Wash. Supreme Court published opinion — 901791.pdf

Citation: Wash. Supreme Court published opinion — 901791.pdf
Jurisdiction: Washington (state)
Source verification: official_capture_completeness_unverified
Original Source: https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/901791.pdf ↗

Related Parts of This Source

Full Text

1,508 chars

terminate a rental agreement early due to a change in employment, and after "due

diligence and reasonable effort" the landlord cannot find a new tenant "at a fair

rental ... the tenant shall remain liable for the rental specified in the rental

agreement until the lot is rented or the original term ends."). There is no evidence

that Tison's signature was forged or involuntary, but by shaping the law to fit her

specific circumstances, the majority places untold numbers of others at risk. 3

CONCLUSION

It is the legislature, not the court, that must strike the balance between the

benefits and burdens of applying the general tenancy statute of frauds to MHL TA

leases. The legislature struck that balance in favor of applying it. Because Tison's

lease does not comply with the statute of frauds, its specific provisions are

enforceable only for the presumptive one-year term applicable to all MHL TA

leases. I respectfully dissent.

3
If applying the statute of frauds would be inequitable based on the facts presented, the proper
approach is to apply the doctrine of part performance. See Berg v. Ting, 125 Wn.2d 544, 555-56,
559, 886 P.2d 564 (1995). Determining whether part performance applies would require a
remand for additional fact-finding on whether any checks at the lower rent were accepted by
Western Plaza LLC. See majority at 2 & n.4.

9
             
Western Plaza, LLC v. Tison, No. 90179-1
Yu, J. (dissenting)

10