Wilder Corporation of Delaware v. Thompson Drainage and Levee District

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment in action under common law indemnity theory alleging that defendant was required to reimburse plaintiff for damages it incurred when third-party purchaser of plaintiff’s land successfully sued plaintiff for environmental cleanup costs where: (1) in contract with third-party, plaintiff breached warranty that land would be free from contamination; and (2) plaintiff alleged that defendant was source of said contamination. Plaintiff cannot invoke non-contractual indemnity to shift risk that it assumed in contract for sale of land, and plaintiff could have protected itself by including in land contract subrogation clause that would have allowed plaintiff to step in third-party’s shoes as plaintiff in subsequent nuisance lawsuit against defendant to recoup instant cleanup costs.