L&S Basements (contractor) poured concrete basement walls and floors for new construction. The contractor often rented concrete pump trucks from Midwest Concrete Placement (rental company) when it needed to pump concrete into its work area. After the work was completed, the contractor signed a job ticket signifying that the job had been completed as requested. The ticket indicated that the terms and conditions of the contract printed on the reverse side were understood and agreed to by the customer. The back of the ticket contained an indemnification provision in which the contractor agreed to indemnify the rental company against all claims arising out of, connected with, or resulting from the operation or handling of the equipment on its jobsite. An employee of the contractor was severely injured when a hose on a rental company pump trucks ruptured and propelled concrete at his neck, back, and head. The employee settled his claims with the rental company. The rental company brought a third party claim against the contractor. Both parties motioned for summary judgment.

The contractor maintained that it was unaware of the indemnification provision in the agreement and thus there was no meeting of the minds. The contractor reasoned that because there had never been a meeting of the minds as to the essential terms of the agreement that no contract existed. The rental company contended that the contract was formed when the contractor’s agent signed the job ticket at the work site. The rental company further argued that the contractor assented to the terms of the agreement when it paid for the services and accepted performance. One of the contractor’s agent had signed two of the rental company’s job tickets. The signed job tickets served as evidence of the parties mutual intent to form a contract. Payment for the rental company’s services served as further evidence of the contract’s existence. The alleged lack of awareness of the indemnification provision was not a bar to contract formation because state law presumed that parties to a contract have read and understood the contract’s terms. Further, the contractor and the rental company had an ongoing business relationship based on renting concrete equipment and pump trucks. The contractor should have been aware of the indemnification provision given the numerous occasions it had rented such equipment in the past. The rental company’s motion for summary judgment was granted.