USPS v. Bellevue Post Office

In 1963, USPS and Bellevue’s predecessor-in-interest entered into a twenty-year initial lease with five options to renew the lease and an option to purchase certain property. When USPS attempted to exercise the purchase option, Bellevue refused to honor it. The district court granted summary judgment for USPS and ordered specific performance of the sale of the property. The court applied Washington’s heightened evidentiary standard for specific performance and held that USPS has shown clearly and unequivocally that it has a contractual right to purchase the property. Even under Washington law’s high standard for awarding specific performance, USPS successfully provided “clear and unequivocal evidence” that it exercised its options to extend the term of the lease in strict compliance with the terms of the lease, and that the lease therefore continued to exist through the time it also properly exercised its purchase option. Finally, the court agreed with the district court that the 1963 lease remained valid. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court’s order granting summary judgment to USPS and compelling specific performance for the sale of the property. View "USPS v. Bellevue Post Office" on Justia Law