Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Defining Exclusivity in Commercial Lease

UNLESS SPECIFICALLY DEFINED, IT WOULD BE COMMON USAGE IN THE LEASING COMMUNITY. IT SEEMS APPARENT TO ME, UNLESS INVESTIGATION SHOWS OTHERWISE, THEY ARE IN BREACH.

JOEL SELIK

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Re: Defining Exclusivity in Commercial Lease

You may have an arguable claim against the landlord. The up-side is that you can get a court order for damages or injunction against the landlord and may force him to evict the tenant. The downside is if the Judge believes that the breach is minor in nature because your sales of bicycles may just be minor, you may not only have to pay your own attorney fees, but the landlord's as well.

Re: Defining Exclusivity in Commercial Lease

Look at the contract or the terms of lease carefully. Unless �sporting goods� is defined in the contract or the lease itself, the business community standard is applied. In sporting goods industry is a bicycle considered a sporting good? Do other sporting goods stores sell bikes? Courts may also look at previous behavior of the landlord with his tenants. If he routinely allows sporting goods stores to carry bikes, then bikes are a sporting good because of �course of dealing� or �course of performance�.

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Re: Defining Exclusivity in Commercial Lease

I'll just suppliment Lubna's response. Sporting infers some sort of activity that involves competition. Bicycles are used in three catagories: transportation, recreation, and sport. So it may be that the non-competition clause in your lease doesn't exclude the landlord from leasing space to a bicycle shop. However, make sure to object to the landlord immediately. This is to reserve your right to bring legal action for some sort of restraining order and/or damages.