Lumley v Wagner [1852] EWHC (Ch) J96 is an English contract law

English contract law

English contract law is a body of law regulating contracts in England and Wales. With its roots in the lex mercatoria and the activism of the judiciary during the industrial revolution, it shares a heritage with countries across the Commonwealth , and the United States...

 case, concerning the right to terminate performance of a contract.

Facts

Mlle

Miss

Miss is an English language honorific traditionally used only for an unmarried woman . Originating in the 17th century, it is a contraction of mistress, which was used for all women. A period is not used to signify the contraction...

 Johanna Wagner was engaged by Benjamin Lumley

Benjamin Lumley

Benjamin Lumley, opera manager and solicitor, was born Benjamin Levy, in 1811, the son of a Jewish merchant Louis Levy, and died 17 March 1875 in London.-Beginnings at His Majesty's Theatre:...

 to sing exclusively at Her Majesty’s Theatre on Haymarket for from 1 April 1852 for 3 months, two nights a week. Frederick Gye

Frederick Gye

Frederick Gye was an English businessman and opera manager who for many years ran what is now the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.-Life:...

, who ran Covent Garden Theatre, offered her more money to break her contract with Mr Lumley and sing for him.

Sir James Parker granted an injunction to restrain Mlle Wagner. She appealed.

Judgment

Lord St Leonards LC, in the Lord Chancellor’s Court, held the injunction did not constitute indirect specific performance of Wagner’s obligation to sing. So an order could be granted that prohibited Mlle Wagner from performing further other than at Her Majesty's Theatre.

See also

• English contract law
  English contract law
  English contract law is a body of law regulating contracts in England and Wales. With its roots in the lex mercatoria and the activism of the judiciary during the industrial revolution, it shares a heritage with countries across the Commonwealth , and the United States...
  
  
• Lumley v Gye
• Bettini v Gye
  Bettini v Gye
  Bettini v Gye 1 QBD 183 is an English contract law case, concerning the right to terminate performance of a contract.-Facts:Mr Bettini agreed with Frederick Gye that he would not sing anywhere within fifty miles of London except at the Royal Italian Opera, Covent Garden , from 1 January to 1...