When being asked to write my next article, I felt it was time to go back in time to my lecture days and recall something that I have always found fascinating and use to this very day, indeed some of you readers may have come across my use of this in our cases. I am talking about estoppel, and no, this is not a random word I have just made up, but the long-established doctrine in English law.
Estoppel prevents a person from going back on their word after agreeing to a set of facts with another person.
We have Promissory Estoppel, which is an extension of estoppel by representation whereby there is an unambiguous promise, through words and conduct, and a change of position by one party on that promise. You do not need to prove that a detriment would arise in these circumstances, it is simply enough that someone relied on the promise.
Estoppel by representation is a rule that prevents someone from denying a set of facts or a statement that they previously represented as being true. So, a good example here would be if someone tells you that they have transferred their vintage Rolls Royce to you, and you rely on that representation by making improvements to the Rolls Royce, then they estop by denying the transfer later.
Not that someone would just hand over a Rolls Royce, but do you see my meaning?
Or how about an example of promissory estoppel? Envisage if you can, I promise to you the reader, that I will sell you my vintage Bentley for £1000. You rely upon that promise and start making arrangements to purchase the Bentley from me. However, before the sale is completed, I decided to change my mind and not sell the Bentley to you.
In this scenario, you could rely upon promissory estoppel, and even though there was no formal contract, my promise created a reasonable expectation for you. Consequently, you take action based upon that promise, by making arrangements to buy the car. If this were to go to court, it may find that it was unjust for me to have gone back on my word and may prevent me from so doing, even though there was no formal consideration exchanged.
The reality of the above is to be careful of what you promise, and only do so if you can and will deliver.
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