<p><b>CAZA DRILLING (CALIFORNIA), INC., </b><b>v. </b><b>TEG OIL & GAS U.S.A., INC</b></p> <br /> <p><b> </b></p> <br /> <p align="center">Filed 8/29/06</p> <br /> <p align="center"> </p> <br /> <p align="center"> </p> <br /> <p align="center"> </p> <br /> <p align="center"><b>CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION</b></p> <br /> <p align="center"> </p> <br /> <p align="center"> </p> <br /> <p align="center"> </p> <br /> <p align="center">IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA</p> <br /> <p align="center"> </p> <br /> <p align="center"> </p> <br /> <p align="center"> </p> <br /> <p align="center">SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT</p> <br /> <p align="center"> </p> <br /> <p align="center"> </p> <br /> <p align="center"> </p> <br /> <p align="center">DIVISION FOUR</p> <br /> <p align="center"> </p> <br /> <p align="center"> </p> <br /> <p align="center"><b> </b></p><br /> <table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><br /> <tr><br /> <td width="326" valign="top"> <br /> <p>CAZA DRILLING (CALIFORNIA), INC.,</p> <br /> <p> Plaintiff, Cross-defendant and Respondent,</p> <br /> <p> v.</p> <br /> <p>TEG OIL & GAS U.S.A., INC.,</p> <br /> <p> Defendant, Cross-complainant and Appellant; </p> <br /> <p>SEFTON RESOURCES, INC.,</p> <br /> <p> Cross-complainant and Appellant.</p><br /> </td><br /> <td width="312" valign="top"> <br /> <p> B182892</p> <br /> <p> (Los Angeles County</p> <br /> <p> Super. Ct. No. PC033872)</p><br /> </td><br /> </tr><br /> </table> <br /> <p> APPEAL from a judgment and an order of the <a href="http://www.fearnotlaw.com/">Superior Court of Los Angeles County</a>, Barbara M. Scheper, Judge. Affirmed.</p> <br /> <p> Ford, Walker, Haggerty & Behar and K. Michele Williams for Defendant, <a href="http://www.fearnotlaw.com/">Cross-complainant</a> and Appellant, TEG Oil & Gas U.S.A., Inc., and Cross-complainant and Appellant, Sefton Resources, Inc.</p> <br /> <p> Clifford & Brown, Grover H. Waldon, and Daniel T. Clifford for Plaintiff, Cross-defendant and Respondent.</p> <br /> <p> Appellants TEG Oil & Gas U.S.A., Inc. (TEG) and its parent company Sefton Resources, Inc. (Sefton) appeal the grant of summary judgment on their cross-complaint against respondent CAZA Drilling (California), Inc. (CAZA). TEG hired CAZA pursuant to a <a href="http://www.mcmillanlaw.us/">written agreement</a> to drill a well on an oil field leased by TEG and Sefton and operated by TEG. CAZA argued, and the trial court agreed, that <a href="http://www.fearnotlaw.com/">exculpatory and limitation of liability provisions</a> in the parties' agreement precluded the recovery of the types of damages sought in the cross-complaint: <a href="http://www.sandiegohealthdirectory.com/">compensation for economic loss and physical harm</a> to equipment and facilities. The court entered judgment on the cross-complaint, despite appellants' contention that CAZA was both negligent and in violation of various regulations governing oil drilling operations. </p> <br /> <p> On appeal, appellants take the position that the exculpatory and limitation of liability provisions in the parties' agreement are invalid under Civil Code section 1668 (section 1668), which prohibits <a href="http://www.mcmillanlaw.us/">enforcement of contracts</a> that have for their object the exemption of parties from responsibility for fraud, willful injury, or violations of law. We conclude that the contractual provisions represented a valid limitation on liability rather than a <a href="http://www.fearnotlaw.com/">complete exemption from responsibility</a>, and that, in any event, appellants have failed in their repeated efforts to identify a specific law or regulation potentially violated by CAZA. We shall affirm the trial court judgment.</p> <br /> <p align="center"><b>FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND</b></p> <br /> <p> Certain background facts are not disputed. In 2002, CAZA was hired by TEG to drill a well at the Tapia oil field, located in Castaic, California. The well was referred to as â€