Tenant Didn't Prove that Oral Agreement Existed

A tenant sued the owner to have the terms of his lease changed to reflect an oral agreement he claimed that he and the owner had made. The claimed agreement would relieve him of personal liability under the lease if he assigned the lease to a corporation he owned. The owner denied the existence of the oral agreement and sued the tenant for rent owed.

A federal appeals court in New York ruled that the tenant hadn't proved that the oral agreement existed and had to pay the owner over $600,000 in rent due and interest. Since the alleged oral agreement was different from the written lease, the tenant had to prove the oral agreement's existence with “clear, positive and convincing evidence,” the court explained. But the tenant's only evidence was his son's testimony [Khezrie v. Greenberg].