The Traditional Method of Making a Deed Research Paper

The Traditional Method of Making a Deed - Research Paper Example Basically, when one terminates an agreement to the detriment of another, promissory estoppel lies in hand as a defence to support the promise according to Smith. Under this rule, a claimant who incurs a detriment by doing an act, making a promise however small, provided that it has been agreed that she should do the act and receives something in return under a limited legal principle can be sued for promissory estoppel. In Combe v. Combe , the Court of Appeal held that the doctrine of promissory estoppel cannot be used to create a cause of action where a husband’s promise to pay alimony to the wife at  £100 p.a. does not give her the right to sue for that money even though she had relied on the promise. In a society where moral conventions allow a promisor to enter into a negotiation, a promisor is bound to his promise. The law, however, stresses that enforcing promises is a right when they are given in exchange for other promises or consideration. The main purpose of implan ting consideration is to discourage improper pressure and coercion and to distinguish the nature of the promise. It is also interesting to see how the doctrine of promissory estoppel brings the law of consideration into sharp relief. Although it is not overtly recognized by the English system, many of the reasons for requiring consideration do not apply to the situation of variation as in Williams v Roffey Bros & Nicholls. The basic position still considers, however, the doctrine of promissory estoppel varying from only one side of the contract.