Case Summaries
| Publication year | 1988 |
| Pages | 27 |
| Citation | Vol. 1 No. 1 Pg. 27 |
August, 1988
William D. Holyoak and Clark R. Nielsen, J.
Indemnity of Retailer for Costs and Attorney Fees in Products Liability Actions
A lawsuit was filed claiming damages from a defective airplane against, among others, the airplane's manufacturer and its retailer. After a settlement of the products liability action, the retailer sought its costs and attorney fees from the manufacturer based on a theory of implied indemnity. The trial court rejected the retailer's claim and granted summary judgment to the manufacturer.
On appeal, after acknowledging the separate lines of authority on the issue, the Utah Court of Appeals reversed and held:
We believe the better reasoned approach is to allow the recovery of attorney fees, costs, and expenses if the manufacturer produced a defective product or was an active wrongdoer, the retailer is free from active wrongdoing in the underlying products liability action, and the manufacturer has been given notice of the claim for indemnity.
The Court of Appeals remanded for a determination by the trial court whether (a) the manufacturer had produced a defective airplane, and (b) the retailer was an innocent "passive" link in the chain of commerce. If the answer to both of those questions is yes, then the court must apportion the retailer's attorney's fees, costs and expenses between the defense of the product defect claim and the defense of claims against the retailer of active negligence or breach of independent warranty. (Hanover Ltd. v. Cessna Aircraft Co., 85 Utah Adv. Rep. 19 (Ct. App. June 28, 1988)).
Priority of Homestead Exemption
Both the Utah Constitution and the Utah Code provide a homestead exemption. Section 78-23-3 of the Utah Code provides for an exemption equal to $8, 000 for a head of family, $2, 000 for a spouse and $500 for each dependent. The statute provides that a homestead shall be exempt from "judicial lien and from levy, execution, or forced sale, " subject to certain exceptions, including "[s]ecurity interests in the property and judicial liens for debts created for the purchase property price of such property."
A second mortgage on a residence was foreclosed after the owner of the property had filed a declaration of homestead in the amount of $11, 000. The foreclosure sale resulted in proceeds greater than the homestead and the homeowner demanded her $11, 000. After a lengthy discussion of the homestead provisions in the Utah Constitution and Code, the Supreme Court concluded that the quoted exception was "a constitutionally valid expression of the scope" of the homestead exemption and the "[s]ecurity interests in the property" was not modified by "created for the purchase price of such property." As a result, the Court concluded that "all consensual security interests in land may be enforced against homestead property, " and denied the homeowner's claim to any proceeds from the foreclosure sale. (P. I.E. Employees Federal Credit Union v. Bass, 83 Utah Adv. Rep. 10 (June 2, 1988)).
Renewal of Judgment Lien After Bankruptcy
Under Utah law, a judgment becomes a...
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