Warner Bros v Nelson [1937] 1 KB 209

Bette Davis (Defendant), a well known film actor, contracted for one year to render her exclusive services to Plaintiff.

The contract contained a clause prohibiting Defendant from rendering her acting services to any other company. However before the year expired Defendant did perform for another company.

Plaintiff sought an injunction preventing Defendant from performing elsewhere.

The court held that while the general rule is that an injunction is not ordered when its effect is to enforce a contract for personal services, in this case Defendant could do work other then acting and was not thereby compelled to work for Plaintiff, i.e. this would not be regarded as indirect specific performance.

• Also, damages were not an appropriate remedy.

• Dodgy: is she really free to quit her profession and take up something else? CW thinks not and that in reality this amounted to an order of specific performance.