Tenant Needn't Indemnify Negligent Owner

A lease's indemnification clause said that “except for [the owner's] negligence,” the tenant would indemnify—that is, defend—the owner from claims arising out of the tenant's occupancy of the space. One of the tenant's employees slipped and fell in water that had overflowed in a restaurant and seeped through the common wall between the restaurant and the tenant's space. The employee sued the owner and the restaurant, claiming that they had control over the maintenance and repair of the restaurant's sinks and plumbing and had negligently allowed water to overflow from the sinks and through the common wall. In response, the owner sued the tenant and demanded that the tenant indemnify it against the employee's claim.

A California appeals court dismissed the owner's indemnification claim against the tenant. The indemnification clause's exception meant that the tenant doesn't have to indemnify the owner against a claim relating to the owner's negligence. Here, the employee specifically claimed that she was hurt because of either the restaurant's or owner's negligence. Plus, the employee's injury didn't arise out of the tenant's occupancy of the space. Rather, it occurred because of an act or omission by the owner or restaurant, said the court. So the tenant had no indemnification obligation to the owner [Magloma Inc. v. Mouzoon].