Lack of Witness at Lease Signing Doesn't Negate Agreement

Facts: An owner operating as a limited liability company (LLC) signed a 10-year lease with a tenant while the building was still under construction. When the building was almost completed, the owner backed out of the deal, claiming that the lease was not valid, because there were no witnesses at the signing, as required by law. The tenant sued the owner, claiming that the lease should be honored because the law allows corporations to sign leases for more than one year without witnesses. The court ruled for the owner, and the tenant appealed.

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

Reasoning: The owner's refusal to honor the lease was based on a law that requires leases for more than one year to be signed in front of two witnesses. The tenant argued that the lease should be valid because of an exception to the law that allowed “corporations” to sign leases for more than one year without witnesses. The owner argued that the exception didn't apply to LLCs. The court found another exception in the law that allows LLCs to sign leases for more than one year without witnesses.

• Skylake Insurance Agency v. NMB Plaza LLC, September 2008