## Facts

- Barbara L. Richards rented an apartment at Twin Lakes Apartments from landlord Lenna Ransburg under a written residential lease.
- The lease contained an exculpatory clause stating that common areas were provided “gratuitously,” used at the tenant’s risk, and that the landlord would not be liable for loss or injury, even if caused by the landlord’s negligence.
- After snowfall on January 28, 1999, Richards left for work; she saw a cleared sidewalk but slipped on snow-covered ice in the parking lot and was injured.
- Richards sued Ransburg for negligence, alleging failure to maintain the premises, including common areas, in a reasonably safe condition.
- Ransburg sought summary judgment, arguing the lease clause barred the claim; the trial court denied the motion, and Ransburg pursued an interlocutory appeal.

## Issues

1. Whether an exculpatory clause in a residential lease that purports to release a landlord from liability for the landlord’s own negligence in maintaining common areas is unenforceable as against public policy.
2. Whether the trial court properly denied the landlord’s motion for summary judgment based on that clause.

## Decision

- The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of summary judgment and remanded for further proceedings.
- The court held the lease’s exculpatory clause was void as against public policy to the extent it attempted to exculpate the landlord for negligent maintenance of common areas.
- A dissent would have enforced the clause and entered summary judgment for the landlord, stressing freedom of contract and the absence of legislative prohibition.

## Legal Principles

- Indiana generally permits contractual exculpatory provisions, but courts may refuse enforcement when a term contravenes public policy.
- Public policy invalidation may apply when a contract term conflicts with a statute, tends to injure the public, or otherwise conflicts with declared state policy.
- Enforceability may be evaluated through a balancing inquiry considering: (1) subject matter of the contract, (2) strength of implicated policy, (3) whether non-enforcement furthers that policy, (4) forfeiture to the party seeking enforcement, and (5) relative bargaining power and ability to negotiate.
- Landlords have a common-law duty to exercise reasonable care in maintaining common areas; a residential lease provision disclaiming liability for breach of that duty conflicts with safety-related tort policy and may be void.
- In the residential leasing context, unequal bargaining power and standardized lease terms weigh against enforcing broad negligence waivers for common-area conditions.

## Conclusion

The court held that a residential lease cannot validly waive a landlord’s liability for the landlord’s own negligence in maintaining common areas when enforcement would violate public policy; therefore, the tenant’s negligence claim was not barred and summary judgment was properly denied.


Ransburg v. Richards, 770 N.E.2d 393 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002)