Legal Question in Business Law in Texas

Broken verbal agreement to purchase property&

I leased (written lease) my business to a tenant who had (verbally) agreed to purchase the business and property (for an already agreed upon price) as soon as she could come up with the down payment. Initial lease was for 6 months. She seemed to be having a hard time getting down-payment together, so I extended her lease a couple of times. After 21 months, she moved the business to another location. I was left with a building and no ''business.'' Do I have any legal recourse as far as the verbal agreement to purchase the property? How about the fact that she ''stole'' my business? She paid me rent through the middle of September (which is when she closed up shop at my place) but did not completely vacate and turn over the keys until the end of November. Doesn't she owe me rent for those two-and-a-half months? When she finally vacated, I discovered that she had left food in the freezers and in the trash (which she never removed from the premises) and there had been no electricity since Sept. so you can imagine the mess! She also made off with some of my equipment. These two facts pretty much assured that I will be unable to lease the property any time soon. Would that not be considered ''malicious intent?''


Asked on 1/03/01, 6:09 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Charles Aspinwall Charles S. Aspinwall, J.D., LLC

Re: Broken verbal agreement to purchase property&

Verbal agreements are legally enforceable but usually difficult if not impossible to prove. Ones says yes, the other says no.

Violations of written lease provisions are indeed legally enforceable and one can recover money for proveable breaches, but a lawsuit is often required.

Malice is not a requirement of a breach of lease suit, only proof of a breach of written conditions.

Be sure to clearly photograph all damages before you clean things up.

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Answered on 1/05/01, 8:09 am

Re: Broken verbal agreement to purchase property&

I really can't give an opinion on this until I see the contract and any written correspondence between you two. The problem with oral agreements is the proof of them. We may be able to infer such an agreement by party conduct, again, I would have to thoroughly review everything before rendering an opinion.

Email me if you want to discuss this further.

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Answered on 1/05/01, 3:41 pm


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