Outdoor Storage Agreement, Release of Liability, and Assumption of Risk

1. What this agreement is — space only, not a bailment

We are renting you an outdoor parking space. That is all. We are not a garage keeper, warehouse, valet, security service, or insurer of your property.

This agreement does not create a bailment. You retain exclusive care, custody, and control of the stored property at all times. We do not take possession of it, and we do not agree to watch, guard, protect, inspect, maintain, move, or safeguard it.

We do not provide, and you should not expect, any security service, guard, attendant, alarm, fencing, lighting, surveillance, camera coverage, gate, or monitoring. If any such feature happens to exist on the premises, it is for our own purposes only, we do not warrant that it works, and you may not rely on it.

The space is rented AS IS and WHERE IS, with all faults, with no warranties of any kind, express or implied.

2. You assume all risk of loss

You store your property at your sole risk. You knowingly, voluntarily, and expressly assume all risk of loss of, theft of, and damage to the stored property and everything in, on, or attached to it.

The risks you assume include, without limitation: theft, burglary, vandalism, arson, and criminal or intentional acts of any third party; fire, smoke, explosion, and lightning; hail, wind, tornado, storm, rain, snow, ice, freezing, thaw, flood, standing water, and any other act of God or weather event; falling limbs, trees, snow, and ice; collision or contact by any vehicle, plow, trailer, equipment, or person, including our own snow removal and lot maintenance equipment; rodents, insects, vermin, animals, mold, mildew, rot, rust, and corrosion; battery drain; fluid, fuel, and oil leaks; tire flat-spotting and dry rot; mechanical, electrical, structural, and cosmetic failure or deterioration; sinking, settling, or surface damage from soft ground, mud, frost heave, or pavement condition; towing or removal; and loss of use.

3. Insurance is your responsibility

We do not insure your property. No insurance of any kind is included with this agreement. Our insurance does not cover your property and will not respond to a claim by you.

You must obtain and maintain, at your own cost and for the entire time your property is on the premises, physical damage insurance covering the full replacement value of the stored property, plus liability insurance covering your use of the space. You must provide proof of ownership, registration, and active insurance on request, including at drop-off.

If you fail to carry insurance, you self-insure and accept every consequence of that decision.

Waiver of subrogation. You waive, and you will cause your insurers to waive, all rights of subrogation and recovery against us for any loss covered or that would have been covered by the insurance you were required to carry, whether or not you actually carried it.

4. No valuables; declared value limit

Do not store cash, jewelry, precious metals, securities, deeds, firearms, ammunition, collectibles, artwork, antiques, irreplaceable items, personal records, medical devices, or electronics, and do not leave personal contents inside the stored property.

Declared value. You represent that the total value of the stored property and its contents does not exceed $5,000 unless we have agreed to a higher declared value in a writing signed by us. For any claim not barred by this agreement, our total liability is capped at the lesser of actual proven direct damages or the declared value. This cap is a negotiated allocation of risk reflected in the storage rate you pay.

In no event are we liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, punitive, or exemplary damages, lost profits or income, loss of use, diminution in value, towing, replacement rental, storage elsewhere, or emotional distress.

5. Prohibited property and uses

You may not store hazardous, toxic, flammable, explosive, corrosive, radioactive, or environmentally regulated materials beyond the fuel and fluids ordinarily contained in factory tanks and reservoirs; illegal drugs or contraband; stolen property; perishables; or living creatures.

No person may live, sleep, or stay overnight in the stored property or on the premises. No commercial activity, repairs, fluid changes, washing, painting, welding, fueling, or maintenance may be performed in the space without our prior written permission. You may not sublet, assign, share, or transfer the space.

Environmental indemnity. If your property leaks, spills, discharges, or releases any fluid or substance, you are solely responsible for all cleanup, remediation, testing, disposal, fines, penalties, and third-party claims, and you will reimburse us on demand.

