Columbia East Assoc. v. Bi-Lo, Inc

In Columbia East Assoc. v. Bi-Lo, Inc., 299 S.C. 515, 386 S.E.2d 259 (S.C. Ct. App. 1989), the court held that the lease implied a covenant of continuous operation, which the grocery store breached, and noted that a "major reason Columbia East entered the lease was the ability of Bi-Lo, as the anchor tenant, to draw customers to the Shopping Center as a whole." Id. at 262. In reaching its conclusion, the Columbia East court emphasized that the lease at issue contained a restrictive use clause, authorizing the premises to be "used only for the operation of a supermarket," and a restrictive sublease and assignability clause, permitting the tenant to sublet or assign the lease only in accordance with the restrictive use clause---that is, only to another supermarket. Id. at 260. Based on this language, the court concluded that the lease was ambiguous with respect to a covenant of continuous operation, and that it was therefore appropriate to consider parol evidence to determine whether the parties intended their lease to imply such a covenant. Id. at 261-62.