Opinion ID: 1198729
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Obligations Under The Lease Assignments

Text: The intent of the parties to a contract must be ascertained from the language and the terms of the agreement. Owen v. Burn Construction Co., N.M., 563 P.2d 91 (1977). Plateau contracted with McNulty to keep the premises in good condition, and Plateau reserved the right to make repairs when it subleased to Duran. The sublease between Plateau and Duran states in part: Lessee further covenants ... that he will keep said premises ... together with adjoining sidewalks, areas, alleys, and entrance driveways in good order and repair and in a ... safe and healthful condition ... that he will comply with all ... state ... rules, regulations and ordinances with regard to use and condition of the leased premises .... (Emphasis added.) Plateau and Duran claim that they had no duty under their subleases to maintain the driveways where they cross the state right-of-way, and that if they had any such duty it was only to maintain the driveway to the north which is adjacent to the truck stop. They assert that Jimmy Gallegos, the operator of the cafe, had the duty to maintain the driveway to the south where the accident occurred. The two lower courts held that Plateau and Duran had no control over the state's right-of-way and were not liable to Mitchell. We cannot read the documents and the law to sustain this position. Both subleases describe all of the land in question except that the McNulty-Plateau document excludes the portion on which the cafe is situated. The only reasonable interpretation of the language is that only the land on which the cafe building is located is exempt. Duran's sublease states that he is to keep the premises in a safe condition but also specifies that adjoining areas including entrance driveways shall be kept in a safe condition. This clearly refers to areas other than the premises leased. The reference to alleys in the above-quoted sentence also indicates that the sublease contemplates that not only the leased premises but also areas covered by easements shall be maintained in a non-negligent manner so that injury will not occur to patrons. The only entrance driveways that could possibly be the subject of the lease provision are the two that cross the right-of-way to connect the highway to the private property. The use of the term driveways (plural) defies the argument that only one driveway was involved. The sublease of McNulty to Plateau and Plateau to Duran both provided for rent to be paid on the basis of the amount of gasoline sold. It makes sense that all parties would intend that the entrances to the business would be kept in such condition that there would be no impediment to the patrons gaining access to the pumps and returning to the highway. Obviously, Plateau considered the cafe to be a satellite business to the service station and an asset to that business since it reserved the right in the assignment from McNulty to operate the cafe in the event that McNulty closed it. A fair appraisal of the documents leads inexorably to the conclusion that both Plateau and Duran had a duty to keep the driveways in a safe condition. Now the question arises as to whether these defendants, having this duty to maintain, owed a legal duty to Mitchell when the car in which he was riding ran into the C & H truck. The rear end of the trailer was caught on the driveway because of defendants' alleged negligence in permitting the sides of the driveway to erode to a lower elevation than the central portion. Aside from any duty imposed by valid rules and regulations of the state, a lessee, who has contracted to maintain property in a safe condition, has a duty to the traveling public to exercise reasonable care in maintaining property adjacent to a public road or street. Copeland v. Larson, 46 Wis.2d 337, 174 N.W.2d 745 (1970); City of Dalton v. Anderson, supra; Johnson v. Prange-Geussenhainer, supra; and other cases cited above; Cf. Lommori v. Milner Hotels, 63 N.M. 342, 319 P.2d 949 (1957). There being no legal theory under which defendants were entitled to prevail as a matter of law, the burden was on Duran and Plateau to show the absence of a genuine issue of fact. Goodman v. Brock, 83 N.M. 789, 498 P.2d 676 (1972). Mitchell is to be given the benefit of all reasonable doubts in determining whether a genuine issue exists. If there are substantial disputes as to material fact this forecloses summary judgment. Skarda v. Skarda, 87 N.M. 497, 536 P.2d 257 (1975); Goodman v. Brock, supra; First Nat. Bk., Albuquerque v. Nor-Am Agr. Prod., Inc., 88 N.M. 74, 537 P.2d 682 (1975), cert. denied, 88 N.M. 74, 537 P.2d 682. Mitchell claims that Duran's testimony was inconsistent in that he made the statement that he maintained the driveways and then later testified that he maintained the northern driveway and that the operator of the cafe maintained the southern driveway, where the accident occurred. Where there is a conflict regarding a question of material fact, summary judgment is improper. N.M.R.Civ.P. 56(c) [§ 21-1-1(56)(c), N.M.S.A. 1953 (Repl. Vol. 4, 1970)]. Furthermore, the photographs introduced as exhibits show that the actual gradient on the driveway at the point where the trailer became lodged drops sharply in elevation, which drop-off could in fact cause a trailer to become snared as did the trailer here. The degree of gradient as indicated by the photographs is far greater than the drop in elevation of five to eight percent that was prescribed in the highway department's regulation. This discrepancy between the actual and the prescribed gradients is sufficient to raise a genuine issue as to a material fact regarding the negligence of Duran in failing to keep the driveway safe. The very fact that the trailer and truck were unable to make the turn without becoming stuck on the driveway presents such an issue which should have precluded summary judgment.