Essay - Case Scenario: Trains for a Legally Valid Contract to Exist...

Case Scenario: Trains

For a legally valid contract to exist, there must be consideration (i.e., a good or service of value ***** be exchanged for money or something else ***** value), there must be a meeting of the minds (o*****rwise known as agreement) between competent parties, and the terms of contract must be legal (i.e., selling illegal drugs is not a contract.) In this case, the trains are clearly valuable and are at least worthy ***** ***** from a financial standpoint, both ***** are competent adults, and the exchange is legal. What ***** under question is ***** nature of the agreed-upon consideration, as ***** was no articulated agreement of exchanging ***** trains for a specific dollar amount. ("Contract Basics," 2006, Electric Law Library)

********** need *****t be in writing to be legal, but the prom*****e of exchange was not made for a specific ***** amount, thus ***** is in doubt. It seems that ***** ***** not a breach of *****, even though it ***** cruel of Tom not to inform the Harry that he had changed his mind. ***** never made a fin*****ncial *****fer, after Tom's statement that ***** would sell the ***** to Harry.

***** es*****ppel is the doctrine that prevents a party ***** acting in a certain way because the first party promised not to (as in ***** sell the trains to the highest bidder rather than Harry) and the second party relied on that promise and acted upon ***** promise, expecting it ***** be fulfilled (as Harry clearly did). Promissory estopple is an alternative to consideration as a basis for enforcing a promise. It is also sometimes referred to as detrimental reli*****ce, in other words that the second ***** has experienced a loss because of ***** implied promise ***** the first party. But this promise ***** be: "a promise which the promisor should reasonably expect ***** induce action or f**********arance of a definite and substantial character on ***** part of the promisee and which does induce such acti***** or forbearance in binding if injustice cab be avoided only by enforcement of ***** promise." ("Promissory estoppel," *****, Lawzilla) In this case, the promise was vague ***** somewhat fantastic—who knows when Tom would retire, and ***** he ***** really decide to ride ***** rails for the rest of his life as an old man? Also, ***** might be able to profit from his expense by finding better trains, somewhere else, ***** ***** offer ***** not require him to build a new addition onto ***** facilities.

Works Cited

Contract Basics" (2006). Electric Law Library. Retrieved 22 Sept 2006 at http://www.lectlaw.com/files/bul03.htm

Promissory Estoppel. (2006). *****. Retrieved 22 Sept 2006 at