On April 27, 1962, defendant purchased Bascom’s Folly from a Dr. In late April 1962, defendant, accompanied by his horse trainer, went to Belmont Park in New York to buy race horses. The facts material to a resolution of the precise issues raised herein are as follows. The cause is now before us on the plaintiff’s appeal and defendant’s cross appeal from the judgment entered pursuant to such decision. The case was tried before a justice of the superior court sitting without a jury, and resulted in a decision for the plaintiff for his cost of boarding the horse for the five months immediately subsequent to May 3, 1962, and for certain expenses incurred by him in trimming its hoofs. This is a civil action wherein the plaintiff alleges that the defendant is indebted to him for the reasonable value of his services rendered in connection with the feeding, care and maintenance of a certain race horse named “Bascom’s Folly” from through July 3, 1966. How has the litigation progressed? Who sued whom? What has happened so far? Who won at each stage and what did they get in the way of remedies? How does the Rhode Island Supreme Court resolve the case? Consider also the “procedural posture” of the case. As you read the court’s opinion, think carefully about how you would describe the facts or tell the story of what happened. Our first principal case continues to explore what it means to make a promise. Why not just perform the act? Why talk about it first? 1.1 Principal Case – Bailey v. Now think about why people make promises. Try to identify the essential elements or components of the legal meaning of the word “promise.” Can you draw a diagram to represent how these elements relate to one another? A bargain is an agreement to exchange promises or to exchange a promise for a performance or to exchange performances.Ī promise may be stated in words either oral or written, or may be inferred wholly or partly from conduct. (4) Where performance will benefit a person other than the promisee, that person is a beneficiary.Īn agreement is a manifestation of mutual assent on the part of two or more persons. (3) The person to whom the manifestation is addressed is the promisee. (2) The person manifesting the intention is the promisor.

(1) A promise is a manifestation of intention to act or refrain from acting in a specified way, so made as to justify a promisee in understanding that a commitment has been made. Restatement (Second) of ContractsĪ contract is a promise or a set of promises for the breach of which the law gives a remedy, or the performance of which the law in some way recognizes as a duty.

Now read the following sections of the Restatement (Second), and think about how the legal use of the term “promise” relates to our common sense understanding of the word. Suppose that your professor tells you on the first day of class: “I promise that you’ll enjoy Contracts this semester.” Consider how we should understand this “promise.” Does the fact that the statement is oral rather than in writing make any difference? Is there anything about the circumstances in which this statement is made that undermines your confidence that the professor intends for this “promise” to be binding? Let’s forget for just a moment about the law and think instead what normal people mean when they talk about a promise. We begin by considering what it means to make a promise.

Definition of pommie