Also known as:restrictive covenant · restrictive covenanting · non-compete covenant · noncompetition covenant
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A negative covenant that limits permissible uses of land. A negative easement is a restrictive covenant.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Negative Easement Treated as Covenant
Ricardo Rojas granted his neighbor an irrevocable right to prevent any industrial structures on his parcel. When a later buyer proposed a sawmill, the neighbor enforced the restriction as a restrictive covenant running with the land.
Use Restriction Binding Successors
Rosalind Reed recorded a declaration barring high-volume storage on each condo unit. After Regina Robinson purchased a unit and began storing client records, the neighboring owner enforced the prohibition as a restrictive covenant that ran with the land.
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Cases
Restatements
Casebooks
Hornbooks
Course Outlines
Study Supplements
Dictionaries
Roberto Reyes and other owners agreed to covenants barring sale to Black buyers. When Riley Rivera attempted to purchase a burdened lot, the sellers sought a court injunction to enforce the restriction.
Shelley v. Kraemer334 U.S. 1 (1948)
Contractual Limits in Industry Agreements
Rhapsody Entertainment entered agreements with foreign producers that restricted aluminum imports into the United States. The government challenged the covenants as part of an antitrust suit against the company.
United States v. Aluminum Co. of America (Alcoa)148 F.2d 416, 443-444 (C.A.2 1945)
Employment Noncompete Clause
Riverside Healthcare required Roland Rhodes to sign a noncompete barring work for competitors nationwide for three years after termination. Rhodes later challenged the clause when offered a similar position at another provider.
Armendariz v. Foundation Health Psychcare Services, Inc.24 Cal.4th 83, 114 (2000)
Covenant in Nuisance Dispute
Rocky Mountain Mining operated a feedlot subject to a recorded covenant limiting operations to daytime hours. When a developer built homes nearby and sued to enjoin nighttime activity, the court considered whether the covenant barred the claim.
Spur Industries, Inc. v. Del E. Webb Development Co.494 P.2d 700 (Ariz. 1972)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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How does a restrictive covenant differ from an affirmative covenant?+
A restrictive covenant requires the burdened owner to refrain from certain uses of land. An affirmative covenant instead requires the owner to perform an act such as making payments or maintaining a shared facility.
Supporting sources
When does a restrictive covenant run with the land?+
The covenant runs when the creating instrument states that the burden or benefit applies to present and future owners of the affected parcels and the restriction limits permissible land uses.
Supporting sources
Can a court refuse to enforce a racially restrictive covenant?+
State courts cannot constitutionally enforce private agreements that bar sale or lease of property on the basis of race because such enforcement constitutes state action violating equal protection.
Supporting sources
Does a negative easement receive the same treatment as a restrictive covenant?+
Under the Restatement a negative easement is treated as a restrictive covenant because the obligation not to use land in specified ways has become indistinguishable from a use-limiting covenant.
Supporting sources
381 U.S. 479 (1965)Constitutional Law
…of potential pupils and their parents; and to Barrows v. Jackson , 346 U. S. 249, where a white defendant, party to a racially restrictive covenant, who was being sued for damages by the covenantors because she had conveyed her property to Negroes, was allowed to raise the issue that enforcement of the covenant violated the rights of…
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