Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Co. v. Florczyk
Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Co. v. Florczyk
Opinion of the Court
In 1981, as consideration for the issuance of certain construction performance bonds to a contractor, the surety required the principals of the contractor to enter into a General Agreement of Indemnity dated August 3, 1981, by which the indemnitors agreed to indemnify and save the surety harmless from all claims and expenses the surety might be required to pay as a result of executing the bonds. This General Agreement of Indemnity contains no provision for arbitration. Later the contractor encountered cash flow problems in connection with certain bonded projects as a result of which, at the request of the contractor and indemnitors, the surety advanced certain funds to evidence an agreement between the surety, the contractor, and the indemnitors relating to the surety advancing certain funds to enable the contractor to complete performance on certain bonded projects. The parties entered into an agreement dated December 30, 1985 in which agreement the contractor and the indemnitors reaffirmed their obligations under a General Agreement of Indemnity dated October 7, 1980.
The surety filed a law action basing its cause of action on the General Agreement of Indemnity dated August 3, 1981. The defendants filed a Notice of Intent to Arbitrate and Demand for Arbitration on the basis that the surety’s claim was based on the subsequent agreement which provided for arbitration. The trial court entered an
The order compelling arbitration is reversed and this cause is remanded for further proceedings.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
. We note, but do not understand, the inconsistency between the General Agreement of Indemnity dated August 3, 1981, which is in the record, and the reference in the subsequent agreement, dated December 30, 1983 to a General Agreement of Indemnity dated October 7, 1980.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.