MGSC30H3 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Estoppel
Document Summary
Gratuitous promise is a promise for which nothing of legal vale is given in exchange. Consideration exists when a party either gives (or promises to give) a benefit to someone or suffers (or promises to suffer) a detriment to itself. Sufficient consideration may be almost anything of value. Adequate consideration has essentially the same value as the consideration for which it is exchanged. The court assumes you can think for yourself and will not step in to save you from a bad deal that you made; this is known as the peppercorn theory. Forbearance to sue is a promise to not pursue a lawsuit. Mutuality of consideration requires that each party provide consideration in return for the other party"s consideration. Past consideration consists of something that a party did prior to the contemplation of a contract; it counts as no consideration at all b/c it was done before a contract was formed.