Carlotta Evans v. One Gateway Associates

Summary

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment rejecting Carlotta Evans’s claim that a proposed lease extension for her RadioShack store formed a binding contract. The court held that the parties lacked a meeting of the minds because Evans’s purported acceptance added conditions concerning the U-Haul business and the separate oil change center lease.

Holdings

1. No binding Extension Agreement was formed because the parties had not reached a meeting of the minds regarding its terms, including whether the U-Haul business was included and whether the RadioShack lease extension was linked to issues concerning the separate oil-change-center lease.
2. Summary judgment for One Gateway Associates was proper on the claim that the Extension Agreement was valid and binding.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the parties formed a valid and binding contract extending the commercial RadioShack lease.
2. Whether Evans's response constituted an unequivocal and unconditional acceptance when it sought inclusion of the U-Haul business and objected to conditions relating to the separate oil-change-center lease.
3. Whether summary judgment was proper on the lease-extension claim.

Disposition

affirmed