Indemnity and Contribution

Indemnity obligations may be explicitly stated, or they may be implied on the basis of the respective roles played by the parties in the distribution or use of the product or substance. In addition to indemnification claims based upon actual judgments of liability, a party may also seek indemnification for expenditures undertaken in the good faith settlement of tort claims brought against it. Even before liability is found, where one codefendant was engaged in the same actions for which liability is sought as to another defendant, either defendant may claim a right to contribution from the other for a share of any proved liability. The distributor or retailer of a hazardous product will often seek indemnification from the manufacturer or producer of the product. A government contractor producing products at the behest of the government procurement authority may, when later found liable for alleged defects in the product, seek indemnification from the government.