Federal Insurance Company v. Commerce Insurance Company, et al

Filing 920100303

Opinion

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var WPFootnote1 = 'The implied coinsured doctrine provides that the landlord\'s\
liability insurance is held "for the mutual benefit of both\
parties," that is landlord and tenant, unless an express provision\
states otherwise. Seaco Ins. Co. v. Barbosa, 761 N.E.2d 946, 948\
(Mass. 2002).\
'

var WPFootnote2 = 'Massachusetts law governs construction of the lease.\
'

var WPFootnote3 = 'Subrogation is an equitable doctrine that is based on a theory\
of restitution and unjust enrichment, where the party who paid for\
the loss is made whole by being able to collect that debt from the\
wrongdoer. See Money Store/Mass., Inc. v. Hingham Mut. Fire Ins.\
Co., 708 N.E.2d 687, 691 (Mass. App. Ct. 1999).\
'

var WPFootnote4 = 'This doctrine was acknowledged in Alaska Insurance Co. v. RCA\
Alaska Communications, Inc., where the court denied the landlord\
and its subrogee the right to pursue damage actions against\
negligent tenant when the lease required the landlord to carry fire\
insurance on the property. 623 P.2d 1216, 1218 (Alaska 1981). As\
this doctrine developed in Massachusetts, the SJC in Peterson\
explained that the landlord has to make explicit the tenant\'s\
obligation to obtain property insurance and concluded that a\
landlord\'s insurer may not pursue a subrogation claim against a\
tenant unless there is an express provision to the contrary. 704\
N.E.2d at 1165.\
'

var WPFootnote5 = 'A "yield-up" clause is a provision in a lease which states that\
the tenant must peacefully vacate the premises and leave them in a\
good state of repair at the end of the lease term. For example, in\
Lexington, the "yield-up" clause provided that at the expiration of\
the lease tenants will "peaceably yield up the Demised Premises\
. . . in the same condition and repair as the same were in at the\
commencement of the term[,] . . . damage by fire or other casualty\
. . . only excepted." 647 N.E.2d at 400.\
'

var WPFootnote6 = 'In Commercial Union Insurance Co. v. North American Paper Co.,\
the district court interpreted Lumber, Peterson, and Lexington to\
suggest that the implied coinsured doctrine should be applied even\
in commercial settings. 138 F. Supp. 2d 222, 226-27 (D. Mass.\
2001). However, a later decision, Seaco, did not extend "the rule\
of Peterson v. Silva . . . to commercial tenancies," noting that\
commercial tenants tend to be more sophisticated than residential\
tenants. 761 N.E.2d at 950-51.\
'

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