CHAPTER 7

Consideration

§7.1 CONSIDERATION AS THE BASIS OF CONTRACT OBLIGATION

Consideration can be fun.¹ It has a network of interlocking rules that can be applied to all kinds of silly cases featuring beneficent aunts, sanctimonious uncles, hypothetical tramps, mysteriously illusory promises, and detriments that are actually beneficial. Yet at the same time, consideration doctrine can be a huge pain in the neck. How often have poor students (and poor professors) cursed the quirk of history² that left us with so sad a legacy. It is not that the basic rules of consideration are difficult, arcane, or unfathomable. The real problem lies in rationalizing these rules, understanding how courts are likely to use them, and justifying them in light of the policies of contract law.

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