Dan's Super Market, Inc. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

LOKEN, Circuit Judge.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (“Wal-Mart”), appeals an injunction enforcing a restrictive covenant in favor of Dan’s Super Market, Inc. (“Dan’s”), which owns the site next to Wal-Mart’s store in Bismarck, North Dakota. The district court construed the covenant as precluding Wal-Mart from selling many grocery items that are typically available in modern discount stores. We conclude that the covenant must be strictly construed against Dan’s, a party to the covenant seeking to restrict a third party’s use of real property. Accordingly, we reverse.

I

The Wachter Real Estate Trust owned…