estoppel
Part 5 - Consideration and Promissory Estoppel
2012/// Filed in: Contract Law (UK)
Below are a few relevant principles and leading cases regarding promissory estoppel:
Central London Property Trust Ltd v High Trees House Ltd: Under the equitable doctrine of promissory estoppel, a contracting party who -without duress- promises not to enforce a contractual right will not be able to enforce that right later if the promisee has been relied upon by the other party. Estoppel allows promises to accept a modified performance of a contract to be binding in the absence of consideration. Lord Denning stated ``a promise intended to be binding, intended to be acted on, and in fact acted on, is binding so far as its terms properly apply".
Combe v Combe: Promissory estoppel is `a shield and not a sword' and cannot be used to create entirely new rights or extend the scope of existing ones, only to prevent the enforcement of rights already held.
Tool Metal Manufacturing Co Ltd v Tungsten Electric Co Ltd: Whereas a contract modification which is supported by consideration will generally have permanent effect (lasting for the duration of the contract), the same is not necessarily true for promissory estoppel (it can be limited to a particular time period and future rights are not destroyed).
Central London Property Trust Ltd v High Trees House Ltd: Under the equitable doctrine of promissory estoppel, a contracting party who -without duress- promises not to enforce a contractual right will not be able to enforce that right later if the promisee has been relied upon by the other party. Estoppel allows promises to accept a modified performance of a contract to be binding in the absence of consideration. Lord Denning stated ``a promise intended to be binding, intended to be acted on, and in fact acted on, is binding so far as its terms properly apply".
Combe v Combe: Promissory estoppel is `a shield and not a sword' and cannot be used to create entirely new rights or extend the scope of existing ones, only to prevent the enforcement of rights already held.
Tool Metal Manufacturing Co Ltd v Tungsten Electric Co Ltd: Whereas a contract modification which is supported by consideration will generally have permanent effect (lasting for the duration of the contract), the same is not necessarily true for promissory estoppel (it can be limited to a particular time period and future rights are not destroyed).