Landmark Case Analysis Overview

Summary

The case of Walsh v Longsdale (1882) established that equity regards as done what ought to be done, meaning a contract for a lease is as good as an actual lease in equity. The case highlighted the importance of written contracts and their enforceability in equity, distinguishing between equitable and legal leases. It emphasized the doctrine of specific performance, where agreements enforceable in equity can have the same effect as formal legal agreements. The material facts involved an agreement to lease a mill, which was binding in equity despite the absence of a formal lease. The case abstracted the principle that contracts enforceable in equity can be treated as actual leases.