Description
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.
Table of Contents
Introduction; Part I. The History: Genesis And Development of Anglo-American Contract Law: 1. Roman contract law; 2. The reception and the Norman conquest; 3. English contract law through the middle ages and renaissance; 4. The continuation of English contract law in America; Part II. The Invention: Artificial Creation of The Doctrine of Promissory Estoppel: 5. Terra incognita; 6. Newfound, artificially created, strict liability tort; 7. Technical contours of the concept; 8. The objective, and the marketing; 9. Application in practice; 10. The destabilization of contact law; Part III. The Critique: 11. Claims to historical precedent; 12. Microeconomic analysis; 13. The moral foundation of contract law; Part IV. The Pathway Back: Return To Classical Contract Law: 14. Proposed conceptual framework for deciding "promissory estoppel" cases; 15. Recommendation for third restatement to reverse promissory estoppel; Conclusion; Annex A: Blackstone; Annex B: Langdell.
