MISALA, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
RICHARD EAGLES D/B/A HOT HANDS, INC., APPELLEE
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The court held that when contract terms are unambiguous, the parties' intent must be determined solely from the four corners of the document.
Plaintiff sued for breach of a lease agreement. The trial court entered judgment for the defendant, considering evidence outside the lease to determin…
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PARIENTE, Judge.
Plaintiff, Misala, Inc., appeals from final judgment in favor of defendant, Richard Eagles, in its action for breach of a lease agreement. Because the trial court went beyond the four corners of the lease agreement in determining that an entity other than the signatories to the lease should be responsible for payments under the lease, we reverse and remand for a new trial.
It is a well-settled principle of contract law that where the terms of a contract are unambiguous, the parties’ intent must be determined from the “four corners” of the document. As this court stated in Fecteau v. Southeast Bank, N.A., 585 So. 2d 1005, 1007 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991), and eases cited therein, “[i]n the absence of ambiguity, the language itself is the best evidence of the parties’ intent and its plain meaning controls.” This fundamental principle of contract interpretation has been applied to cases involving construction of lease agreements. See Walgreen Co. v. Habitat Dev. Corp., 655 So. 2d 164 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995).
In this case the terms of the lease agreement were unambiguous as to the parties to the agreement. Thus, the trial court went beyond the four comers of the agreement in its final judgment when it considered evidence of the parties’ intent that a third entity not in existence at the time the lease was executed would be responsible for the lease payments. Finding this to be in derogation of principles of contract interpretation, we reverse and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
WARNER and POLEN, JJ., concur.
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Burns v. Barfield, 732 So. 2d 1202 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)…give effect to the intent of the parties, it is a well settled principle of contract law that where the terms of a contract are unambiguous, the parties’ intent must be determined from within the four corners of the document. Misala, Inc. v. Eagles, 662 So. 2d 1389 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995). In the absence of ambiguity, the language itself is the best evidence of the parties’ intent and its plain meaning controls. Contracts are to be construed in accordance with the plain meaning of the words contained therein. See…
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Gold Crown Resort Mktg. Inc. v. Phillpotts, 272 So. 3d 789 (Fla. 5th DCA 2019)…(Fla. 4th DCA 1993)). When "the terms of a contract are unambiguous, the parties' intent must be determined from within the four corners of the document." Burns v. Barfield, 732 So. 2d 1202, 1205 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999) (citing Misala, Inc. v. Eagles, 662 So. 2d 1389 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)). "In the absence of ambiguity, the language itself is the best evidence of the parties' intent and its plain meaning controls." Id. The canons of construction cannot be used when the contract is unambiguous as there is no nee…
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Medico Env't Servs. Corp. v. Courtney, 744 So. 2d 1191 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)…oncompete Agreement was not ambiguous and it did not create a [*1192] board of directors. The trial court’s interpretation of the agreement was in error, because it improperly went beyond the four corners of the document. See Misala, Inc. v. Eagles, 662 So. 2d 1389 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995). As a result, genuine issues of material fact remain as to the propriety of the actions taken at the shareholders’ meetings. Accordingly, we reverse and remand this cause for proceedings consistent with this opinion. CAMPBELL,…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Fecteau v. Se. Bank, N.A., 585 So. 2d 1005 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)
- Walgreen Co. v. Habitat Dev. Corp., 655 So. 2d 164 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)