The Sanctity of Contracts in English Law - College of Social ...

Enforceability of Contracts at Common Law 9obligations between the members of a family." 14Conveyancers had already recognised that such" good" family consideration (as opposed to whatlater became known as " valuable" consideration)was sufficient for their purposes.In Dutton v. Poole 14a and similar cases the judges,while feeling their way, in manner characteristic ofthe development of judge-made law, towards asatisfactory test of enforceability of promises, edgedtowards the establishment of morality as that test.As Mr. Fifoot has observed, 15 " the pressure ofmorality had long been felt upon the practice of thecourts, and it needed only courage to transform itsmaxims into a general principle of liability." 16 Andso it was not surprising that Lord Mansfield " withhis flair for rationalisation" should launch theprinciple of moral obligation " upon a career whichpromised to be triumphant." 15 Thus in Atkins v.Hill, 17 a successful action in assumpsit by a legateeupon a promise by an executor with sufficient assetsto pay a legacy, the learned Chief Justice observed:". . . in the present case there is not only an assentto the legacy, but an actual promise and an undertakingto pay it: and that promise founded on agood consideration in law; ... it is the case of a14Lord Mansfield at p. 135.u a (1677) 2 Lev. 210.15 Op. cit. at pp. 136, 137.16 Compare the position in the U.S.A. as regards liability toa beneficiary on a third-party promise made for his benefit."It is just and practical to permit the person for whosebenefit the contract is made to enforce it against one whosediitv it is to pay ": Pound .T. in Seavey v. Ransom, 224 N.Y.233. 237. ' 1' (1775) 1 Cowp 284. 288.H.L. 2