Court Opinion

ID: 9664520
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 00:20:31.264912+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:06.966803
License: Public Domain

MIRABAL, Justice,
dissenting.
I dissent.
The jury found that the parties verbally1 agreed to a lease of the gas station property for a definite term of 15 years, and that the parties agreed the lessee would have an option to extend the lease for an additional five years. In my opinion, the evidence is legally and factually sufficient to support at least the finding that the parties had agreed on a 15-year base lease term.
It is clear from this record that neither party intended the arrangement to be merely a month-to-month tenancy. Upon moving in, the lessees made substantial improvements to make the property suitable for gas station operations, all with the knowledge and consent of the landlord. The landlord sent lessees a proposed written lease specifying a 15-year lease term; the lessees countered that they wanted a 25-year lease. The landlord often assured the lessees that he was not concerned with the length of the lease, that the lessees should not worry about it, and that they should go ahead and make the improvements they wanted.
At a minimum, the jury could have properly concluded that, by his words, actions, and silence, the landlord had bound himself to lease the premises to the lessees for at least 15 years. Whether the evidence is also sufficient to support the “five year option” finding is not crucial in this case. The existence of an agreement to lease the property for at least 15 years means the lessees were not simply month-to-month tenants, which means the new owners of the property cannot evict the lessees with just 30 days notice, as though they were tenants at will occupying the property on a month-to-month basis.
Unlike the majority, I would overrule point of error two, and I would address the other points of error raised in this appeal.

. No issue has been raised about the applicability of the Statute of Frauds in this case.