Facts
- A part of some land owned by an ironmonger was sold along with a covenant preventing the purchaser from using the land in competition with the vendor’s business
- The ironmonger died, leaving the retained land and business to her son
- The son assigned the benefit of his inherited business and the covenant to the claimants
- The defendant’s subsequently started trading as ironmongers
Issue
- Was the covenant enforceable by the claimants?
Decision
- Yes
Reasoning
- The benefit of the covenant had not been annexed to the benefitted land, as it was not identified by the covenant entered into by the defendants
- The son was entitled to the benefit of the covenant as it was held on trust by the executors of the original ironmonger
- As the covenant was not solely there to benefit the son’s inherited business, it was assignable, and was assigned by the son when he granted the claimant’s lease
- The benefiting land in the equitable assignment of the benefit of a covenant need only be identifiable – a court may look at surrounding circumstances to assist with this identification
- Circumstances allowed identification, and the covenant was enforceable by the claimants
