PIGGLY WIGGLY MACON GA TRIAL

LESSEE'S use of the leased building and the leased property shall not be limited nor restricted to such purposes, and said building and property may be used for any other lawful business, without the consent of LESSOR (emphasis supplied). The language of the agreement expressly negates a requirement of continuous operation: Financial Properties Developers, Inc., 175 Ga.

PIGGLY WIGGLY MACON GA TRIAL

Rather, the language of the agreement is plainly to the contrary, and, therefore, the trial court, the Court of Appeals, and this court are not authorized to construe it otherwise. We agree with appellant that the lease agreement between the parties does not contain an express covenant of continuous operation. Appellees filed suit seeking damages for appellant's alleged breach of the lease. While appellant continued to pay the annual base rent to appellees, it refused to sublease the vacant store, despite the interest of other supermarkets in the abandoned space. Appellant exercised both renewal options and, after it was acquired by a new corporation, one month into the second 3-year term, closed its store, vacated the premises, and moved its grocery store operation to a nearby shopping center belonging to its new owner.

The lease was renewed on the same terms for an additional seven years in 1979, with options to renew for two additional 3-year terms. Appellant drafted the lease, which began in 1964 for a term of 15 years, and called for an annual base rent of $29,053.60 as well as a percentage rent of annual gross sales exceeding $2,000,000. In 1963, the parties executed a lease in which appellees' predecessor agreed to construct a supermarket for appellant according to plans prepared by appellant. We granted the writ of certiorari to determine whether the Court of Appeals was correct in its construction of the parties' lease, and reverse. Both the trial court and the Court of Appeals held the lease contained an express continued use covenant as well as an implied covenant of continued operation.

This case involves the construction of a shopping center store lease. Garland, Hall, Bloch, Garland & Meyer, J.

Edwards, Martin, Snow, Grant & Napier, Macon, for Piggly Wiggly Southern, Inc.īenjamin M.

Piggly wiggly macon ga