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Friday, March 29, 2024

Federal judge rules jury trial waiver on lease agreement 'unambiguous'

Lawsuits
Lease

FORT MYERS, Fla. --- A federal judge has ruled a Florida hair salon must abide by a provision in a lease agreement where it waived a right to a jury trial.

Plaintiff Wave Length Hair Salons, which operates multiple outlets, including at the Gulf Coast Town Center in Fort Myers, is suing its landlord over allegations the parent company inflated energy bills in malls across the country.

Wave Length wanted a federal jury trial, while the defendants, JG Gulf Coast Town Center, and its parent company, CBL and Associates, objected, citing the jury trial waiver in the lease agreement.

They argued for the jury trial waiver, saying the lease is a central part of the complaint initially made by the plaintiff.

The plaintiff argued the waiver applies only "to litigation involving a tenant’s default" and, further, only to legal actions involving between the tenant and the landlord on the lease, JG Gulf Coast.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Mac McCoy, sitting in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, reviewed the clarity of the waiver provision, and "the level of sophistication and experience of the parties."

The defendants argued that the owner of the salon was sophisticated enough to know what it was doing, that it owned multiple salons and it had access to counsel, The magistrate judge agreed.

In summing up, McCoy wrote, "After careful review of the parties’ arguments, the court finds that there is no ambiguity surrounding the plain meaning of the jury trial waiver provision. Moreover, application of the plain language of the provision dictates only one result— waiver of a jury trial by the plaintiff here.

"The court finds the plaintiff’s argument unpersuasive. Instead, the court finds that defendants’ argument....accurately describes the actual language of the waiver."

McCoy concluded the plaintiff "knowingly and voluntarily" waived its right to a jury trial.

"Additionally, this waiver applies to any litigation arising out of the lease, not just litigation involving a default or breach by the tenant," the judge ruled. "Finally, the waiver applies equally to all of plaintiff’s claims against all defendants.".

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