Read the case below and give me the court rulling and your own opinion whether you agree or disagree with the ruling, and why

Case : Pan Handle Realty, LLC v. Olins

In this breach of contract action, the defendant, Robert Olins, appeals from the judgment of the trial court in favor of the plaintiff, Pan Handle Realty, LLC, rendered after a trial to the court. On appeal, the defendant claims that the court: (1) abused its discretion by deciding this case on the merits prior to hearing the parties' closing arguments, which it had previously scheduled pursuant to Practice Book ; (2) improperly found that the parties entered into a binding lease agreement, which the defendant subsequently breached; and (3) improperly determined that the defendant failed to prove his special defense that the plaintiff had failed to mitigate its damages resulting from his alleged breach. We disagree and, thus, affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The following facts and procedural history are relevant to the resolution of this appeal. The plaintiff is a Connecticut limited liability company owned by Irwin Stillman and Robert Stillman, which constructed a luxury home at 4 Pan Handle Lane in Westport (the property). The plaintiff initially attempted to sell the property for a price of $5,950,000, which it later reduced when that effort proved unsuccessful. Thereafter, the defendant expressed an interest in leasing the property from the plaintiff for a period of one year. In pursuit of that interest, he submitted an application proposing to rent the property from the plaintiff at the rate of $12,000 per month, together with an accompanying financial statement. The plaintiff responded to the defendant's proposal by preparing a draft lease for his review, which the defendant promptly forwarded to his attorney.

On January 17, 2009, the defendant and his real estate agent, Laura Sydney, met with Irwin Stillman, then acting as the plaintiff's representative, to discuss the draft lease (January 17 meeting). At that meeting, the defendant and Irwin Stillman agreed to several revisions to the draft lease that had been proposed by the defendant's attorney, then incorporated the revisions into the lease and signed it. The resulting lease, which was dated January 19, 2009, specified a lump sum annual rent of $138,000. At the time of the signing, the defendant gave the plaintiff a postdated check for $138,000, drawn on the account of Argyle Capital Management (Argyle),a company of which the defendant was the sole shareholder.The lease agreement required the plaintiff to make certain modifications to the property prior to the occupancy date, including the removal of all of the furnishings from the leased premises.In turn, it required the defendant to tender a security deposit to the plaintiff, to provide the plaintiff with proof of insurance for the property, and to execute a guaranty on behalf of Argyle because his postdated rental check had been drawn on Argyle's account.

On January 21, 2009, the plaintiff's real estate broker informed it that, according to Sydney, the defendant planned to move into the property on January 28, 2009. The next day, the defendant requested information from the plaintiff for his renter's insurance policy, which the plaintiff duly provided. By that time, the plaintiff had also completed the modifications requested by the defendant at the January 17 meeting and agreed to in the lease agreement, including the removal of the furniture. The defendant's check, which was postdated January 26, 2009, was deposited by the plaintiff on that date.

The following day, however, Citibank advised the plaintiff that the defendant had issued a stop payment order on his postdated rental check and explained that the check would not be honored. The plaintiff subsequently received a letter from the defendant's attorney stating that "[the defendant] is unable to pursue any further interest in the property." Thereafter, the plaintiff made substantial efforts to secure a new tenant for the property, listing the property with a real estate broker, advertising its availability and expending $80,000 to restage it. Although, by these efforts, the plaintiff generated several offers to lease the property, it was never able to find a qualified tenant, or, for that reason, to enter into an acceptable lease agreement with anyone for all or any part of the one year period of the defendant's January 19, 2009 lease.

Thereafter, on March 6, 2009, the plaintiff filed this action, alleging that the defendant had breached an enforceable lease agreement. The plaintiff further alleged that, despite its efforts to mitigate its damages, it had sustained damages as a result of the defendant's breach, including unpaid rental payments it was to have received under the lease, brokerage commissions it incurred to rent the property again and the cost of modifications to the property that were completed at the defendant's request.

At the close of evidence at trial on March 10, 2011, the court ordered the parties to submit their final briefs in the case by April 25, 2011, to submit reply briefs by May 9, 2011, and to appear in court to deliver their closing arguments on May 16, 2011. On May 11, 2011, however, just after the parties filed their reply briefs but before the scheduled date for closing arguments, the court issued a memorandum of decision resolving the merits of the case in favor of the plaintiff (May 11 decision). In that decision, the court found, more particularly, that the plaintiff had met its burden of proving that the parties had entered into an enforceable lease agreement, that the defendant had breached that agreement, and that the breach had caused the plaintiff damages inlost rent and utility bills incurred during the lease period, but that the defendant had failed to meet his burden of proving his special defense that the plaintiff had failed to mitigate its damages after the breach. On the basis of these findings, the court awarded the plaintiff compensatory damages in the amount of $146,000 $138,000 in unpaid rent for the term of the lease and $8000 in utility fees incurred by the plaintiff during the lease period plus interest, and attorney's fees in amounts to be determined at a later evidentiary hearing.

On May 31, 2011, the defendant filed a motion to reargue and for articulation. The court denied the motion to reargue without opinion on June 3, 2011. Thereafter, on June 13, 2011, at the hearing previously scheduled to resolve the issues of attorney's fees and interest, the court granted the defendant's renewed motion for reargument. Counsel for the defendant made that motion in light of the premature issuance of the court's decision on the merits without hearing the parties' closing arguments. Thereafter, the court heard oral argument on the merits of the case. The following day, on June 14, 2011, the court issued a second memorandum of decision (June 14 decision), in which it reissued, in its entirety, its earlier May 11 decision on the merits and awarded the plaintiff additional sums for interest and attorney's fees.This appeal followed.

Reference : https://scholar.google.co.kr/scholar_case?case=12912025244383561692&q=Pan+Handle+Realty,+LLC+v.+Olins&hl=en&as_sdt=2006&as_vis=1