Directed Execution of a Hold Harmless Agreement Upheld as Consistent With Arbitral Immunity Provided for by Law
In Indemnity Insurance Co. v. Mandell, 2006 N.Y. Slip Op. 04351, 2006 WL 1528926 (N.Y. App. Div. June 6, 2006), a New York Appeals Court affirmed an order directing execution of a hold harmless agreement requested by arbitrators.
The Court held that a hold harmless agreement, which gave the arbitrators “no more protection than they are already entitled to under the prevailing rule that arbitrators are immune from liability for acts performed in their arbitral capacity,” did not add a term to the arbitration agreement, but enforced a “necessarily implied obligation.”