Payne Plumbing & Heating Co. v. Bob McKiness Excavating & Grading, Inc.

LARSON, Justice.

Problems with a construction project on the campus of Northern Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) in Mason City, Iowa, resulted in a lawsuit and a procedural free-for-all, among the contractors, over the apportionment of damages. These issues are raised: (1) whether the alleged negligence of two parties who had been directed out of the suit should have been considered by the jury in fixing the percentages of negligence under Iowa Code chapter 668; (2) whether one of the subcontractors was entitled to indemnity from another under the active-passive negligence principle; (3)…