Opinion ID: 2109848
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: the club's third-party action for indemnification.

Text: The club's third-party action contains two counts against Consolidated, one claiming breach of contract and one claiming negligence, and one count against Industrial claiming negligence. The club claims that the admission in evidence against it of Dr. Floe's testimony and of certain sections of the window cleaning safety regulations was prejudicial error in its third-party action. Since we have previously disposed of these claims in relation to the plaintiff's tort action, we do not consider them again here. The only separate issue the club raises with respect to the third-party action is whether the judge erred in refusing to admit certain sections of the safety regulations against the two third-party defendants, presumably as bearing on the issue of whether they were negligent. The club attempted to introduce in evidence four sections of the regulations. The first was merely a general statement that [n]o employer, owner, agent, manager or tenant shall permit window cleaning to be done except in accordance with the regulations. The other three related to the installation and design of anchor bolts and had no application to persons or parties not in control of the property. They were therefore irrelevant to the club's actions against Consolidated and Industrial and were properly excluded. Since the jury found that the club was itself negligent, [7] it is not entitled to indemnification from either Consolidated or Industrial. Indemnity is permitted only when one does not join in the negligent act but is exposed to derivative or vicarious liability for the wrongful act of another. Stewart v. Roy Bros. Inc. 358 Mass. 446, 459 (1970). Ford v. Flaherty, 364 Mass. 382, 385-386 (1973). Given the jury's findings, it is immaterial whether either consolidated or Industrial was negligent and it is therefore immaterial whether the regulations the club attempted to introduce as bearing on the two parties' alleged negligence were properly or improperly excluded. The verdict was properly entered against the club in the third-party action. Cf. Hollywood Barbecue Co. Inc. v. Morse, 314 Mass. 368, 369-370 (1943). Exceptions overruled.