Court Opinion

ID: 9520395
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 01:38:59.128215+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:46:10.096751
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE DONOVAN, dissenting: In this case, Angelia Hacker, a college student, rented an apartment in a four-unit building that was owned and maintained by the lessors, Truman Burk and Mirasol Burk. Angelia resided in the top, rear apartment. The only way to reach the apartment entrance was to climb an exterior set of wooden stairs that served only that apartment. Angelia’s mother and guest, Cathy Hacker, was descending the exterior stairway at night when she apparently missed the last step in the darkness, fell, and was injured. Cathy Hacker brought a negligence action against the Burks and alleged that the conditions of the stairway and the lighting were unsafe and were not in compliance with building and municipal codes and that the Burks negligently maintained these unsafe conditions and failed to keep the premises in good repair. The Burks filed a third-party complaint seeking indemnification or contribution from their tenant, Angelia Hacker, and they attached and referred to provisions in the written lease in support of the allegations in the third-party complaint. The Burks alleged that Angelia had breached her duties under the lease to keep the premises in good repair and to report any malfunction of any part of the premises and that Angelia failed to warn her guest about the alleged unsafe conditions of the stairway and the lighting, even though her knowledge of the alleged unsafe conditions was comparable to that of the Burks. The Burks also alleged that Angelia had agreed to exculpate the lessors from liability for injuries to herself and to her guests and to indemnify the lessors and hold them harmless from any claims for injury. Subsequently, Angelia filed an action against Shelter Insurance Company (Shelter), seeking a judgment declaring that she is an insured under the “Apartment Owners/Rental Dwelling Insurance Policy” (Shelter policy) issued by Shelter to the Burks and that Shelter had a duty to defend her in the third-party claim filed against her. To determine whether an insurer has a duty to defend an insured, the court considers the factual allegations of the underlying complaints in light of the relevant provisions of the insurance policy. American Economy Insurance Co. v. Holabird & Root, 382 Ill. App. 3d 1017, 1022, 886 N.E.2d 1166, 1171 (2008), appeal allowed, 229 Ill. 2d 617, 897 N.E.2d 249 (2008). Although seemingly ignored in the majority’s decision, an analysis of Shelter’s duty to defend in this case necessarily includes a consideration of the facts alleged the Burks’ third-party complaint and the lease attached thereto and incorporated therein. See American Economy Insurance Co., 382 Ill. App. 3d at 1031-32, 886 N.E.2d at 1178-79. In this case, the lease was prepared by the Burks. It contains three sections. The first section provides in pertinent part that the tenant will not alter or reconstruct the premises or furnishings; that the tenant will not contract for the construction, repair, or improvements on, in, or to the premises or any part thereof without the written consent of the lessor; that the lessor and his employees will not be liable for any loss, injury, or damages to the tenant or guests; that the tenant assumes all risk of loss or damage to his property that may be caused by water leakage, fire, windstorm, or any other cause; and that the tenant agrees to and does indemnify and hold harmless the lessor and its employees from and against any and all claims for injury, loss, or damages to person and/or property regardless of cause. The first section also reserves to the lessor the right to access the premises at any reasonable hour for purposes of inspection and for making repairs or alterations the lessor deems appropriate. The second section contains several rules and regulations, including a rule directing that the tenant immediately report any malfunction of any part of the premises to the lessor. The third section contains additional provisions, including the following: “Tenant is advised that the property is insured, but since the insurance does not cover tenant’s property, they shall consider having renter’s insurance.” The lease, as drafted, contains conflicting provisions regarding who should bear the risk of loss arising from an unsafe or poorly maintained condition of the premises and its structures. In one section the lessors have attempted to exculpate themselves from liability for damages to the persons and the property of the tenant and her guests resulting from the lessors’ negligence, and in another section, the lessors have notified the tenant that they have procured insurance, and they have warned that the insurance will not cover the tenant’s personal property. These conflicting provisions render the terms of the lease ambiguous and uncertain. A lease is an agreement subject to the law of contracts, and ambiguities in the residential lease are strictly construed against the lessor and in favor of the tenant. Toume Realty, Inc. v. Shaffer, 331 Ill. App. 3d 531, 536, 773 N.E.2d 47, 51-52 (2002). A contractual provision that relieves a party from responsibility for his own negligence must be express and unequivocal. Cerny-Pickas & Co. v. C.R. Jahn Co., 7 Ill. 2d 393, 396, 131 N.E.2d 100, 102 (1955). The conflicting provisions in the lease render the exculpatory provision equivocal and unclear. The provision in the third section of the lease plainly states that the lessors will procure insurance to cover losses arising from the condition of the premises and structures and that the tenant can, at her option, purchase insurance to cover her personal property. This provision comports with the parties’ intent and reasonable expectations that the lessors would maintain the building and the structures in good repair and in a safe condition and that any modifications, repairs, and maintenance to the premises would only be performed by the lessors or with the written consent of the lessors. If the lessor has communicated to the tenant an express or implied agreement to maintain insurance on the leased premises, absent a compelling provision to the contrary, the court can conclude that it was reasonably expected that the lessor would look only to his insurance policy, and not to the tenant, to cover a loss and for indemnification. Continental Casualty Co. v. Polk Brothers, Inc., 120 Ill. App. 3d 395, 402, 457 N.E.2d 1271, 1276 (1983). Where, as here, the lease manifests the parties’ reasonable expectations that the lessors will procure insurance and that the lessors will look to that insurance to cover losses arising from the negligent maintenance of or the unsafe conditions in the leased premises and structures, the lease confers to the tenant the status and benefits of a coinsured under the Shelter policy. Dix Mutual Insurance Co. v. LaFramboise, 149 Ill. 2d 314, 320-22, 597 N.E.2d 622, 625-26 (1992); Polk Brothers, Inc., 120 Ill. App. 3d at 402, 457 N.E.2d at 1276. The threshold allegation in the main complaint and the third-party complaint is the negligent maintenance of the exterior stairway in an unsafe condition. That the Shelter policy covers this type of claim is not in dispute. After reviewing the Shelter policy, the allegations in the underlying complaint, and the allegations in the third-party complaint, including the lease attached thereto and incorporated therein, I conclude that the underlying complaints allege facts within the policy coverage, that the lease manifests the parties’ reasonable expectations and intent that the lessors would procure liability insurance and that they would look to that insurance to cover the alleged losses for the mutual benefit of the lessor and the tenant, and that Angelia Hacker is deemed a coinsured whom Shelter has a duty to defend. Accordingly, I would affirm the judgment of the circuit court.