Piggly Wiggly Southern, Inc. v. Heard
Supreme Court of Georgia
405 S.E.2d 478 (1991)
Piggly Wiggly (defendant) leased space from Heard's predecessor, built and ran a grocery store there, and exercised three renewal options before closing that location a month after the third renewal to relocate to a shopping mall, refusing to sublet to other interested grocers; landlord Heard (plaintiff) sued for breach, arguing the lease required continuous business operation, and the court of appeals agreed the lease contained both an express and implied covenant of continuous use, ruling for Heard before Piggly Wiggly appealed.
Whether, under Georgia law, a lease that does not limit property use to a specific business and expressly authorizes any lawful business purpose imposes an express or implied covenant of continuous operation.