Reade v. Reva Holding Corp.

30 A.D.3d 229, 818 N.Y.S.2d 9, 2006 NY Slip Op 4921, 2006 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8038
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedJune 15, 2006
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 30 A.D.3d 229 (Reade v. Reva Holding Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Reade v. Reva Holding Corp., 30 A.D.3d 229, 818 N.Y.S.2d 9, 2006 NY Slip Op 4921, 2006 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8038 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

[230]*230Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Faviola A. Soto, J.), entered July 25, 2005, which granted defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint, unanimously modified, on the law, to deny the motion insofar as it was addressed to the first, second, third, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth causes of action, such causes of action reinstated, and otherwise affirmed, without costs.

Plaintiff Duane Reade leases a store at 749 Broadway in Brooklyn from defendant Reva Holding Corp. (Reva). During the term of the lease, Reva hired a contractor, defendant F & S Construction, Inc. (F & S), to add a second story to the building. Although it is undisputed that Reva had authority under the lease to make such an addition, Duane Reade alleges that some of F & S’s preparatory work for the project was performed in an unworkmanlike manner, thereby causing injury to Duane Reade. Specifically, it is alleged that F & S failed to properly cover and seal exploratory holes that it opened in the roof, which allegedly resulted in leaks into Duane Reade’s store and, on at least two occasions, allegedly caused water pipes to freeze and burst. This action seeks recovery for the business interruption losses and physical property damage that Duane Reade allegedly has suffered as a result of such leakage and pipe bursting. To this end, Duane Reade asserts causes of action for breach of the lease and breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment against Reva, and causes of action for negligence, nuisance and trespass against both Reva and F & S.

The IAS court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint, pursuant to CPLR 3211 (a) (1) and (7), based primarily on three exculpatory provisions found in the lease. For [231]*231the reasons discussed below, we now modify to reinstate all causes of action except the one for breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment.

Lease Provisions Claimed to Bar This Action

The 15-year lease between Reva and Duane Reade, dated March 29, 1994, comprises a printed “Standard Form of Store Lease” and an attached typewritten rider, the latter of which controls (pursuant to articles 58 and 91 of the lease) in the event of a conflict between the two. The lease provisions the IAS court found to bar this action are: (1) article 4, captioned “Repairs”; (2) article 13, captioned “Access to Premises”; and (3) paragraph (i) (J) of article 47, captioned “Waiver of Subrogation” (hereinafter article 47 [i] [J]). Articles 4 and 13 are found in the printed part of the lease, and article 47 (i) (J) is found in the typewritten rider.

Article 47 (i) (J)

Article 47 of the lease, of which article 47 (i) (J) is a part, is captioned “Tenant Insurance Coverages.” In pertinent part, article 47 provides as follows:

“47. TENANT INSURANCE COVERAGES—Effective as of the commencement date and thereafter throughout the term of this lease, Tenant, at its sole expense, shall maintain in full force and effect with insurance companies licensed to do business in the State of New York, the following insurance:

“(i) (A) Comprehensive general liability insurance for bodily and personal injury and property damage occurring on or about the demised premises ....

“(B) Fire and extended coverage insurance (contents broad form) on Tenant’s personal property located in the demised premises in amounts reasonably deemed adequate by Tenant to fully insure such personal property ....

“(J) Waiver of Subrogation. Neither Owner nor Tenant shall be liable to the other for any business interruption or any loss or damage to property occurring in the building (including the demised premises), or in any manner growing out of or connected with the Tenant’s use and occupation of the demised premises, the building or condition thereof, whether or not caused by negligence or other fault of the Owner or Tenant or their respective agents, employees, subtenants, licensees or assignees. The release in favor of Owner and Tenant contained herein, is in addition to, and not in substitution for, or in dimunition [szc] of the hold harmless and indemnification provisions hereof.”

[232]*232The portions of article 47 that are here omitted set forth various other requirements for Duane Reade’s insurance coverage. This is indicated by the captions of the six subparagraphs immediately preceding article 47 (i) (J): “Named Insureds”; “Quality of Insurance”; “Primary Insurance”; “Blanket Policies”; “Noncancellable”; “Increased Insurance Risk.” Similarly, the paragraphs following article 47 (i) (J) set forth additional requirements relating to Duane Reade’s insurance coverage (e.g., Reva is to be named as an additional insured on all policies required by the lease, Reva is to receive prior written notice of the cancellation or material alteration of such policies, and Duane Reade shall not violate any conditions or provisions of such policies).

Contrary to defendants’ argument, article 47 (i) (J) does not bar any part of this action because the lease does not require Duane Reade to fully insure itself against the business interruption and property damage losses for which it seeks recovery, and Duane Reade’s insurance in fact does not cover such losses.1 For the reasons discussed below, article 47 (i) (J), as a waiver of subrogation clause, does not preclude a suit to recover losses for which Duane Reade has not purchased, and was not required by the lease to purchase, insurance coverage.

Subrogation is the equitable doctrine that “allows an insurer to stand in the shoes of its insured and seek indemnification from third parties whose wrongdoing has caused a loss for which the insurer is bound to reimburse” (Kaf-Kaf, Inc. v Rodless Decorations, 90 NY2d 654, 660 [1997], citing Pennsylvania Gen. Ins. Co. v Austin Powder Co., 68 NY2d 465 [1986]). Thus, a waiver of subrogation clause, by which the parties to a contract prospectively waive any claim each one’s insurer might otherwise acquire against the other party by way of subrogation, “is necessarily premised on the procurement of insurance by the parties” (Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v Perfect Knowledge, 299 AD2d 524, 526 [2002]). As another court has put it: “A waiver of subrogation clause implies that the parties are insured. If the [233]*233parties are not insured, there is no need to waive subrogation claims, which are brought by the parties’ insurers.” (American Motorist Ins. Co. v Morris Goldman Real Estate Corp., 277 F Supp 2d 304, 308 n 3 [SD NY 2003] [applying New York law].)

From the foregoing, it follows that a waiver of subrogation clause in an agreement does not bar one party from suing the other to recover for a loss to the extent that such loss is not required by the parties’ agreement to be covered—and, in fact, is not covered—by insurance. This principle is illustrated, for example, by the Court of Appeals’ observation in Kaf-Kaf that the waiver of subrogation clause in that case would not have prevented the insured from “collecting] any portion of its damages not covered by insurance” (90 NY2d at 661 [emphasis added]). Similarly, in Gap v Red Apple Cos. (282 AD2d 119 [2001]), this Court held that each of two commercial tenants was entitled, notwithstanding the waiver of subrogation clause in its lease, to sue the landlord to recover the portion of its fire loss within the deductible under its insurance, since “the leases did not require the tenant to obtain fire contents coverage in any specified amount or, at all, for that matter” (id. at 124).

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Bluebook (online)
30 A.D.3d 229, 818 N.Y.S.2d 9, 2006 NY Slip Op 4921, 2006 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8038, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reade-v-reva-holding-corp-nyappdiv-2006.