Slip and falls on sidewalks in front of leased premises often raise questions of who’s responsible, landlord or tenant, and whose carrier should respond in damages. In Leading Ins. Group Ins. Co., Ltd. v. Argonaut Great Cent. Ins. Co., 2015 NY Slip Op 50574 (April 22, 2015), the Supreme Court of New York for Westchester County said the answer lies in the lease and whether the sidewalk is part of the leased premises.
In Leading, Hartsdale, the owner of a building leased to tenants for use as a dry cleaner, was sued by a woman, Kellner, who slipped and fell on an alleged defect in the sidewalk in front of the building. Per the lease, the tenants were obligated to take good care of the premises and make all repairs to the interior including entrance doors. They were also required to sweep or shovel daily to keep the sidewalk and curb area in front of the premises in clean condition and free from ice, snow, rubbish and debris. Notably, the tenants were not obligated to maintain or repair the sidewalk.
Leading, Hartsdale’s insurer, tendered the defense and indemnification of Hartsdale to Argonaut, the insurer of the tenants. An additional insured provision in Argonaut’s policy provided coverage for “liability arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of that part of the premises leased to [the insureds] and shown in the schedule.” Argonaut denied Leading’s tender and in the resulting declaratory judgment action, moved for summary judgment.
The Supreme Court for Westchester County held that Argonaut was not obligated to assume the defense and indemnification of Hartsdale because “there is nothing in the lease to indicate that the [tenants] were responsible for the maintenance and repair of the sidewalk. Notably, Kellner’s accident was not the result of ice, snow, rubbish or debris on the sidewalk. Kellner alleged that her accident was caused by uneven and misleveled concrete, a non-trivial defect in the sidewalk. Here, there is no evidence that the [tenants] were responsible for the maintenance or repair of the sidewalk crossing in front of the premises.” 2015 NY Slip Op 50574.
Thus, defining the parameters of the leased premises is essential to determining the insurance obligations owed for a slip and fall claim.
