Storquest Oakland v. East Bay Orthopedic Specialists CA1/3

I. INTRODUCTION

East Bay Orthopedic Specialists Medical Corporation (East Bay) leased a storage space in a self-storage facility owned by Storquest Oakland, LLC (Storquest). Debra Hart, an employee of East Bay, sued Storquest after sustaining injuries at the facility. Storquest cross-complained against East Bay for express indemnity and breach of contract, based on an indemnity provision in the rental agreement between East Bay and Storquest. The trial court ruled the indemnity provision required East Bay to indemnify and defend Storquest against Hart’s claims, but held Storquest could not recover from East Bay the defense fees and costs paid by Storquest’s liability insurer, Continental Casualty Company, a CNA insurance company (CNA). East Bay and Storquest both appealed. We affirm.

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II. BACKGROUND

In 1995, Peralta Orthopedics Associates (Peralta) (the former name of East Bay) entered a written agreement to rent a storage space (space no. G-14) at a facility on Shattuck Avenue in Oakland, owned by U.C. Mini-Storage (Storquest’s predecessor-in- interest). The agreement states it is executed “by and between U.C. Mini-Storage (‘Owner’) and Peralta Ortho (‘Occupant’) . . . .”…