(CN) - Coca-Cola can't blame Wal-Mart for the injuries of a shopper who claims she was hit by falling merchandise after removing a case of soda from an unstable Coke display.
Maura Sherry filed a personal injury action against Wal-Mart and Coca-Cola, but Wal-Mart insisted that Coca-Cola had agreed not to hold the mega-retailer liable for display-related injuries.
The trial court refused to dismiss Wal-Mart's claim for indemnification, but the justices of the Second Appellate Division in Brooklyn reversed, citing an indemnification clause in the companies' contract.
"[T]he final sentence in the indemnification clause obligates Coca-Cola to indemnify Wal-Mart for personal injuries allegedly resulting from ... the negligent display of the Coca-Cola products," the justices wrote.
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