Scenario Three - Brian Versus Harry

Scenario three-Brian versus Harry

A contract needs four main elements to be enforceable. It must have agreement, consideration, contractual capacity, and lawful object (Cheeseman, 2010, p. 162). In scenario three, Brian mentioned that he was planning on offering his trains to Harry, and Harry responded that he was looking forward to it. However, no real negotiation took place, and no consideration to be paid was discussed. "Consideration is defined as something of legal value given in exchange for a promise" (Cheeseman, 2010, p. 166). Without explicit consideration, the contract cannot be enforced. In addition, Brian's statement did not constitute a valid offer. Harry cannot prove that Brian intended to enter into a legal contract because Brian never expressed his will to be bound by the offer.

Although Harry has the right to be angry, he will not win the suit. It is clear that Brian should have been straightforward with Harry about his intent, especially when he discovered that Harry was spending his entire savings on building a room for the trains. However, he was not obligated to do so. Harry's decision to build a room was at his own risk because he had no promise from Brian, and he had not promised anything of value in exchange for the trains. Harry will not win the claim of promissory estoppels either because there was no promise. A promissory estoppel "is an important doctrine in contract law in which a non contractual promise lacking consideration is rendered enforceable to avoid an injustice (Contract Law Cases, 2008, para. 1). Promissory estoppel can occur when injustice can be avoided by enforcing a promise that would normally be unenforceable because of the lack of consideration. Brian only stated that he planned to offer the trains to Harry. If Brian had said:" I will sell you my trains when I retire," and Harry had accepted, Harry could win for promissory estoppels even though there was a lack of consideration.

Unfortunately for Harry, there was no valid promise and no expressed consideration. The contract is not enforceable, so there is no breach of contract and no chance of promissory estoppel. Harry will lose on both claims.

References

Cheeseman, H. R. (2010). The Legal Environment of Business and Online Commerce (6th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Contract Law Cases. (2008). Promissory Estoppel. Retrieved from

http://contract-law-cases.blogspot.com/2008/11/promissory-estoppel.html