Owner's Failure to Offer Defense Solidifies Damage Claim

Facts: An owner and a tenant entered into a five-year lease. During the end of the third renewal period, the tenant was informed that a new owner planned to demolish the building. The tenant tried to find an alternative space, but the new owner refused to let the tenant out of the lease early.

Less than six months after refusing to allow the tenant to terminate its lease and relocate, the new owner evicted the tenant and moved ahead with plans to demolish the building. The tenant relocated its dental practice and sued the owner for violating the terms of the lease. The owner admitted that it had violated the terms of the lease, but appealed the damages awarded by the court. The owner argued that the court used the wrong method to determine damages, and that the damages the tenant claimed were not foreseeable.

Decision: A Florida appeals court ruled in favor of the tenant and upheld the trial court's damage award.

Reasoning: The appeals court agreed that the trial court used the wrong method to determine the tenant's damages. However, the owner's failure to offer any defense against the disputed charges gave the court no choice but to rule that the damages were appropriate.

Also, the court said that given the nature of the tenant's business and the way it was forced to relocate, there was no sound reason for the owner not to anticipate the tenant's damage claims.

• West Palm Beach Development, LLC v. Blank, October 2008