Question

What is consideration?

Answer 1

In contract law, consideration is the “price” each party pays for the other’s promise — something of legal value exchanged so a promise becomes legally enforceable.

Core points (common-law approach)
- Definition: A promise is supported by consideration when the promisor receives a benefit or the promisee suffers a legal detriment as part of a bargain (Currie v Misa; Hamer v. Sidway).
- Bargained-for exchange: The promise must be given in return for the other party’s promise or act — the parties must have intended the exchange.
- Legal value: Consideration can be a benefit to the promisor or a detriment/forbearance by the promisee. Money, goods, services, refraining from a legal right, or assuming a legal obligation count.
- Sufficiency vs adequacy: Consideration must be legally sufficient (something of legal value) but courts generally will not inquire into its adequacy (parties can make bad bargains).
- Must move from the promisee: Traditionally the person suing must have provided the consideration (privity). Some modern rules and statutes relax this in certain cases.
- No past consideration: An act done before a promise is made is not valid consideration for that promise (past consideration rule).
- Pre-existing duty rule: Performing something one is already legally obliged to do is not good consideration for a new promise (but there are important exceptions and refinements — e.g., practical benefit in Williams v Roffey; UCC and Restatement variations for contract modifications).

Common substitutes and related doctrines
- Promissory estoppel: Where there is reliance on a promise and injustice will result from allowing the promisor to renege, a court may enforce the promise even without consideration.
- Nominal consideration: Parties sometimes recite a token payment to show consideration; courts may scrutinize this in some contexts but it can be sufficient to form a contract.

Short examples
- Valid consideration: A promises to pay B $1,000 if B paints A’s house. B paints the house (detriment) and A pays (benefit) — enforceable.
- No consideration (past): B repairs A’s car today; afterward A promises to pay $500 for the earlier repair — generally not enforceable because the repair was past consideration.
- Pre-existing duty: A police officer promises to arrest someone in exchange for $1,000 from a private citizen — unenforceable because the officer already had a legal duty to enforce the law.

Note: Civil-law jurisdictions use different concepts (cause, lawful cause) and handle enforceability differently. If you need jurisdiction-specific rules or case law, tell me which jurisdiction.