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Gainsco Insurance Co. v. Amoco Production Co.8/19/2002
the Worker's Compensation Law [§§ 27-14-101 through 27- 14-805] of this state. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 30-1-131.
The agreements meant to be covered by the statute are defined in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 30-1-132 (LexisNexis 2001):
The term "agreement pertaining to any well for oil, gas, or water, or mine for any mineral" as used in section 1 hereof [§ 30-1-131], means any agreement or understanding, written or oral, concerning any operations related to drilling, deepening, reworking, repairing, improving, testing, treating, perforating, acidizing, logging, conditioning, altering, plugging, or otherwise rendering services in or in connection with any well drilled for the purpose of producing or disposing of oil, gas or other minerals, or water, and designing, excavating, constructing, improving, or otherwise rendering services in or in connection with any mine shaft, drift, or other structure intended for use in the exploration for or production of any mineral, or an agreement to perform any portion of any such work or services or any act collateral thereto, including the furnishing or rental of equipment, incidental transportation, and other goods and services furnished in connection with any such service or operation.
[ ] This Court has found these statutes do not violate equal protection or freedom to contract precepts, and has found their unambiguous intent is to "void and make unenforceable any agreement to the extent that it seeks to indemnify an indemnitee for his own negligence--regardless of the character of the negligence sought to be protected." Mountain Fuel Supply Co. v. Emerson, 578 P.2d 1351, 1357 (Wyo. 1978). In interpreting "' he catchall phrase, "rendering services . . . in connection with any well," [meaning] activities . . . closely related to well drilling,'" we have held that the statute rendered void a unit operating agreement to the extent that it required non-negligent interest owners to indemnify the operator for the operator's own negligence. Bolack v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., 963 P.2d 237, 241 (Wyo. 1998) (quoting Reliance Ins. Co. v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., 713 P.2d 766, 770 (Wyo. 1986)). Similarly, we have found that a written contract to perform work on oil field pumping units was covered by Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 30-1-131, so the portion of the contract providing indemnity for a party's own negligence was void. Cities Service Co., 705 P.2d at 329. On the other hand, we have concluded that the digging of pits to collect waste fluids from a fire at a separation plant is not "rendering services in or in connection with an well . . .." Reliance Ins. Co., 713 P.2d at 769. " ervices or activities having a remote or indirect connection to the kinds of services enumerated" in the statute are not covered. Id. at 770.
[ ] An agreement containing a provision violative of the anti-indemnity statute is not void and unenforceable in total, but only to the extent that it violates the statute. Cities Service Co., 705 P.2d at 329. Further, indemnification is not prohibited except for the indemnitee's own negligence. Hull v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., 812 F.2d 590, 592 (10 th Cir. 1987); Heckart v. Viking Exploration, Inc., 673 F.2d 309, 312 (10 th Cir. 1982). Consequently, the statute is not applicable when the indemnitee is not negligent but is liable only under the respondeat superior theory. Heckart, 673 F.2d at 312. The statute is consonant with the public policy of workplace safety that underlies the concept of implied indemnity discussed above.
The result of this case furthers two important public policies. The first and most important is the freedom of persons to contract for legitimate and proper purposes. The second is a policy which encourages safety in th
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