1,173
14
Essay, 2 pages (350 words)

Preexisting duty

The issue at hand is a consideration for modifying the terms of reference of the contract between Jones Construction and Duane Reade.
In general, there are four requirements of a valid contract: agreement, consideration, contractual capacity and legality. Consideration is usually defined as the value given in return for a promise or for a performance. This can be further broken down into two parts, namely, the legally sufficient value in exchange for the promise and the bargained-for exchange. Under most circumstances, a promise to do what one already has a legal duty to do does not constitute legally sufficient consideration. This preexisting legal duty may be imposed by law or may arise out of a previous contract. Likewise, if a party is already bound by contract to perform a certain duty, that duty cannot serve as consideration for a second contract. However, if, during performance of a contract, extraordinary difficulties arise that were totally unforeseen at the time the contract was formed, a court may allow an exception to the rule.
In this case, Jones and DR entered the initial contract which Jones need to build a DR Drug Store for DR. The contract is valid since it had met the four requirements. However, in the second contract, which is a modification of the initial contract, the legally sufficient consideration was missing. What Jones promise to do in the second contract was to build the DR Drug Store, which they already have legal duty to do in the initial contract. Due to the preexisting duty rule, the second contract was not enforceable. Moreover, the accident that happened to Jones was not an unforeseen difficulty. Although the reason for the collapse of the trusses was not due to faults or deficiencies in the building plan prepared by Jones, as a construction company, they should have anticipated for unforeseen events or included clauses in their first contract such as the liquidated damages clause. Thus, Jones cannot argue about this point.
To sum up, Jones cannot recover in this case because of the preexisting duty rule. DR does not need to pay the additional money to Jones which was mentioned in the second contract.

Thank's for Your Vote!
Preexisting duty. Page 1
Preexisting duty. Page 2
Preexisting duty. Page 3

This work, titled "Preexisting duty" was written and willingly shared by a fellow student. This sample can be utilized as a research and reference resource to aid in the writing of your own work. Any use of the work that does not include an appropriate citation is banned.

If you are the owner of this work and don’t want it to be published on AssignBuster, request its removal.

Request Removal
Cite this Essay

References

AssignBuster. (2022) 'Preexisting duty'. 7 January.

Reference

AssignBuster. (2022, January 7). Preexisting duty. Retrieved from https://assignbuster.com/preexisting-duty/

References

AssignBuster. 2022. "Preexisting duty." January 7, 2022. https://assignbuster.com/preexisting-duty/.

1. AssignBuster. "Preexisting duty." January 7, 2022. https://assignbuster.com/preexisting-duty/.


Bibliography


AssignBuster. "Preexisting duty." January 7, 2022. https://assignbuster.com/preexisting-duty/.

Work Cited

"Preexisting duty." AssignBuster, 7 Jan. 2022, assignbuster.com/preexisting-duty/.

Get in Touch

Please, let us know if you have any ideas on improving Preexisting duty, or our service. We will be happy to hear what you think: [email protected]