SHB 1559 -
By Committee on Labor, Commerce & Consumer Protection
ADOPTED 02/28/2012
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"Sec. 1 RCW 4.24.115 and 2011 c 336 s 95 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) A covenant, promise, agreement, or understanding in, or in
connection with or collateral to, a contract or agreement relative to
the construction, alteration, repair, addition to, subtraction from,
improvement to, or maintenance of, any building, highway, road,
railroad, excavation, or other structure, project, development, or
improvement attached to real estate, including moving and demolition in
connection therewith, a contract or agreement for architectural,
landscape architectural, engineering, or land surveying services, or a
motor carrier transportation contract, purporting to indemnify,
including the duty and cost to defend, against liability for damages
arising out of such services or out of bodily injury to persons or
damage to property:
(a) Caused by or resulting from the sole negligence of the
indemnitee, his or her agents or employees is against public policy and
is void and unenforceable;
(b) Caused by or resulting from the concurrent negligence of (i)
the indemnitee or the indemnitee's agents or employees, and (ii) the
indemnitor or the indemnitor's agents or employees, is valid and
enforceable only to the extent of the indemnitor's negligence and only
if the agreement specifically and expressly provides therefor, and may
waive the indemnitor's immunity under industrial insurance, Title 51
RCW, only if the agreement specifically and expressly provides therefor
and the waiver was mutually negotiated by the parties. This subsection
applies to agreements entered into after June 11, 1986.
(2) As used in this section, a "motor carrier transportation
contract" means a contract, agreement, or understanding covering: (a)
The transportation of property for compensation or hire by the motor
carrier; (b) entrance on property by the motor carrier for the purpose
of loading, unloading, or transporting property for compensation or
hire; or (c) a service incidental to activity described in (a) or (b)
of this subsection, including, but not limited to, storage of property,
moving equipment or trailers, loading or unloading, or monitoring
loading or unloading. "Motor carrier transportation contract" shall
not include agreements providing for the interchange, use, or
possession of intermodal chassis, containers, or other intermodal
equipment."
SHB 1559 -
By Committee on Labor, Commerce & Consumer Protection
ADOPTED 02/28/2012
On page 1, line 2 of the title, after "professionals;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "and amending RCW 4.24.115."
EFFECT: Instead of creating new indemnity agreement
enforceability language for design professionals, the amendment adds
design professionals to existing statutory language restricting the use
of indemnity agreements. The main effects of this change are: 1)
applies the indemnity agreement restriction to all contracts for design
professional services instead of contracts with a state or local agency
for such services; 2) the SHB language states that an indemnity
provision is enforceable only to the extent of the design
professional's negligence, the striking amendment would provide that an
indemnity provision purporting to indemnify against damages caused by
the sole negligence of the indemnitee is unenforceable and in a
situation where the indemnitee and indemnitor share negligence the
indemnity provision is enforceable only to the extent of the
indemnitor's negligence.