Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Florida

I have a property in Florida, and we have a friend that looks after the property for us when we are back in the UK. There is no formal contract, the are simply a friend of the family. Recently without our prior knowledge or concent she drew up a contract with a 3rd party to rent the villa. In this contract it stated that she was the property's landlord and took a deposit of $500.
Her client turned up to the property, unknowing that we had allowed a friend to stay there at the time.
We have now recieved a letter from the 3rd partys attorney saying they are suing us for the sum of approx $8000. Is this legal and are they allowed to do this, as the contract was between the 3rd party and someone who had no legal authority over the property albeit a set of keys to get into the house for maintenance reasons. Is it worth fighting this or do they have no legal ground to stand on?

Asked on 2/06/11, 6:47 am

David Slater David P. Slater, Esq.

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Do not ignore any lawsuit papers or you will lose by default. Unless you cloaked your friend with apparent authority, I see no liability.

Answered on 2/08/11, 8:45 pm

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