Kennedy v. Hazelton
Citations
- 128 U.S. 667
- 9 S. Ct. 202
- 32 L. Ed. 576
- 1888 U.S. LEXIS 2261
Syllabus
<p>Specific performance cannot be decreed of an agreement to,convey property which has no existence, or to which the defendant has no title; and ■ if the want of title w;as known to the plaintiff at the time of beginning the suit, the bill will not be retained for assessment of damages. •</p> <p>' One who agrees to assign to another any patents that he may obtain for improvements in certain machines, and who afterwards invents such an improvement, and, with intent to evade his agreement and to defraud.the other party, procures a patent for his invention to be obtained upon the application of a third person, and to be issued to him as assignee of that person, and receives profits under it, cannot be compelled in equity to-assign the patent or to account for the profits.</p>
How courts have described this case
Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.
- holding that claimant was not entitled to declaratory judgment assigning him the patent on grounds that claimant was the true inventor because such an allegation, if true, would render the patent invalid
- “A court of chancery cannot decree specific performance of an agreement to convey property which has no existence, or to which the defendant has no title.”
Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).
Judges: Gray, Bradley
Read full opinion on CourtListenerSourced from CourtListener / Free Law Project (CC0).
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