S-22-0603 Yvonne McPherson (Plaintiff) v. Walgreens Boot Alliance, Inc., Ferrandino & Son, Inc., and Patera Landscaping, LLC (Defendants) v. Ferrandino & Son, Inc. (Cross-claim Plaintiff/Appellant) v. Patera Landscaping, LLC (Cross-claim Defendant/Appellee)

Appeal from the District Court for Douglas County, Judge Jeffrey J. Lux

Attorneys: Jennifer D. Tricker and Brian Barmettler (Baird Holm LLP for Appellants Ferrandino & Son, Inc.) and Michael T. Gibbons and Raymond E. Walden (Woodke & Gibbons, P.C., L.L.O. for Appellee Patera Landscaping, LLC). 

Civil: Premises Liability, Indemnification, and Arbitration

Proceedings below: After sustaining injury when slipping and falling at a Walgreens, Plaintiff filed suit against Walgreens and the companies that contracted and subcontracted for winter maintenance of the property.  At issue is the trial court’s order to stay arbitration until further order.  Appellant filed a Petition to Bypass the Court of Appeals, which the Supreme Court sustained and order that this matter be transferred to its docket.

Issue: Appellant makes the following assignments of error:  1) The District Court erred in sustaining Patera’s Motion to Stay Arbitration; 2) The District Court erred in failing to try the enforceability of the Subcontract’s arbitration provision summarily, as dictated by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-2603(b); 3) The District Court erred in finding that the determination of Patera’s defense and indemnification obligations is premature because “there is nothing to indemnify;” and 4) The District Court erred in finding that the Subcontract between Ferrandino and Patera involved an invalid or unenforceable claim arising out of a personal injury based in tort under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-2602.01(f)(1).