Minnesota Statutes 604.21 – Indemnity Agreements in Design Professional Services Contracts Void
(a) A provision contained in, or executed in connection with, a design professional services contract is void and unenforceable to the extent it attempts to require an indemnitor to indemnify, to hold harmless, or to defend an indemnitee from or against liability for loss or damage resulting from the negligence or fault of anyone other than the indemnitor or others for whom the indemnitor is legally liable.
Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 604.21
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- state: extends to and includes the District of Columbia and the several territories. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
(b) For purposes of this section, “design professional services contract” means a contract under which some portion of the work or services is to be performed or supervised by a person licensed under section 326.02, and is furnished in connection with any actual or proposed maintenance of or improvement to real property, highways, roads, or bridges.
(c) This section does not apply to the extent that the obligation to indemnify, to hold harmless, or to defend an indemnitee is covered by insurance.
(d) This section does not apply to agreements referred to in section 337.03 or 337.04.
(e) A provision contained in, or executed in connection with, a design professional services contract for any actual or proposed maintenance of, or improvement to, real property, highways, roads, or bridges located in Minnesota that makes the contract subject to the laws of another state or requires that any litigation, arbitration, or other dispute resolution process on the contract occur in another state is void and unenforceable.
(f) This section supersedes any other inconsistent provision of law.