Kobayashi v. Orion Ventures, Inc.

At the center of this case is the interpretation of a noncompetition clause in a lease: “Landlord will not permit the operation of any other delis in the Building during the term of this Lease.” That pivotal phrase appeared in the last sentence of § 4 of a commercial lease between the trustees of Shuwa Trust, as landlord, to Orion Ventures, Inc., as tenant, for space to be used by tenant as a restaurant.

If, as counsel for the landlord suggested at oral argument, this case is about “what is a deli,” a purist3 would answer that a deli is a purveyor of central European delicacies such as corned…