Brenner made a contract to enroll his son in the Little Red School House for the
ID: 408050 • Letter: B
Question
Brenner made a contract to enroll his son in the Little Red School House for the next school year and paid tuition of $1,080. Brenner’s former wife had legal custody of his son, and she refused to enroll the boy. Brenner’s former wife had legal custody of his son, and she refused to enroll the boy. Brenner sought a refund. The school promised a refund, but later it refused to pay it. When Brenner sued for the promised refund, the school defended that Brenner had incurred no legal detriment to support its promise to pay the tuition refund. Was there consideration for the school’s promise to refund the tuition? Why?
Explanation / Answer
A contract modification must be supported by consideration to be binding. Such consideration can be found in the promisee refraining from doing anything he has a legal right to do in exchange for the modification. Here, Brenner relinquished the right to have his son attend the Little Red School House. This detriment constituted sufficient consideration to support the school's promise to refund his money.