The appellant owned properties intended for development as a shopping centre and mixed-use complex. Nearby shopping centre owners, including the respondent, opposed the rezoning. The dispute was settled, and as part of the settlement the appellant granted registered praedial servitudes over its properties. These servitudes prohibited the letting of retail space to Woolworths or Mica Hardware for a period of eleven years. The appellant later sought a declaratory order that enforcement of the servitudes was contrary to public policy and sought their cancellation, arguing that the restraint no longer served a legitimate commercial interest.