Which of the following would qualify as valid consideration? Candice gives out free samples in order to get more people to buy her ice cream. Stu makes Lewis promise to give all his extra lunch money to Stu every day after school. Carlie contracts with her landlord to pay for rent by landscaping the property and cleaning and painting empty apartments. George contracts with his mother that she will leave the good family silver to him when she passes away because he was the most helpful son.
The Correct Answer And Epxlanation is:
To determine which scenario involves valid consideration, we must first understand what consideration means in contract law.
Definition of Consideration:
Consideration is something of legal value offered in exchange for a promise or performance. It can be:
- A benefit to the promisor, or
- A detriment to the promisee
For a contract to be legally enforceable, both parties must provide something of value (not necessarily money) in return for what they are receiving.
Let’s evaluate each choice:
1. Candice gives out free samples in order to get more people to buy her ice cream.
- Analysis: This is not a contract. She is giving away free samples as a marketing tactic, not in exchange for a promise or performance from the sample recipients.
- Conclusion: Not valid consideration—there’s no exchange.
2. Stu makes Lewis promise to give all his extra lunch money to Stu every day after school.
- Analysis: This appears one-sided. If Stu doesn’t offer anything in return for Lewis’s money, there’s no consideration from Stu. Also, coercion may be at play.
- Conclusion: Not valid consideration—it’s one-sided and potentially coercive.
3. Carlie contracts with her landlord to pay for rent by landscaping the property and cleaning and painting empty apartments.
- Analysis: This is valid consideration. Carlie provides valuable services in lieu of monetary rent. Both parties benefit and exchange something of value.
- Conclusion: ✅ Valid consideration—a service for a benefit (rent).
4. George contracts with his mother that she will leave the good family silver to him when she passes away because he was the most helpful son.
- Analysis: This is a gratuitous promise. George already did the helpful acts in the past, so it’s considered past consideration, which is not enforceable.
- Conclusion: Not valid consideration—past actions don’t count as consideration.
✅ Correct Answer:
Carlie contracts with her landlord to pay for rent by landscaping the property and cleaning and painting empty apartments?