court's award of $200,000 because the record contains insufficient evidence to support a finding that BN was negligent. It is well established that we can affirm the district court on any ground supported by the record, even if not relied upon by the district court. See Dominium Management Serv., Inc. v. Nationwide Housing Group, 195 F.3d 358, 367 (8th Cir. 1999); Monterey Dev. Corp. v. Lawyer's Title Ins., Corp., 4 F.3d 605, 608 (8th Cir. 1993). Here, neither the joint statement of facts, the stipulated record, nor Farmers Union's separate offer of proof puts forth evidence that indicates any negligence by BN. 19 Farmers Union points to the fact that BN may have violated the FSAA by permitting Rolla Grain to use a car with a defective brake and argues that this fact demonstrates BN's negligence. Even assuming that BN violated the FSAA, however, a violation of this statute does not, by itself, support a finding of negligence. See Colorado Milling & Elevator Co. v. Terminal R. Ass'n of St. Louis, 350 F.2d 273, 276 (8th Cir. 1965) ([T]he ruling of the Supreme Court conclusively indicates that a violation of the [FSAA] does not imply that negligence . . . was involved.) (citing several Supreme Court cases). In Colorado Milling, for example, we held that a railroad was entitled to full indemnification even though it had violated the FSAA by allowing a lessee to use a car with a defective brake. See id. at 277. We reasoned that the FSAA violation alone was not sufficient evidence of the railroad's negligence and that the lessee had not presented other evidence of negligence: it had not shown that the railroad could have detected the defective brake by inspection or that the defect arose prior to the railroad's delivery of the car to the lessee. See id. Farmers Union has similarly failed to present such evidence, or any other evidence tending to establish negligence on behalf of BN. Cf. Deans v. CSX Transp., Inc., 152 F.3d 326, 330 (4th Cir. 1998) (granting summary judgment on plaintiff's FELA claim because plaintiff introduced no evidence that railroad had notice of car's defective brake prior to the accident, or that railroad's inspection of car would have revealed the defect). 20 We therefore conclude that the record contains insufficient evidence to support a finding that BN was negligent regarding the Cahill accident. As a result, BN is entitled to $200,000 in indemnification from Farmers Union.