American Contract Law for a Global Age, 2017a

this definition. Whether other areas, such as transportation and communication
devices, can be considered one of these categories is a more difficult inquiry. Second,
if the subject of the contract can be a necessity, the fact-finder must determine
whether it actually was a necessity to that specific minor.
Determining what is a necessity for a minor is a fact-intensive inquiry,
although also a matter of law, and it is useful to look at what has been upheld and
rejected as a necessity in the past. Food, clothing, shelter, and medical expenses are
in the traditional category of necessities. Education also generally falls in this list.
Interestingly enough, “retaining counsel in criminal proceedings” has also been
upheld as a necessity and “under extraordinary circumstances,” counsel in a civil suit
can be as well.
The question of transportation is an interesting inquiry. Can transportation
ever constitute a necessity for an unemancipated minor? In Bowling v. Sperry, [184
N.E.2d 901 (Ind. Ct. App. 1962)], the court seemed to answer that question in the
affirmative. Although the court claimed that the car purchased by a teenager in that
case was not a necessity, the court commented that “every high school boy today
wants a car of his own, and many of them own automobiles which under given
circumstances may be considered necessaries.” However, according to Bowling, a car
must be “vital to [the minor's] existence” to rise to such a level. Star Chevrolet Co. v.
Green, [473 So. 2d 157, 161 (Miss. 1985)], a more recent case, held that a car was not
a necessity for the minor. While that court seemed wary of ever allowing a car to be
a necessity, the fact that the minor had a car pool available for transportation also
factored prominently in the court's analysis. Of course, a second car would not qualify
as a necessity.
Overall, the necessities exception to the infancy doctrine provides a consistent
and useful check on the infancy doctrine. It is unlikely to bind minors to very many
contracts, but serves as a way for minors to obtain essential goods and services
without requiring adults to take extra risks in providing them.
______________________
Review Question 2. Certain other contracts made by minors are routinely
enforceable, including contracts to join the military, contracts to repay student loans
and contracts to provide support for the promisor’s children. Why the difference in
treatment? Consider the rationale for treating certain contracts differently as you
read the following excerpt from the Credit CARD Act, passed by Congress and signed
by the President in 2009.
______________________
______________________________________________________________________________
246 CHAPTER V: CONTRACT DEFENSES