6. Access, movement, and entry

Access is during posted business hours only and may be changed, limited, or suspended at any time, including for weather, snow removal, lot work, safety, emergency, or nonpayment.

You must leave the stored property locked, legally parked within the assigned space, and either drivable or readily towable unless we approve otherwise in writing.

We may move your property. You authorize us to move, relocate, reposition, or tow the stored property within or off the premises, at your expense, for snow removal, lot maintenance, safety, emergency, legal compliance, or reorganization, without prior notice and without liability for doing so. We may enter, inspect, and photograph the space and the stored property for safety, insurance, legal compliance, or lien purposes.

7. Release and waiver of liability — including our own negligence

To the fullest extent permitted by Minnesota law, you RELEASE, WAIVE, DISCHARGE, ACQUIT, AND COVENANT NOT TO SUE Durand Automotive and its owners, members, managers, officers, employees, agents, contractors, affiliates, successors, and assigns (the “Released Parties”) from any and all claims, demands, actions, causes of action, suits, liabilities, losses, damages, costs, and expenses of every kind — including attorney fees — arising out of or relating in any way to the storage of your property, your use of the space, or your presence on the premises, INCLUDING ANY SUCH CLAIM CAUSED IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY THE ORDINARY NEGLIGENCE OF THE RELEASED PARTIES.

YOU SPECIFICALLY INTEND THIS RELEASE TO COVER THE RELEASED PARTIES’ OWN NEGLIGENCE. YOU ARE GIVING UP YOUR RIGHT TO SUE US FOR OUR OWN NEGLIGENCE.

This release covers claims for damage to or loss of property and claims for personal injury, sustained by you or anyone claiming through you, including your family, guests, invitees, employees, and insurers.

Express carve-out. This release does not apply to, and you do not waive, liability for the Released Parties’ intentional, willful, or wanton misconduct, or their gross negligence, or any liability that Minnesota law does not permit to be waived or limited.

No disparity of bargaining power. You acknowledge that outdoor storage is an optional, non-essential, non-public service; that we are not a public utility or a business of practical necessity; that you are free to decline this agreement and store your property elsewhere or not at all; and that you received this agreement in advance and had the opportunity to read it, ask questions, negotiate its terms, and consult an attorney.

8. Indemnification

You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Released Parties from any and all third-party claims, demands, liabilities, losses, damages, fines, penalties, judgments, settlements, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorney fees, arising out of or relating to your stored property, your use of the space, your presence on the premises, any act or omission by you or anyone acting for you, your breach of this agreement, or any leak, spill, discharge, fire, or release from your property. This obligation survives the end of this agreement.

9. Payment, term, renewal, and late charges

Payment is due in advance for each term and is not prorated for partial periods. Payment reserves the space, subject to lot availability, our confirmation, our inspection of the property, and your production of ID, ownership or registration documentation, and proof of insurance at drop-off. If we cannot accommodate the booking, our entire obligation is to refund the amount paid for the unusable period.

Charges not paid when due accrue a late fee of $25 plus interest at the highest rate allowed by Minnesota law. You are responsible for all costs of collection, including reasonable attorney fees.

Either party may end a month-to-month term with 10 days’ written notice before the next due date. We may terminate immediately for nonpayment or breach. Amounts paid are non-refundable once the term begins, except as stated above or where Minnesota law requires otherwise.

Online payments are processed by Stripe. Durand Automotive does not receive or store full card numbers through this website.

10. Lien, default, abandonment, and sale

Statutory lien. You grant us, and we claim, a lien on the stored property, its contents, and its proceeds for all unpaid rent, late fees, labor, towing, moving, cleanup, preservation, and other charges, and for the expenses of enforcing the lien and of any sale. This lien arises under and is enforceable pursuant to Minn. Stat. §§ 514.970 to 514.979 (Minnesota Liens on Personal Property in Self-Service Storage Act) and, where applicable, Minn. Stat. §§ 514.18 to 514.22 (lien for keeping or storing a motor vehicle), and any successor statutes.

