Case Name: KEY LARGO MARINA, INC., Appellant, v. Tracy SABIN and Annette Sabin, Appellees
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2001-04-18
Citations: 784 So. 2d 519
Docket Number: No. 3D00-1647
Parties: KEY LARGO MARINA, INC., Appellant, v. Tracy SABIN and Annette Sabin, Appellees.
Judges: Before GERSTEN, GODERICH and SHEVIN, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 784
Pages: 519–520

Head Matter:
KEY LARGO MARINA, INC., Appellant, v. Tracy SABIN and Annette Sabin, Appellees.
No. 3D00-1647.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
April 18, 2001.
Rehearing Denied May 23, 2001.
Broad and Cassell and Michael P. Bennett and M. Stephen Turner and Maura Bolivar, Tallahassee, and Gail I. Ferguson, for appellant.
David G. Hutchison, Kay Largo, for ap-pellees.
Before GERSTEN, GODERICH and SHEVIN, JJ.

Opinion:
SHEVIN, Judge.
Key Largo Marina, Inc., the defendant-counterplaintiff in this action, appeals a final judgment. We reverse because the record demonstrates that there is no evidence to support the trial court's finding that the Sabins were third-party beneficiaries of the lease between Key Largo Marina, Inc., and Atlantic Coast Yacht Club, Inc. "Unless a contract is entered into for the direct and substantial benefit of a third party, it binds and benefits only the parties themselves. The intention of the contracting parties, gleaned from the contract itself, is determinative." City of Tampa v. Thornton-Tomasetti, P.C., 646 So.2d 279, 282-83 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994); Weimar v. Yacht Club Point Estates, Inc., 223 So.2d 100 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969). There is nothing in the Key Largo-Atlantic Coast lease that even remotely references or mentions the Sabins or any interest the Sabins may have. There was absolutely no evidence to support the court's finding that the Sabins had a lifetime leasehold interest in either the houseboat or the slip where it was located. We therefore remand for further consistent proceedings.
The judgment is reversed.