Law 5110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Consideration, Iain Glidewell
LECTURE 11
SUFFICIENCY OF CONSIDERATION –PART 1
Consideration must be legally sufficient in order to enforce contractual obligations between
the parties.
Below we will consider some examples of when the court have declared certain acts as
insufficient as consideration.
Insufficiency of consideration.
Consideration will be insufficient – and therefore not valid consideration – where a party has
done no more than he's already bound to do. The basis of this is that in law, the promisee incurs
no additional detriment, nor confers a benefit.
- Adequacy – how it relates to the value of what is being contracted for
- Sufficiency – is what’s promised legally recognisable/enforceable as consideration
1. Where the claimant is under a public duty imposed by law:
COLLINS v GODEFROY (1831)
The defendant promised to pay the claimant money for giving evidence in a case
where the claimant had already been summoned by the court to give evidence
Held:
- The claimant was required by law to give evidence
- Performance of an existing public duty is insufficient consideration
- The claimant was doing no more than was already required of him by law
Where the claimant exceeds his existing duty, he may furnish consideration; GLASBROOK v
GLAMORGAN CC (1925)
Colliery owners, during a miners’ strike, were concerned about the possibility of breaches of
the law on their premises. The police agreed to provide a stationary (as opposed to mobile)
guard. The owners agreed to pay £2,200 for this more extensive service but later refused to
pay.
Held:
- The police had exceeded their existing public duty
- This was sufficient consideration to support the promise of additional payment
WARD v BYHAM (1956)
A couple lived together and had a child. They then separated and the father offered to let
the mother have the child and to pay the mother an allowance of £1 per week, provided that
the child was well looked after and happy. The mother took the child and maintained it
Document Summary
Consideration must be legally sufficient in order to enforce contractual obligations between the parties. Below we will consider some examples of when the court have declared certain acts as insufficient as consideration. Consideration will be insufficient and therefore not valid consideration where a party has done no more than he"s already bound to do. The basis of this is that in law, the promisee incurs no additional detriment, nor confers a benefit. Adequacy how it relates to the value of what is being contracted for. Sufficiency is what"s promised legally recognisable/enforceable as consideration: where the claimant is under a public duty imposed by law: The defendant promised to pay the claimant money for giving evidence in a case where the claimant had already been summoned by the court to give evidence. The claimant was required by law to give evidence. Performance of an existing public duty is insufficient consideration.
