Commercial Tenant Not Required to Indemnify Landlord Despite Clear Lease Terms:

The Supreme Judicial Court recently voided a commercial lease provision that required a tenant to indemnify a landlord for the landlord's own negligence. The Court held that the statute (G.L. c.186, §15) prevented a landlord from shifting responsibility for its own negligence to its tenant, even if the tenant had signed a lease agreeing to such indemnification. In that same case, the SJC upheld a lease provision requiring the tenant to acquire general liability insurance for the benefit of the landlord. (Norfolk & Dedham Mutual Fire Insurance Company v. Morrison)

Based on the Norfolk & Dedham case, commercial landlords and tenants (and their legal counsel) need to carefully review their lease terms to ensure that the indemnification and insurance provisions appropriately apportion the risk of injury and damage.