London City Council v. Allen
Court of Appeal
Ann.Cas.1916C 932 (1914)
Morris Allen agreed with the London City Council (plaintiff) to reserve two parcels of his land for future public road construction and not build on them, but his wife (defendant) built three houses on the reserved lots after acquiring title; the Council ordered the houses torn down and sought court enforcement. Mrs. Allen argued she wasn't bound by the covenant because the city didn't own any land that would actually benefit from the covenant's performance, and alternatively that she lacked notice of the covenant when she acquired title. The trial court found she failed to prove lack of notice, and separately held the city's general public interest in street construction was enough to make the covenant run with the land even without the city owning benefited land; Mrs. Allen appealed.
Whether the doctrine of Tulk v. Moxhay prevents a municipality from enforcing a real property covenant against a successor in title to the original covenantor when the municipality does not own land that would benefit from the covenant's performance.