Alford v. Major
| Citation | 470 F.2d 132 |
| Decision Date | 14 November 1972 |
| Docket Number | No. 71-1379.,71-1379. |
| Parties | Oreathel ALFORD, Administratrix of the ESTATE of Ezell ALFORD, Plaintiff, v. Hugh MAJOR d/b/a Hugh Major Truck Lines, Defendant-Appellant, and Carriers, Inc., Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit) |
Edmond J. Leeney and Carl N. Carpenter, Hammond, Ind., for appellant.
Charles G. Bomberger and Peter C. Bomberger, Hammond, Ind., for appellee.
Before SWYGERT, Chief Judge, SPRECHER, Circuit Judge, and CAMPBELL, Senior District Judge.*
This appeal arises out of a wrongful death action brought by the plaintiff against the defendant-appellant Hugh Major Truck Lines (hereafter "Major") and the defendant-appellee Carriers, Inc. (hereafter "Carriers"). The plaintiff's decedent was killed when his car was struck by a truck being operated under a trip lease wherein Carriers was the lessor and Major was the lessee. Carriers had furnished to Major both its truck as well as its driver, a Gary Forrer, whose negligence was the proximate cause of the accident. The truck was being operated at the time under an Interstate Commerce Commission (hereafter "ICC") permit held by Major. The wrongful death action was settled as against both defendants in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars. The trip lease provided that Carriers was to indemnify Major from losses suffered by Major because of third party claims brought against Major as a result of the negligence of the driver furnished by Carriers. By way of a cross claim Major attempted to enforce the indemnification clause in the trip lease against Carriers. Carriers contended that the indemnification clause was unenforceable as a matter of law because it violated the public policy expressed in the Interstate Commerce Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder. After the facts had been stipulated to by the parties, both defendants moved for summary judgment on Major's cross claim. The district court, 314 F.Supp. 979, entered summary judgment in favor of Carriers, finding that the indemnification clause was unenforceable. Major has appealed.
To place this case in its proper context a brief review of the ICC's control and regulation of truck leasing practices is necessary. A more comprehensive unfolding of this history can be found in the Supreme Court's opinion in American Trucking Associations v. United States, 344 U.S. 298, 73 S.Ct. 307, 97 L.Ed. 337 (1952), wherein the Supreme Court sustained the validity of the ICC's regulations governing these practices. For some time prior to 1953, the effective date of these regulations, the ICC's regulatory system was of a limited nature and as a result a practice whereby authorized carriers used non-owned equipment developed and became widespread. The practice took one of two forms, the interchange or the trip lease. Through the device of interchange two or more certified carriers would provide for through travel of a load in order to merge the advantages of certification to serve different areas. Trip leasing involved the use of exempted equipment in authorized carrier operations.
During the Commission hearings on these practices, which first commenced in 1948, it became apparent that these practices had a substantial impact on the regulatory scheme of the Interstate Commerce Act, the public interest in necessary and safe service as well as the economic stability of the industry. Truck leasing, either in the form of an interchange or a trip lease, raised numerous problems. Oral leases were commonly used, for example, thus creating a difficulty in fixing the lessee's responsibility for accidents. Sanctions for the violation of geographical restrictions were difficult to impose since the driver of exempted equipment was not an employee of the authorized carrier. Commission safety requirements were commonly overlooked. Since most of these leases extended for the period of one trip only, the leasing carriers often failed to inspect the equipment used or to extend the supervision of rest periods, doctor's certificates, brakes, lights, tires, steering equipment and...
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...258, 261 (2nd Cir.1991); Empire Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 868 F.2d at 362; Alford v. Major, 314 F.Supp. 979, 983 (N.D.Ind.1970), aff'd, 470 F.2d 132 (1972); Wirtz, 260 F.Supp. at 243; Graham v. Malone Freight Lines, Inc., 948 F.Supp. 1124, 1132 (D.Mass.1996), clarified on reconsid., 43 F.Supp......
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