If you are in default we may deny you access to the space and the stored property until the default is cured, to the extent Minnesota law permits.

Notice and sale. If you default, we will give the notice Minnesota law requires — including notice to you and to any party who has given us written notice of a claimed interest, and, for a titled motor vehicle, notice by certified mail to the secured parties listed on the certificate of title — and we may then enforce the lien and sell or otherwise dispose of the stored property in the manner the statute prescribes.

You must keep your contact information current and notify us in writing of any change. Notice sent to the last information you gave us is effective notice to you.

Abandonment. Property left more than 30 days after the term ends, with charges unpaid and no contact from you, is deemed abandoned and may be disposed of as permitted by Minnesota law, including Minn. Stat. ch. 168B where it applies to abandoned motor vehicles. You remain liable for any deficiency and for all removal and disposal costs.

11. Title, authority, and accuracy

You represent and warrant that you own the stored property free of undisclosed liens, or that you have the owner’s full authority to store it and sign this agreement, and that everything you have told us about it is true and complete. If any statement is false, or the property is stolen or subject to an undisclosed interest, you are in immediate default and will indemnify us for every resulting cost and claim.

12. No oral modification

Nothing any employee, agent, or representative says can change this agreement, add a duty of care, create a bailment, promise security, or waive any provision. Only a writing signed by an owner or manager of Durand Automotive can amend it. Our failure to enforce any provision on any occasion is not a waiver of it.

13. Disputes, governing law, and venue

This agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Any action arising out of or relating to it must be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Ramsey County, Minnesota, and you consent to that jurisdiction and venue.

To the extent permitted by law, any claim you bring must be commenced within one (1) year after the event giving rise to it, or it is permanently barred. To the extent permitted by law, each party waives trial by jury.

14. Electronic signature and records consent

You consent to conduct this transaction electronically and to sign this agreement with an electronic signature. Under the federal ESIGN Act, 15 U.S.C. § 7001, and the Minnesota Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, Minn. Stat. ch. 325L, your electronic signature has the same legal force and effect as a handwritten signature, and this electronic record has the same force and effect as a paper record.

Typing your full legal name in the booking form and submitting it is your signature. We record the date and time of signature, your IP address, your browser user agent, the agreement version, and a SHA-256 cryptographic hash of the exact text you signed, so the signed record can be authenticated and reproduced later. A complete signed copy is emailed to you.

You may request a paper copy at no charge, and you may withdraw consent to electronic records, by contacting us at (651) 739-4940 or [email protected]. Withdrawing consent does not affect the validity of a signature already given.

15. General

Entire agreement. This agreement, with any written rules we post or provide, is the entire agreement about the storage of your property and supersedes every prior or contemporaneous discussion, quote, advertisement, and understanding.

Survival. Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, and 15 survive expiration or termination. This agreement binds and benefits the parties and their heirs, personal representatives, insurers, successors, and assigns.

Severability. If any provision is held invalid, unenforceable, or void — in whole or in part — that provision is severed or narrowed to the minimum extent necessary and every remaining provision stays in full force. In particular, if any portion of the release in Section 7 is held unenforceable, the release still applies to the fullest extent the law allows.

This agreement is not to be construed against either party as drafter merely because that party prepared it.

Acknowledgment

By signing, you confirm that you have read this entire agreement and understand it; that you are giving up legal rights, including the right to sue Durand Automotive for its own negligence; that this is not a bailment and we are not responsible for guarding, protecting, or insuring your property; that you must carry your own insurance and assume all risk of loss, theft, weather, and damage; that you are signing freely and voluntarily and had the chance to consult an attorney; and that you are at least 18 years old and legally able to enter this agreement.

This page reproduces the agreement for review. The binding document is the version presented to you during booking with your specific space, term, rate, drop-off time, and property details filled in, which you sign electronically before payment. Your signed copy, including its SHA-256 hash, is emailed to you at the address on your booking. Keep it for your records.

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