Category: Real Property Law

Ottaviano v. Minicozzi

LEASES; LIABILITY—Absent an express provision of a lease to the contrary, where a lease requires the tenant to notify its landlord about defective conditions and the tenant is injured because of a defect of which the landlord was unaware, the landlord is not liable for the injury.

• Opinion Date: April 24, 2001

O’Connell v. New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority

LEASES; LIABILITY—Although a lease may allocate maintenance duties between a landlord and its tenant, no lease provision can absolve a tenant from its duty to maintain its premises in a reasonably safe condition for its patrons.

• Opinion Date: February 14, 2001

Spina v. Scanel

LEASES; LIABILITY—Exculpatory clauses must be closely examined and if there is any ambiguity, a court must determine the intention of the parties based upon all of the facts and circumstances surrounding the creation of the lease containing the clause.

• Opinion Date: January 30, 2001

Westmont Plaza-Arlington Plaza Joint Venture v. Wakefern Food Corp.

LEASES; INTERPRETATION; EXCLUSIVES—The clear intent of parties to a lease that certain rights be reserved only to the “original named tenant” will be enforced, but once a tenant no longer has a legitimate interest in enforcing a restrictive use covenant against its landlord, the exclusive use provision will lapse.

• Opinion Date: June 15, 2001

Hartz Mountain Associates v. LML Supermarkets, Inc.

LEASES; INTERPRETATION—Courts will reject literal and non-contextual readings of a lease where such a reading would abrogate the import of a paragraph as a whole.

• Opinion Date: November 9, 2001

Krutsick v. Great Coastal Express, Inc.

LEASES; INTERPRETATION—Loading docks, of which truck bumpers are an integral part, can be considered to be a structural component of the leased premises.

• Opinion Date: May 11, 2001

Stewart v. Gio’s Restaurant

LEASES; INSURANCE—Although a landlord is named as an additional insured under its tenant’s insurance, it will not be covered for an injury not related to use of the leased premises although the injury may arise out of an activity of the tenant unrelated to the lease.

• Opinion Date: April 6, 2001

Mantilla v. NC Mall Associates

LEASES; INDEMNIFICATION—Absent explicit contractual language to the contrary, an indemnitee who has defended against allegations of its own independent fault may not recover the costs of its defense from an indemnitor.

• Opinion Date: March 27, 2001

Elizabeth Board of Education v. New Jersey Transit Corporation

LEASES; EXCULPATION—A freely negotiated exculpation clause in a lease, even if extremely broad, will be enforced.

• Opinion Date: May 25, 2001

DSC of Newark Enterprises, Inc. v. Friction Division Products, Inc.

LEASES; EVICTION—Absolution from payment, in part or in whole, is available as relief to a tenant in a dispossess action.

• Opinion Date: April 27, 2001