The British Waggon Co. and the Parkgate Waggon Co. v. Lea & Co.
Court of Queen's Bench
5 Q.B.D. 149 (1880)
Parkgate Waggon Co. (Parkgate) (plaintiff) rented 100 wagons to Lea & Co. (Lea) (defendant) for seven years, agreeing to handle all maintenance and repairs itself. Partway through the term, Parkgate sold its wagon business to The British Waggon Co. (Waggon) (plaintiff), which took over the maintenance and repair duties and performed them successfully. When Lea learned of the assignment, it tried to terminate the rental contracts on that basis, and Waggon and Parkgate sued to enforce the agreement.
Whether a party may terminate a contract because the other party assigned its maintenance and repair duties to a third party, when those duties do not depend on the assignor's personal skill or qualifications.