Dorsey v. St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute R. R.

Citations

• 58 Ill. 65

Syllabus

<p>1. Covenants-—real and personal, defined. A covenant is said to run with the land, when either the liability for its performance or the right to enforce it passes to the assignee of the land itself; and to run with the reversion, when the liability to perform it or the right to enforce it passes to the assignee of the reversion.</p> <p>2. Same—which run with the land,. The T. H. & A. R E. Co. entered into an agreement with D, by which said company agreed, in consideration that he had conveyed to it certain premises, to make and maintain certain improvements thereon; and soon after, said company conveyed its franchises to the St. L., A. & T. H. R. R. Co. In an action of covenant on said agreement, brought by D, against the assignee corporation, the declaration averred, among other things, the failure and refusal on the part of both companies to keep said agreement, as also that defendant purchased with notice of such covenant. A general demurrer was interposed, which the court below sustained, on the ground that the covenant was merely personal, and not, therefore, binding upon the defendant as assignee: Meld, that this was error; that D’s grantee, being a corporation created for other purposes than trade, could not convey the premises without authority so to do from the legislature; that the covenant related to the land, and was, from the relations of the parties, perpetual in its nature; and any authority subsequently conferred on his grantee by the legislature, to convey its . franchises, was not intended to, aud did not sever the covenant from the land.</p>