is an

English contract law English contract law is the body of law that regulates legally binding agreements in England and Wales. With its roots in the lex mercatoria and the activism of the judiciary during the industrial revolution, it shares a heritage with countries ...

case, which applied the controversial

pre-existing duty rule The pre-existing duty rule is an aspect of consideration within the law of contract. Originating in England the concept of consideration has been adopted by other jurisdictions, including the US. In essence, this rule declares that performance of a ...

in the context of part payments of debts. It is a leading case from the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

on the legal concept of

consideration Consideration is a concept of English common law and is a necessity for simple contracts but not for special contracts (contracts by deed). The concept has been adopted by other common law jurisdictions. The court in ''Currie v Misa'' declared ...

. It established the rule that prevents parties from discharging an obligation by

part performance The Statute of Frauds (29 Car 2 c 3) (1677) was an Act of the Parliament of England. It required that certain types of contracts, wills, and grants, and assignment or surrender of leases or interest in real property must be in writing and sign ...

, affirming ''

Pinnel's Case ''Pinnel's Case'' 6025 Co. Rep. 117a, also known as ''Penny v Cole'', is an important case in English contract law, on the doctrine of part performance. In it, Sir Edward Coke opined that a part payment of a debt could not extinguish the obligati ...

'' (1602) 5 Co Rep 117a. In that case it was said that "payment of a lesser sum on the day .e., on or after the due date of a money debtcannot be any satisfaction of the whole."

Facts

The

appellant In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

, Dr John Weston Foakes, owed the

respondent {{unreferenced, date=February 2012 A respondent is a person who is called upon to issue a response to a communication made by another. The term is used in legal contexts, in survey methodology, and in psychological conditioning. Legal usage In ...

, Julia Beer, a sum of £2,090 19s after a court

judgment Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to decision-making, make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct u ...

. Beer agreed that she would not take any action against Foakes for the amount owed if he would sign an agreement promising to pay an initial sum of £500 (£52,615.38 in 2012 adjusted for inflation) and pay £150 twice yearly until the whole amount was paid back. Foakes was in financial difficulty and, with the help of his solicitor, drew up an agreement for Beer to waive any interest on the amount owed. She signed. Foakes paid back the principal but not the interest. Then Beer sued Foakes for the interest. The question was whether she was entitled to it, despite their agreement that he would not need to pay it.

Judgment

Queen's Bench

At trial, the court found in favour of Foakes.

Watkin Williams J Sir Charles James Watkin Williams (23 September 1828 – 17 July 1884) was a Welsh judge, doctor and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons from 1868 to 1880. Life Will ...

upheld this decision, given the agreement between the two. Mathew J said,

Court of Appeal

On appeal, in a short judgment

Brett MR William Baliol Brett, 1st Viscount Esher, PC (13 August 181524 May 1899), known as Sir William Brett between 1868 and 1883, was a British lawyer, judge, and Conservative politician. He was briefly Solicitor-General under Benjamin Disraeli and ...

instead held for Beer because there was no consideration for the agreement.

Lindley LJ Nathaniel Lindley, Baron Lindley, (29 November 1828 – 9 December 1921) was an English judge. Early life He was the second son of the botanist Dr. John Lindley, born at Acton Green, London. From his mother's side, he was descended from Sir Ed ...

and

Fry LJ Sir Edward Fry, (4 November 1827 – 19 October 1918) was an English Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Lord Justice of Appeal (1883–1892) and an arbitrator on the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Biography Joseph Fry (1795-1879) and Mar ...

concurred without giving considered opinions.

House of Lords

The House of Lords ( Earl of Selborne LC, Lord Watson and

Lord FitzGerald John David FitzGerald, Baron FitzGerald, PC, PC (Ire) (1 May 1816 – 16 October 1889) was an Irish judge and Liberal politician. Background Born in Dublin, he was the son of the merchant David FitzGerald and his wife Catherine, eldest daug ...

) upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeal in favour of Beer. They reasoned that though the agreement did not contemplate the interest owed, it could still be implied given an enforceable agreement. However, the promise to pay a debt was deemed ''not to be sufficient consideration'' as there was no additional benefit moving from Foakes to Beer that was not already owed to her. Lord Blackburn, however, while not overtly dissenting, seemed to express reservations.(1884) 9 App Cas 605, 622, 623

Significance

Barely more than a restatement of the ancient rule in ''Pinnel's case'', ''Foakes v Beer'' was effectively treated as ''

per incuriam ''Per incuriam'', literally translated as "through lack of care" is a device within the common law system of judicial precedent. A finding of ''per incuriam'' means that a previous court judgment has failed to pay attention to relevant statutory pr ...

'' by Lord Denning in ''

Central London Property Trust Ltd v High Trees House Ltd ''Central London Property Trust Ltd v High Trees House Ltd'' 947KB 130 is a famous English contract law decision in the High Court. It reaffirmed and extended the doctrine of promissory estoppel in contract law in England and Wales. Howeve ...

'', on the basis that in 1884 the court in ''Foakes'' had failed to pay cognisance to the 1877 case of ''

Hughes v Metropolitan Railway Co ''Hughes v Metropolitan Railway Co'' 877is a House of Lords case considered unremarkable for many years until it was resurrected by Lord Denning in the case of ''Central London Property Trust Ltd v High Trees House Ltd'' in his development of t ...

'', which had introduced the concept of

promissory estoppel A promise is a commitment by someone to do or not do something. As a noun ''promise'' means a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something. As a verb it means to commit oneself by a promise to do or give. It can also mean a capacity ...

Notes

{{reflist

References

*J O'Sullivan, 'In Defence of ''Foakes v Beer

996 Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Em ...

CLJ 219 1884 in case law 1884 in British law English enforceability case law English consideration case law House of Lords cases Lord Blackburn cases