Contracts, Fall 2012, Dr. Adams
Introduction
Contract law is a promise or set of promises for the breach of which the law gives remedy

* Sources of Contract Law & Authority (primarily state law, not federal) * Common Law -Judicial opinions * Restatements – produced by the ALI to bring clarity & consistency to CL * Statutory law- always supersedes CL; UCC only applied to the same of goods * International commercial law & the CISG- applies mainly to international contract issues

Consideration * Consideration as Benefit or Detriment 21–32 * Appeal of Clark * Court defines consideration via benefit-detriment analysis * Court allows individuals to place a value on services, the court has no right to limit the values a contracting individual puts on the services they receive * Dougherty v. Salt * In order for there to be consideration, both parties must understand that a bargain has happened (a child cannot understand a bargain) * Why is consideration required * Hamer v. Sidway I * Gratuitous transfer (i.e. to give someone something) is not consideration * Consideration must be something of value (a benefit for a detriment trade-off) * Hamer v. Sidway II * Forbearance from a legal right (drinking, smoking, pressing charges) can be consideration because it counts as the detriment element of consideration * Consideration to enforce a K “consists of a right/profit/benefit accursing to the one party, or some forbearance/detriment/cost by the other party” * The benefit elements does not have to be pecuniary * Consideration as Bargain 33–48 * Baehr v. Penn-O-Tex Oil Corporation * Consideration must be the product of a bargain * Forbearance from a legal right is not consideration