Consideration, Promissory Estoppel And Economic Duress Flashcards
What are the rules of consideration?
- Consideration must not be past
- Consideration must move from promisee to promisor
- Consideration must be sufficient, but need not be adequate
- Performance of an existing obligation is not good consideration
- Part payment of a debt is not good consideration
Case authority: Consideration must not be past
Eastwood v Kenyon
Case authority: Exception to the general rule that past consideration is not good.
Pao On v Lau Yiu Long
What are the conditions that must be met for past consideration to be good consideration (Pao On v Lau Yiu Long)
- Was it at the request of the promisor? (Lampleigh v Braithwait)
- Was payment understood to be due? (Re Casey’s Patents)
- Would the contract be enforceable apart from this issue?
Case authority: Both parties must provide consideration
Tweddle v Atkinson
Authority: 3rd parties can enforce a contract between others benefitting the 3rd party without consideration.
S. 1 Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999
Case authority: Consideration must have some value to be sufficient, even if it is far less than the promise is worth.
Chappell & Co v Nestle
Case authority: Giving up a legal right is sufficient, but promising not to enforce one that you do not have is insufficient (e.g. promise not to complain)
White v Bluett
Case authority: Giving up a legal right is sufficient consideration
Hamer v Sidway
Case authority: Performance must go above and beyond their existing duties in order to be good consideration.
Collins v Godefroy
Case authority: Promising to do something you are already obliged to do under contract to a 3rd party is good consideration.
Scotson v Pegg
Case authority: General rule - performance of an existing contractual obligation is not good consideration.
Stilk v Myrick
Case authority: Going above and beyond existing obligations is good consideration.
Hartley v Ponsonby
What are the criteria for the Williams v Roffey Bros exception to the general rule that performance of a contractual obligation is not good consideration.
- A already has a contract with B
- B has reason to doubt that A will complete
- B approaches A and promises to pay A extra to complete on time.
- A obtains a ‘practical benefit’ / avoids a disbenefit
- B’s promise was not the result of duress or fraud
- The benefit to B is capable of being consideration, so B’s promise to pay more is binding.
Define: Duress
“Some form of coercion or threat to the person, property, or to the person’s financial interests” (Poole)