Law Terms Essay

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Promissory estoppel is a term in the common law doctrine that is used by courts to implement promises made and consequently relied upon. This law doctrine is usually used when there is no formal contract though the involved parties have acted as if there is such a contract. As courts dictates the terms of how these promises should be implemented, they use this doctrine to enforce contract on the agreement in the interest of fairness. Notably, this doctrine emerges when injustice can be prevented only by the enforcement of a promise that could be unenforceable due to lack of consideration. In most cases, promissory estoppels doctrine is applicable in the context of charitable donations.

When this law doctrine is used, the promisee's reliance is regarded as an adequate and independent basis with which the promise is enforced. As a result, the doctrine can be seen as a legal advice that forbids the promissor from rejecting the existence of a contract because of lack of consideration. One of the most common features of contracts that are enforced through the doctrine of promissory estoppel is that they normally lack the consideration piece ("What is Promissory Estoppel?" n.d.).

The doctrine of promissory estoppels has three major elements including a promise that is logically expected by the promissor to stimulate action or forbearance. The other elements are action or restraint by the promisee based on the established promise and the prohibition of injustice only by enforcing the promise. However, this doctrine differs from the traditional estoppel law since it has less strict requirements and may originate from promise of future intention or conduct. Moreover, unlike the traditional estoppel, the doctrine of promissory estoppel prevents a party from backing out of a promise.

Accord and Satisfaction:

Accord and satisfaction is a concept in contract law regarding the purchase of the release from an obligation of debt. Therefore, this concept is described as an agreement to discharge a claim in which both parties agree to accept and give something that is normally less than what is owed. Notably, claims that are based on an implied or express contract are the ones subject to the concept of an accord and satisfaction.

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While accord and satisfaction is geared towards a common objective, each of these terms has different meanings.

Accord is described as an agreement one of the parties to a current contract agrees to different performance than what he/she is entitled to in the original contract. In this case, the promisor in the existing contract agrees to the performance of a different obligation unlike the one that he is contractually bound in the initial agreement. In contrast, satisfaction is the performance of the established Accord by the promisor in order to satisfy the Accord and the obligation of the second agreement ("Accord and Satisfaction," n.d.).

The satisfaction of an Accord releases both the accord and the initial contractual duty by both parties. However, an accord that is yet to be satisfied is considered or referred to as an Executory Accord. The Executory Accord is viewed in two major ways i.e. As a substitute contract or an agreement that suspends the obligations under the initial contract without replacing this initial contract. When the Executory Accord does not replace the initial contract, the promisee can sue the promisor if the promisor violates the Accord.

Nonetheless, the ability of the Accord to act as a substitute for the original contract is usually dependent on the intentions of the parties when making the Accord. Accord and Satisfaction have two main elements i.e. The mutual intention of both parties to settle a current dispute by entering a subsequent agreement and the actual performance based on new agreement.

Damages in Contract Law:

Damages in contract law is usually sought in attempts to put the claimant in a state he/she could have been in had the contract been executed. The concept of damages in contract law is usually geared towards restoring the injured party to the actual position he could….....

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