§ 29-2-108 — Duty of contractor to defend action; liability of contractor to owner

The contractor shall, at his own expense, defend any action
brought by his employee, subcontractors hired by the contractor,
their employees or by any suppliers of materials provided under
contract in accordance with this chapter. During the pendency of
the action the owner or his agent may withhold from the
contractor the amount of money for which a lien is filed. If
judgment is rendered against the owner or his property on the
lien foreclosure, he may deduct from any amount due to the
contractor the amount of the judgment and costs. If the owner
has paid the contractor in full he may recover from the
contractor any amount paid by the owner for which the contractor
was originally liable.