Consideration Cases

Question 1

Hamer v. Sidway

Answer 1

Topic: Legal Benefit/Detriment

Fact: Paid to Abstain - Found for Nephew yes consideration

Rule: A party’s agreement to incur a detriment or confer a benefit is adequate consideration

Confer: Right, Interest, Profit, Benefit
Incur: Forbearance, Detriment, Loss, Responsibility Given/Suffered/Undertaken

Question 2

Mills v. Wyman

Answer 2

Topic: Past Acts Don’t Count

Fact: Dad paying for “dad” son’s care - Found for Dad no consideration

Rule: A moral obligation alone is not enough to count as consideration to bargain for past acts.

Question 3

Webb v. McGowin

Answer 3

Topic: Past Acts Don’t Count

Fact: Man saves boss, becomes crippled - Found for man yes consideration

Rule: There is an exception to the moral obligation rule if (1) the promisee’s prior act conferred a substantial material benefit to the promisor and (2) the benefit was personally received by the promisor

Distinguished from Mills because of the personal receipt

Question 4

Alaska Packer Ass’n v. Domenico

Answer 4

Topic: Pre-existing Duties Don’t Count

Fact: Fishermen on Strike - Found for Company

Rule: If parties enter a new agreement under which one party agrees the same thing or less than he was already obligated to do under an existing contract, the new agreement is unenforceable for lack of consideration.

Question 5

Dyer v. Nat’l By-Products

Answer 5

Topic: Value Irrelevant

Rule: Forbearance from filing a legal claim constitutes sufficient consideration for a settlement agreement. Even if there is no merit to the claim (look at time of execution), it’s still okay if the forbearing party in good faith believed that their was. ALSO okay if there is uncertainty in fact or law.

Traditional Approach (Not Rule): Legal claim must be genuinely uncertain in fact/law, at time of execution of contract.

Question 6

Ricketts v. Scothorn

Answer 6

Topic: Promissory Estoppel Exception

Facts: Stay at Home Grandchild - Found for the Grandchild

Rule: Equitable estoppel (really promissory estoppel) prevents a promisor from revoking an otherwise unenforceable gratuitous promise if the promisee foreseeably and reasonably detrimentally relied on the promise.

Question 7

Greiner v. Greiner

Answer 7

Topic: Promissory Estoppel Exception

Facts: Mother Gave Me Land and Changed Her Mind

Rule: A contract is formed when one promises to convey a specific tract of land and another is induced by the promise to substantially act or forbear