In Morlin Asset Management, LP v. Murachanian, the Second District Court of Appeals found that an indemnity clause in a tenant’s lease did not cover claims by a cleaning service against the building owner, when their employee slipped on stairs attempting to service the tenant’s unit. The employee spilled a bucket of soapy water on the stairs while ascending, slipped, and hit his head. When the employee sued the owner for negligence and premises liability (on the theory that defective stairs caused the fall), the landlord cross-complained for indemnity against the tenant – a dentist who hired the cleaning service.
The Second District Court of Appeals held that, while there was an indemnity clause in the tenant’s lease, for the benefit of the landlord, and while these clauses are construed broadly in the context of insurance coverage, it could not be said that the plaintiff’s injury arose out of the tenant’s use of the property.
