FERNANDO GONZALEZ, APPELLANT,
v.
I.J. ARCHER, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Fernando Gonzalez appealed a judgment denying his specific performance claim to purchase a residence under a lease-option agreement. The appellate court reversed, holding that the lessor was estopped from claiming Gonzalez was in default due to late rental payments because the lessor had accepted all late payments without protest or notice of default.
The court held that Archer was estopped from claiming default based on late rental payments because he accepted all late payments without protest or notice of default, which would lead a reasonable lessee to believe the lessor did not intend to enforce that provision. The court also held that Gonzalez's failure to remit the escrow deposit did not preclude specific performance because Archer rendered tender unnecessary by declaring the option void before accepting the deposit.
[1] A party may waive any rights to which they are legally entitled by actions or conduct warranting an inference that a known right has been relinquished.
[2] A lessor who accepts untimely rental payments without protest is estopped from claiming the lessee was in default of the lease due to those late payments.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A party may waive any rights to which ... she is legally entitled, by actions or conduct warranting an inference that a known right has been relinquished.”
Establishes the legal standard for waiver by conduct, which forms the basis for the estoppel holding.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceGonzalez leased a residence in Golden Beach, Florida from Archer with an option to purchase. Gonzalez made several untimely rental payments before Dec…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Reasonable Time For Performance cases and more on FLexlaw
SHEVIN, Judge.
Fernando Gonzalez appeals a final judgment in favor of defendant, I.J. Archer, in a specific performance action. We reverse, holding that the trial court’s judgment is not supported by competent substantial evidence.
Contrary to the trial court’s findings, the record shows that prior to lessee Gonzalez’s December 15, 1993, exercise of the option to purchase the subject residence in Golden Beach, Florida, lessor Archer accepted all untimely rental payments without protest,1 and Archer never notified Gonzalez that he was in default of the 1993 lease due to the late payments. Such actions would cause a reasonable lessee to believe that the lessor did not intend to enforce the default provision on that basis. As in Protean Inv., Inc. v. Travel, Etc., Inc., 499 So. 2d 49 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986), under these circumstances, Archer is estopped from claiming that Gonzalez was in default of the lease due to late rental payments, and Archer, therefore, impliedly waived that lease provision. “A party may waive any rights to which ... she is legally entitled, by actions or conduct warranting an inference that a known right has been relinquished.” Torres v. K-Site 500 Assoc., 632 So. 2d 110, 112 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994). Because the record does not show that Gonzalez was in default, he did not forfeit the opportunity to exercise the option based on the late rental payments.
Furthermore, Gonzalez’s failure to remit the entire escrow deposit does not preclude judgment in his favor. The purchase contract did not provide a time for such performance. Accordingly, Gonzalez was only required to remit the deposit within a reasonable time. See De Cespedes v. Bolanos, 711 So. 2d 216, 218 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998); Doolittle v. Fruehauf Corp., 332 So. 2d 107, 109-10 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976). However, shortly after Gonzalez’s attempt to exercise the option, Archer informed Gonzalez that the option had been rendered null and void prior to his acceptance. At that point, Archer would not have accepted the deposit; Gonzalez’s tender was rendered unnecessary. See Sisco v. Rotenberg, 104 So. 2d 365 (Fla.1958). Therefore, we decline to affirm the judgment on that basis. Based on the foregoing, we reverse the final judgment and hold that Gonzalez is entitled to specific performance of the parties’ agreement.
Reversed and remanded.
. Before Gonzalez exercised the option, the only check which bears a stamp stating that it was accepted under protest was Gonzalez's December 1, 1993 payment check. That payment, however, was remitted timely. Apparently, Archer was asserting the default as stated in the November 30, 1993 letter to Gonzalez informing him that he was in default of the lease and requesting that he comply with a letter from the Town of Golden Beach concerning the failure to obtain a permit before installing a new garage door. The court did not address the installation of the garage door, and Archer does not assert that action in support of the court’s judgment.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Leverette v. Luanne Cochran, 876 So. 2d 2 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)…ran are equally distinguishable. See, e.g., Wilson v. Odom, 215 So. 2d 37 (Fla. 1st DCA 1968) (court rejected defense of purchaser’s inability to pay where there was a non-binding modification to the contract at the last minute); Gonzalez v. Archer, 718 So. 2d 889 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998) (Shortly after purchaser sought to exercise option to buy, seller notified him that the offer was null and void. Therefore tender of escrow funds would not have been accepted, was unnecessary, and failure to tender funds was not a…
Authorities Cited
- Sisco v. Rotenberg, 104 So. 2d 365 (Fla. 1958)
- Torres v. K-Site 500 Assocs. & Chicago Title Ins. Co., 632 So. 2d 110 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994)
- de Cespedes v. Laida Bolanos, 711 So. 2d 216 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)
- Doolittle v. Fruehauf Corp., 332 So. 2d 107 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976)
- Rivera v. Action Cargo Serv., Inc., 499 So. 2d 49 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)
- Protean Invs., Inc. v. Travel, Inc., 499 So. 2d 49 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)