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Concept
Consideration in English law
Summary
Consideration is an English common law concept within the law of contract, and is a necessity for simple contracts (but not for special contracts by deed). The concept of consideration has been adopted by other common law jurisdictions, including the US.
Consideration can be anything of value (such as any goods, money, services, or promises of any of these), which each party gives as a quid pro quo to support their side of the bargain. Mutual promises constitute consideration for each other. If only one party offers consideration, the agreement is a "bare promise" and is unenforceable.
According to Currie v Misa, consideration for a particular promise exists where some right, interest, profit or benefit accrues (or will accrue) to the promisor as a direct result of some forbearance, detriment, loss or responsibility that has been given, suffered or undertaken by the promisee. Forbearance to act amounts to consideration only if one is thereby surrendering a legal right.
"Past consideration is no consideration": consideration must be "executory" or "executed", but not "past"; that is, consideration must be supplied in the present or in the future, but things done beforehand cannot be good consideration.
ex nudo pacto actio non oritur
Dyer's case (1414) 2 Hen. 5, 5 Pl. 26
Lucy v Walwyn was an early case on the doctrine of consideration, concerning an executory contract where the plaintiff recovered damages for the loss of a bargain.
Thomas v Thomas. was a case where £1 was seen to be good consideration for a widow to continue to live in her house after her husband's death.
White v Bluett: Bluett, when sued by his father's executors for an outstanding debt to his father, claimed that his father had promised to discharge him from it in return for him stopping complaining about property distribution. The Court held that the cessation of complaints was of no economic value; thus, Bluett's father had received no real consideration for the promise, and the debt was enforceable at law.
Currie v Misa Lush J.
Official source
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