Akeed, Inc. v. Barcomb

Summary

The Appellate Division, Fourth Department affirmed an order granting a tenant summary judgment in an action arising from a fire at residential property and denying the landlord's motion for partial summary judgment. The court held that the landlord failed to raise a triable issue that the tenant's cigarette proximately caused the fire and that res ipsa loquitur did not apply because the fire's cause was unknown and the tenant lacked exclusive control over the instrumentality. The court also held that the residential lease's broad indemnification provision violated General Obligations Law § 5-321 and was not saved by its insurance requirement.

Holdings

1. Barcomb established prima facie entitlement to summary judgment by showing that Akeed could not identify the cause of the fire without speculation, and Akeed failed to raise a triable issue that Barcomb's conduct proximately caused the fire.
2. Res ipsa loquitur did not apply because the cause of the fire was unknown and Akeed could not establish that the fire ordinarily does not occur absent negligence or that the instrumentality causing it was within Barcomb's exclusive control.
3. The residential lease's indemnification provision was void and unenforceable under General Obligations Law § 5-321 because it shifted responsibility for property damage to Barcomb regardless of Akeed's own negligence.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Barcomb was entitled to summary judgment on Akeed's negligence claim because Akeed could not identify the cause of the fire or establish that Barcomb's conduct proximately caused it.
2. Whether Akeed could rely on res ipsa loquitur to establish an inference of negligence.
3. Whether the lease's contractual indemnification provision was enforceable under General Obligations Law § 5-321.
4. Whether the insurance requirement created a permissible allocation of risk making the indemnification provision enforceable.

Disposition

affirmed