Opinion ID: 2275449
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: DEGENER v. HALL CONTRACTING CORP.

Text: Adam Degener and Eagle Tye allegedly constructed a homemade bomb using dynamite stolen from Hall Contracting Corporation. On November 17, 1991, three police officers, Dawn Smith, Michael Johnson and Deborah Marasa, were injured when the bomb exploded while they were attempting to disarm it. On July 2, 1992, the officers filed suit against Hall Contracting in the Jefferson Circuit Court, alleging that Hall had negligently, carelessly and recklessly stored dynamite in a container which failed to meet industry standards in that the container storing said dynamite was not theft proof. On February 25, 1994, Hall was granted a summary judgment premised upon the so-called firefighter's rule. Sallee v. GTE South, Inc., Ky., 839 S.W.2d 277 (1992); Hawkins v. Sunmark Indus., Inc., Ky., 727 S.W.2d 397 (1986). The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded in an unpublished opinion which became final on December 14, 1995. On March 20, 1996, Hall Contracting filed a third-party complaint against Degener and Tye for indemnity for any amounts which it might be required to pay to the three injured officers. Tye was never served with process. Degener's subsequent motion to dismiss the third-party complaint was granted on the bases that: (1) the claim for indemnity was barred by the one-year statute of limitations applicable to personal injury actions, KRS 413.140(1)(a); and (2) the advent of comparative negligence and apportionment of fault has eliminated claims for common law indemnity except in a case of vicarious liability or where one party has contracted to be liable for the torts of another, citing Kevin Tucker & Assocs., Inc. v. Scott & Ritter, Inc., Ky.App., 842 S.W.2d 873 (1992). The Court of Appeals reversed as to both issues and remanded for a decision on the merits of Hall's indemnity claim. Hall has settled the claims filed against it by the three officers, so the only remaining issue is its indemnity claim against Degener.