The Duffner Family 2012 Irrevocable Trust v. The Lee R. Duffner Revocable Living Trust
A family trust landlord sued the estate of its deceased tenant (the trust's own settlor/trustee) for 99 years of unpaid rent under a residential lease-back executed as part of an estate plan. The Third District affirmed the trial court's limitation of the landlord's remedies, holding that the lease's two coexisting remedies (termination or eviction) controlled and that section 83.595, Florida Statutes, sets out the total universe of landlord remedies, requiring abandonment, surrender, or procurement of a writ of possession before a landlord may 'stand by and do nothing' and sue for accruing rent.
Key facts
- The Duffner Family 2012 Irrevocable Trust, as residential landlord, sued the estate of Lee R. Duffner, its deceased tenant and the trust's settlor/trustee, for 99 years of unpaid rent under a lease-back agreement executed as part of an estate plan.
- The trial court limited the landlord's remedies to those specified in the lease (termination or eviction) and rejected the landlord's claim for accrued rent damages.
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Why it matters
The opinion supplies a rare appellate construction of section 83.595's 'stand by and do nothing' option, holding it is unavailable unless the landlord first obtains a writ of possession or the tenant abandons or… — full analysis with a trial
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