Thelma Agnes Smith v. David Phillip Riley
Critical Thinking:
What is the reasoning of the appellant in terms of why the consideration was
not adequate to cause the contracts to be enforceable? What key rule of law did this reasoning
overlook?
The appellant argued that the consideration for the contracts between Thelma Smith and David
Riley wasn’t adequate for the fact that it consisted of only one dollar plus the “love and
affection”. The appellant stated that such a small monetary amount and the concept of “love and
affection” were insufficient to make the contract enforceable. The key reasoning that was
overlooked was that consideration doesn’t necessarily have to be of significant monetary value.
Therefore, the one dollar was considered adequate consideration to support a contract.
Ethical Decision Making
: What values are being advanced by the logic of the relevant rule of
law in this case? In other words, what values prevent the rule of law from being that
consideration must be in an amount similar in value to the item or services being transferred for
the contract to be enforceable?
Values advanced by this legal principle include freedom of contract and the principle that both
parties should generally be free to enter contracts based on their own terms, including any
amount and nature of consideration as long as it is present. This would prevent the rule of law
from enforcing that consideration must be of similar value to the item or services to be
transferred, which allows both parties to determine the terms of their contracts more flexibly.
