Seabed Harvesting, Inc. v. Department of Natural Resources

Seabed Harvesting, Inc., (Seabed) sued the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for negligence that caused property damage to Seabed’s boat. The questions on appeal are (1) whether Seabed was obligated to indemnify DNR and (2) whether Seabed breached a promise to procure liability insurance for DNR’s benefit. Answering no to the first but yes to the second, we direct that the complaint be dismissed.

On November 8,1996, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and Seabed Harvesting, Inc., formed a contract titled “Geoduck Harvesting Agreement.”1 Under the terms of…