O'Callaghan v. Waller & Beckwith Realty Co.
Illinois Supreme Court
155 N.E.2d 545 (1958)
Ella O'Callaghan (plaintiff) signed a standard-form apartment lease with Waller & Beckwith Realty (defendant) containing a clause releasing the landlord from liability for its own negligence, during a period of severe housing shortage; after she was injured falling on defective courtyard pavement, she sued for negligence and won at trial, but an intermediate appellate court reversed, holding her claim barred by the exculpatory clause, and O'Callaghan's estate (she had since died) appealed.
Whether an exculpatory clause in a residential lease, relieving the landlord of liability for its own negligence, is enforceable against the tenant despite a contemporaneous severe housing shortage and the use of a standard-form lease.