The Rebirth of Contract : Putting Promissory Estoppel to the Sword

This book provides judges, academics and students with proof that the contract law doctrine of 'promissory estoppel' was artificially invented and historically unprecedented; economic and moral grounds for repudiating promissory estoppel; and an analytic framework for deciding 'promissory estoppel cases' with the tools of traditional contract law.

The Rebirth of Contract is a critical investigation for judges, academics, and students into the contrived genesis and ill-advised nature of the purported contract law doctrine of 'promissory estoppel.' It argues that this doctrine was artificially invented and historically unprecedented, and offers economic and moral grounds for repudiating it. The book also presents an analytic framework for deciding 'promissory estoppel cases' using traditional contract law tools. By tracing the historical development of Anglo-American contract law since the Norman conquest of England, the book provides a forensic investigation into and refutation of the claims of historical precedent upon which promissory estoppel was marketed to the American judiciary and academy. The Rebirth of Contract further includes a law and economics analysis of both traditional contract law and promissory estoppel, focusing on Pareto improving transactions. Finally, it offers a roadmap for returning to traditional contract law.