Expeditors International of Washington Inc. v. Hyundai Merchant Marine Company

Background

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. brought this action against Hyundai Merchant Marine Company, Ltd. (which the opinion calls “HMM”) seeking indemnity for any liability Expeditors might incur in a related action pending in the Southern District of New York. The opinion does not state that Expeditors had been found liable in that related action.

Motion and Conference

HMM moved to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), which concerns the court’s subject-matter jurisdiction. HMM argued that Expeditors’ indemnity claim was not ripe—that is, not ready for judicial decision—because Expeditors had not yet incurred actual liability. The court cited decisions stating that an indemnity claim generally requires actual liability to have been imposed on the party seeking indemnity.

At a February 27, 2023 conference, the court directed the parties to address whether Expeditors could replead its claims against HMM in the related action, which could moot the motion in this case. The parties did not object to proceeding that way. They agreed that a third-party complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 14(a) would not be barred by the statute of limitations, but disagreed about whether a third-party complaint under Rule 14(c) would be time-barred.

Order

The court ordered Expeditors to replead any claims against HMM in the related action by March 10, 2023. The opinion does not expressly say that HMM’s Rule 12(b)(1) motion was granted, denied, or dismissed. Because the order addressed whether the indemnity claim was ripe and how it should be repleaded, this is a procedural order rather than a decision on the underlying indemnity dispute.