Tulk v. Moxhay

Case brief summary

Facts

A buyer promised to keep land as a garden and not build on it. Later, Moxhay bought the land knowing about this promise but wanted to build anyway. The seller sued to stop him.

Procedural history

A lower judge ordered an injunction stopping Moxhay from building. Moxhay asked the court to cancel that order, bringing the case to the Lord Chancellor.

Issue

Can a court stop a landowner from breaking a land-use promise made by an earlier owner, if the current owner knew about it when buying, even if the promise doesn't legally transfer automatically?

Holding

Yes, the court can enforce the restriction against the current owner because he bought the land knowing about it, so the request to cancel the injunction was denied.

Reasoning

The court said it would be unfair to let buyers ignore promises they knew about when purchasing land. Anyone who buys land knowing about a restriction must respect it, regardless of technical transfer rules.

Opinions

Majority (Lord Chancellor Cottenham): A land use restriction known to a buyer at purchase can be enforced in equity against that buyer, regardless of technical property law transfer rules.