United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Let's Frame It, Inc.

759 P.2d 819, 12 Brief Times Rptr. 632, 1988 Colo. App. LEXIS 128, 1988 WL 55731
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 28, 1988
Docket85CA1792
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 759 P.2d 819 (United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Let's Frame It, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Let's Frame It, Inc., 759 P.2d 819, 12 Brief Times Rptr. 632, 1988 Colo. App. LEXIS 128, 1988 WL 55731 (Colo. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

CRISWELL, Judge.

Plaintiff, United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. (USF & G), appeals the summary judgment denying its subrogation claim against defendant, Let’s Frame It, Inc. (tenant), which claim was based upon allegations that tenant was responsible for a fire that damaged the premises occupied by it, as well as other property owned by tenant’s landlord. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

USF & G was the casualty and fire insurer of the landlord of a shopping center in which the tenant leased space. In 1981, a fire damaged both the premises occupied by tenant and other portions of the center as well. In accordance with the provisions of the policy issued to the landlord, USF & G paid approximately $184,000 to make repairs to the property. Of this amount, approximately $17,000 was spent on repairs to the premises leased by tenant, about $82,000 was spent to repair areas leased to other parties, and the remaining $85,000 was used to repair the damage done to the shopping center’s common areas. Claiming that the fire and resulting damage were caused by tenant’s negligence, USF & G sought reimbursement for its expenditures from tenant.

The parties agree that, since USF & G is asserting a subrogation claim, it may recover against tenant only if the landlord would have the right to recover against tenant. See Employers Casualty Co. v. Wainwright, 28 Colo.App. 292, 473 P.2d 181 (1970). Thus, the ultimate question presented is whether the provisions of the written lease between tenant and its landlord have circumscribed the landlord’s right of recovery under the circumstances evidenced here.

In asserting that the lease restricts the landlord’s right of recovery, tenant places its principal reliance upon two clauses in the lease. First, the redelivery clause provides that, upon termination of the lease, the tenant agrees to:

*821 “surrender and deliver up the demised premises ... in as good order and condition as when the same were entered upon by tenant, loss by fire ... excepted.” (emphasis supplied)

Second, the pro-rata-cost clause requires tenant to pay, as an additional rental, a pro rata share of the landlord’s “operating and maintenance costs” for the center. The lease provides that these costs include all of the landlord’s expenses in operating and maintaining the shopping center, including, without limitation, a number of specifically enumerated items. Among these costs so enumerated is “the cost of public liability and property damage insurance.”

The parties agree that the landlord’s premiums for fire and casualty insurance would also be included in the costs to be pro rated. This provision notes, however, that:

“The inclusion of cost of Landlord’s insurance in definition of ‘operating and maintenance costs’ shall not relieve Tenant of maintaining his own insurance coverage.”

In asserting that these two provisions were not intended to insulate tenant from responsibility for property damage, either to the leased premises or to other areas, caused by its negligence, USF & G relies upon several other provisions of the lease. Among the provisions relied upon are those that:

—Require tenant to provide public liability insurance for the leased premises and to include the landlord as a co-insured under such policy, and that authorize the landlord, in case of tenant’s failure to acquire such insurance, to do so and to charge tenant therefor.
—Make the tenant responsible to repair damage occasioned either to the leased premises or to the common areas “caused by tenant’s negligence,” and specify that tenant’s failure to make such repairs, or to reimburse the landlord therefor, is a material breach of the lease.
—Require tenant to indemnify the landlord from any damage resulting “to any person or property whomsoever or whatsoever,” resulting from tenant’s “use or neglect of the premises....”
—Cause the rent to abate, if the leased premises are damaged by a fire not arising from the fault or negligence of tenant.

Tenant argues that (1) the redelivery clause demonstrates an intent to render tenant free from liability for any fire, whatever its cause, damaging the demised premises, and (2) the pro-rata-cost clause has the effect of requiring the landlord to look to its insurance policy as its sole protection against fire damage to any part of its property. These two assertions are each independent of the other; they must, therefore, be separately analyzed.

I.

A redelivery clause similar to that contained in the lease here under consideration was at issue in Employers Casualty Co. v. Wainwright, supra. The landlord’s subro-gee argued there that, even though the redelivery clause itself did not restrict its exception to fires not caused by the tenant’s negligence, such an implied restriction should be read into the provision.

Relying upon that line of cases of which Rock Springs Realty, Inc. v. Waid, 392 S.W.2d 270 (Mo.1965) is representative, a division of this court held that, absent express language limiting the breadth of the exception for fire damage, no limitation upon that exception will be implied. Thus, where the redelivery clause excepts damages to the- demised premises caused by fire from the tenant’s obligation to surrender the property in good condition and where the lease does not otherwise distinguish between fires caused by the tenant’s negligence and other fires, the tenant cannot be held liable for damage to the demised premises caused by any fire. See also Schechter v. S.S. Kresge Co., 579 F.2d 1231 (10th Cir.1978) (applying Colorado law).

However, since a redelivery clause has applicability only to the premises subject to the lease, that provision cannot affect tenant’s liability for damage done to *822 the landlord’s other property. See Agra-By-Products, Inc. v. Agway, Inc., 347 N.W.2d 142 (N.D.1984); Sannit v. Aarons, 297 F.Supp. 798 (D.Del.1969).

Further, a written agreement must be interpreted so as to give meaning to, and to harmonize, all of its provisions. Pepcol Manufacturing Co. v. Denver Union Corp., 687 P.2d 1310 (Colo.1984). Thus, other provisions of the lease must be examined to ascertain the meaning that the parties intended to give to the redelivery clause. And, when the other provisions of this lease are thus examined, the conclusion becomes manifest that the parties did not intend to immunize tenant from damages caused to the leased premises by its own negligence.

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Bluebook (online)
759 P.2d 819, 12 Brief Times Rptr. 632, 1988 Colo. App. LEXIS 128, 1988 WL 55731, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-fidelity-guaranty-co-v-lets-frame-it-inc-coloctapp-1988.