Failure to Address Issue Does Not Mean Waiver

Facts: A tenant and owner entered into a 10-year lease. Approximately three years into the lease, the tenant sued the owner for violating the terms of the lease. The parties were able to reach a settlement orally, but asked the court to step in because they could not agree on the written version. The judge reviewed the settlement terms and ruled that the owner had waived its right to collect overdue charges because the issue had not been addressed in the oral settlement agreement. The owner appealed.

Decision: A Minnesota appeals court reversed the lower court's decision and ruled in favor of the owner.

Reasoning: In general, a settlement covers only the claims specifically mentioned in the agreement. However, the court reasoned that waiving a right to a claim has to be “intentional”'clearly made on the record'to be valid, and that was not the case here. More important, the court pointed to the anti-waiver clause in the lease agreement, which required any waived claims to be in writing.

• CJMA Financial Corp. v. 1100 Nicollet Mall L.L.P., August 2008