City of Oakland v. Oakland Unified School District

BRAY, J. Defendants leased from plaintiff the arena of its municipal auditorium building in which to hold the “Annual Spring Music Festival.” One Mrs. Genevieve Herd sued plaintiff for damages for injuries which she claimed to have sustained while attending said festival. She alleged that her injuries were due to a fall caused by a defect in the walkway providing access to the easterly entrance of said municipal auditorium. Claiming that under the lease above mentioned defendants had agreed to indemnify plaintiff against all loss, expense or claim for damages arising out of the use of the property described in the lease, plaintiff demanded that defendants defend plaintiff in the Herd action. Defendants refused so to do. Plaintiff brought this action to declare its rights under said lease and particularly to have it declared that defendants hold plaintiff harmless from any claims of said Genevieve Herd in said action brought by her against plaintiff. Defendants appeal from a judgment in favor of plaintiff.

The trial court found that the place where Mrs. Herd claimed to have been injured was a “path . . . providing access” to the easterly entrance of said municipal auditorium owned by plaintiff,1 and that the place where the injury occurred was a part of the premises leased to defendants in the said lease, and that the accident sustained by Mrs. Herd arose “out of the use and occupation of the premises leased ...”

Question Presented

Does the indemnity clause of the lease apply to the place of injury?

Premises Indemnified

What were “the premises” as to which the indemnity applies? The lease, prepared by plaintiff, provides: “1. That the lessor hereby leases to the lessee, and the lessee hereby hires from the lessor, the Arena of the Oakland Municipal Auditorium Building, hereinafter referred to as the ‘prem[735]ises’ (and no other space or accommodation except as may be hereinafter expressly provided for) for the sole purpose of holding the Annual Spring Music Festival in said building ...” (Emphasis added.) (No other space or accommodation is referred to.) The balance of said paragraph 1 and the other 12 paragraphs, excepting only paragraph 12, have no bearing on the problem here involved. Paragraph 12 provides: “That the lessee will hold the lessor free from any liability or claim for damages or suit for or by reason of any injuries to any person or property, of any kind whatsoever, from any cause whatsoever arising out of the use and occupation of the premises by the lessee; and the lessee hereby covenants and agrees to indemnify and save harmless the lessor from all liability or damage on account of or by reason of any such injuries or damages.” (Emphasis added.)