Past Consideration CASES
In English contract law, past consideration refers to something done or promised before a contract is formed. Generally, past consideration cannot support a legally binding promise, as consideration must move in exchange for a promise.
Definition and Principles
The law recognises that consideration must be given in return for a promise, not beforehand. However, exceptions exist if the act was performed at the promisor’s specific request, with an implied promise of reward (Lampleigh v Brathwait [1615]), historically enforced through the action of assumpsit.
Common Examples
- Payment promised after voluntary assistance—typically unenforceable.
- Situations where one party requests a service implying future payment, enforceable as in Lampleigh v Brathwait [1615].
Legal Implications
- General rule: past consideration is not valid consideration.
- Exception: where actions are performed upon request with an implied promise to pay.
Practical Importance
Understanding past consideration helps parties clearly establish enforceable contractual promises and highlights the importance of timing when exchanging promises and consideration.
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Brathwait asked Lampleigh to obtain a royal pardon for him, which Lampleigh performed successfully. Brathwait then promised to pay £100 but later refused. The court held that a past act, when done at the promisor's request, constitutes good consideration. Facts The defendant, Thomas Brathwait, had feloniously slain a man named Patrick Mahume. He asked the plaintiff, Anthony Lampleigh, to ‘labour and do his endeavor to obtain his pardon from the King’. Lampleigh agreed and, at his own expense and through considerable effort, rode and journeyed to and from London, Royston, and Newmarket to secure the royal pardon for Brathwait, which
