Teweleit v. Hartford Life & Acci ( 1996 )

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 95-20957
VICTORIA TEWELEIT,
Plaintiff,
versus
HARTFORD LIFE & ACCIDENT
INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant-Cross Defendant-
Cross Claimant-Counter
Defendant-Appellee,
versus
THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL GROUP
BENEFITS RISK POOL,
Defendant-Cross Claimant-
Cross Defendant-Counter
Claimant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
(CA-H-91-171)
June 26, 1996
Before HIGGINBOTHAM, WIENER, and PARKER, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
We are not persuaded that Hartford owes indemnity to TML.
*
Pursuant to Local Rule 47.5, the court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in Local Rule 47.5.4.
Common law indemnity in Texas is narrowly limited to those
situations involving vicarious liability or an innocent retailer.
Bonniwell v. Beech Aircraft Corp., 663 S.W.2d 816, 819-20 (Tex.
1984). TML's liability to Victoria Teweleit does not fit within
either category. To the contrary, TML's liability to Teweleit was
independent of Hartford's.
Similarly, we are not persuaded that Hartford owes TML
indemnity under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. See Tex.
Bus. & Com. Code Ann. § 17.555. Section 17.555 incorporates
existing principles of contribution and indemnity law, including
the limitation to situations involving vicarious liability and the
innocent retailer, into DTPA cases. See Plas-Tex, Inc. v. U.S.
Steel Corp., 772 S.W.2d 442, 446 (Tex. 1989). Neither Swafford v.
View-Caps Water Supply Corp., 617 S.W.2d 674 (Tex. 1981), nor Saenz
Motors v. Big H Auto Auction, Inc., 653 S.W.2d 521 (Tex. Civ. App.-
-Corpus Christi 1983), aff'd, 665 S.W.2d 756 (Tex. 1984), are to
the contrary. Since TML is not entitled to common law indemnity,
it is not entitled to DTPA indemnity.
AFFIRMED.
2