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.