Kagan v. Another
Kagan v. Another
Opinion of the Court
The defendants, Fathi Taleb Ismail and Arifa Loghman, appeal from the summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, Vadim Kagan and Kagan Development KDC Corp. In this appeal, the defendants assert that (1) because the plaintiffs did not sign the amended lease, the lease document containing a right of first refusal (ROFR) for the purchase of the rental property was invalid and unenforceable; (2) even assuming the existence of a valid lease, when the plaintiffs breached the lease, it was voided and the ROFR nullified; and (3) in any event, the plaintiffs failed to properly exercise the ROFR option. On the basis of the undisputed facts in this record, we affirm.
Discussion. In reviewing questions of summary judgment, we work "from the same record as the motion judge and decide[ ] the motion de novo." Targus Group Intl., Inc. v. Sherman,
1. Validity of the lease. The defendants claim that because the lease term exceeded one year and the plaintiffs did not sign the lease after the defendants changed the rental term from thirty-six months to thirty months, there was no valid and enforceable lease under the Statute of Frauds, G. L. c. 259, § 1.
While the defendants correctly assert that, to be enforceable, a lease document for a term longer than one year, as is the case here, must, under the Statute of Frauds, be in writing, Whaler Motor Inn, Inc. v. Parsons,
Here, the plaintiffs signed and returned to the defendants the lease document containing a thirty-six-month lease term and the ROFR option. Then, before signing the lease themselves, the defendants changed only the lease term from thirty-six months to thirty months. The remainder of the lease, including the ROFR option, remained intact. Accordingly, as the "part[ies] to be charged," when the defendants signed the document, they created a binding written lease that satisfied the Statute of Frauds.
2. Breach of the lease. The defendants next contend that summary judgment is barred because, according to the defendants, the plaintiffs were in breach of the lease terms, voiding the lease and nullifying the ROFR option before it was triggered. This argument also fails.
The defendants sent the plaintiffs a notice to quit in a letter dated April 22, 2014, alleging violations of several of the lease terms and condominium rules. While the plaintiffs dispute the allegations, they continued to send rent payments, which the defendants accepted without reservation. Generally, a "landlord's acceptance of rent for a time subsequent to the expiration of the notice to terminate, may constitute a waiver of the notice." Slater v. Krinsky,
In any event, even if the defendants are correct that they did not waive possession of the premises because the plaintiffs' breach was continuous, the plaintiffs' alleged breach of the lease still would not render the ROFR option void. See Rizika v. Donovan,
3. Proper exercise of the ROFR. "Upon notice of a bona fide offer to purchase, the right of first refusal ripens into an option to purchase the property at the price and otherwise on the terms stated in the offer." Frostar Corp. v. Malloy,
"The manner in which an option may be exercised is to be determined by the language of the option provision," Roberts-Neustadter Furs, Inc. v. Simon,
Nevertheless, relying on Roberts-Neustadter Furs, Inc. v. Simon,
In that case, this court contrasted "(a) options which require purchase within a specified period of time but make no reference to notice as a means of exercising the option with (b) options which expressly state that the lessee can exercise the option by giving written notice to the lessor."
Unlike the category (a) options discussed in Roberts-Neustadter Furs, Inc., the defendants did not condition acceptance upon the "purchase" of the property within a specified time.
Here, the plaintiffs, who had until June 20, 2014, to exercise their ROFR option, sent the defendants written notice on June 14, 2014, of their intention to purchase the property for the price and the terms specified in the third-party offer. In our view, such written notice was timely and reasonable. Roberts-Neustadter Furs, Inc.,
Judgment affirmed.
At oral argument, the defendants also contended that their agent never had the authority to enter into a thirty-six-month lease on the defendants' behalf. Because the defendants did not raise this argument in the Superior Court, it is waived. See Mass.R.A.P. 16(a)(4), as amended,
The defendants are also bound by their references and acknowledgements throughout the legal proceedings below to the existence of a legally binding "lease." Weber v. Coast to Coast Med., Inc.,
We need not decide whether the lease is for a thirty- or a thirty-six-month period, as the ROFR was triggered in June of 2014, well before the expiration of the shorter of the two time periods.
The relevant ROFR option language states: "If and when the LESSOR decides to sell the home during the term of the lease, then the LESSEE has the right of first refusal to purchase the property, said right of first refusal must be exercised within one week of presentation of offer to LESSEE."
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.