MBE Rules · Contracts
Promissory estoppel (§90)
Restatement §90
The rule
A promise is enforceable without consideration if (1) the promisor should reasonably expect the promise to induce action or forbearance, (2) the promise does induce such action or forbearance, and (3) injustice can be avoided only by enforcement. Remedy is generally reliance damages, not expectation.
In plain English
If someone makes a promise that they should know will cause someone else to act or not act, and the other person does so, the promise can be enforced to prevent unfairness.
Worked example
The defendant promises to pay for the buyer's college tuition. Relying on this, the buyer enrolls in a costly program. The promise can be enforced to cover the buyer's expenses if the defendant doesn't pay.
Memory hook
Promise without pay, still enforceable. If reliance is reasonable and injustice looms, promissory estoppel steps in.
The trap
Students think: any promise can be enforced if relied upon. Wrong, because reliance must be reasonable and injustice must result. The actual test is the three-part analysis of expectation, inducement, and injustice.
How examiners test it
The MBE loves: informal promises between friends or family. Trap: assuming any inducement suffices. Key: focus on reasonable reliance and the injustice of non-enforcement.
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