Shadowing Practice: Contract Law 1 Intro Hamer v Sidway (just say no) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Thank you.
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Today we're going to learn about the concept of consideration by exploring the classic chestnut of a case,
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Hamer vs. Sidway, which was decided by the New York Court of Appeals in 1891.
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The facts of this family dispute are memorable.
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William E.
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Story Sr., promised to pay his nephew, William E.
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Story II, $5 ,000 if the latter would refrain from drinking,
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using tobacco, swearing, and playing cards or billiards for money until he became 21 years of age.
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The nephew agreed and performed his promise.
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On his 21st birthday, the nephew requested the $5 ,000 and the uncle told him that he'd have the money certain
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but that it would be held from him until the uncle thought the nephew was capable of taking care of it.
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After the uncle's death, this suit was brought by the plaintiff and the present appellant, Louisa Hamer.
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She was the assignee of the nephew after several mean assignments.
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It looks like it's spelled "mesne" but it means, it's pronounced mean and it means intermediate assignments.
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That's where the nephew would assign his interest in bringing this case to somebody else who ultimately assigned it to Louisa Hamer.
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The other party, Franklin Sidway, was the executor of the uncle's estate and who was claiming that the estate didn't have to pay the $5 ,000.
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The central issue in the case is this: is forbearance from arguably harmful activity like drinking sufficient consideration to support A contract.
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Um, Sidway, representing the uncle's estate, argued that the uncle's promise to pay wasn't enforceable,
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because the agreement lacked the necessary consideration.
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We need to understand the concept of consideration because consideration is a traditional prerequisite to enforcing a contractual promise.
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Section 17 of the second restatement of contracts provides: "The formation of a contract requires a bargain in
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which there is a manifestation of mutual assent to the exchange, and a consideration.
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By the way, was there a manifestation of mutual assent in Hammer?
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You bet.
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The uncle made an offer and the case says the nephew assented.
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From that moment on, both parties were bound to a contract.
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That is, if there is sufficient consideration.
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Once the contractual bell rings,
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The nephew would have breached a contract created by the exchange of promises if he drank at any point after promising.
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So, in Hamer versus Sidway, And it's included.
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in most contract casebook because it helps teach us what counts as consideration.
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So to begin, it's helpful to think of consideration as what's given in return for someone else's promise.
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It is the quid given for the quo in the phrase quid pro quo.
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So Sidway argued that in return for the uncle's promise,
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the nephew hadn't given up enough because the nephew had only promised to forbear from doing things that would have harmed him.
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The court rejected Sidway's argument and found there was a sufficient consideration,
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quote, A valuable consideration in the sense of the law may consist either in some right interest -profit
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or benefit accruing to the one party, or some forbearance, loss, or responsibility given,
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suffered, or undertaken by the other.
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I under Hamer versus Sidway, a return promise to be a sufficient consideration doesn't have to be an actual detriment,
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It is enough for it to be a legal detriment to the promisee.
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A legal detriment means promising to do anything that you didn't have to do,
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or promising to forbear from doing anything that you might have legally done.
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The case is interesting because the Uncle didn't receive any obvious benefit.
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And one might plausibly argue The nephew did not suffer an actual detriment from the performance of his promise.
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- Thank you.
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Thus, the court's conclusion that a legal detriment for purposes of consideration can be very different
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from the common sense meaning of what an actual detriment is.
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The Hammer decision is a classic statement of the benefit -detriment conception of consideration.
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Under this definition, either an actual benefit to the promisor,
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or a legal detriment, to the promisee, is a sufficient consideration.
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Because it's hard to factually establish whether the promisor, here the uncle, actually benefited from his nephew's abstinence,
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The benefit -detriment conception of consideration almost always looks to whether there was a legal detriment.
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One way of establishing a promiser's benefit would be to rely on the economic concept of revealed preference.
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The uncle, must have benefited from the nephew's abstinence, or the uncle wouldn't have been willing to pay for it.
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But the revealed preference argument proves too much.
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The consideration requirement is meant to preclude legal enforcement of gratuitous promises,
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promises for which there is no return promise.
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But anyone who promises to give $1 ,000 gratuitously to another reveals a preference for that state of the world,
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The gratuitous promise doesn't reveal that the promiser gained anything from the promiser's return promise when there isn't one.
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The problem with the legal detriment conception of consideration is that savvy contractors,
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could manipulate the return promise to qualify as a legal detriment.
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For example, Jane offers to pay Joe $10 ,000 if Joe promises to inhale sometimes in the next 60 seconds.
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Joe readily agrees and then loudly inhales.
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Jane then refuses to pay, and when Joe sues for breach of contract,
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Jane has the audacity to argue that there was no consideration for her promise to pay $10 ,000.
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The question here is under the benefit -detriment conception of consideration, should Jane win?
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And the answer to this quiz is no. Joe had a legal right to hold his breath for a minute,
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His promise to forbear from holding his breath is a legal detriment.
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creating consideration for Jane's promise to pay $10 ,000.
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Even though courts were
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wanted to avoid having to assess the messy factual question of whether the promiser actually benefits from the promisee's return promise,
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the Joe and Jane hypothetical show why the promise or benefit question is hard to avoid if we want to stop
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uh.. hold your breath types of shenanigans.
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The common law responded to this problem in cases decided after Hamer versus Sidway
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by replacing the early conception of consideration as either a benefit to the promisor or a detriment to the promisee,
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with what is known as the "bargained for" conception of consideration.
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"Bargain for or inducement conception of consideration can be seen in section 71 of the Restatement Second of Contracts.
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- Thank you.
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to constitute consideration A performance or return promise must be bargained for.
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And then section two tells us that a performance or return promise is bargained for if it is sought
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by the promisor in exchange for his promise and is given by the promisee in exchange for that promise.
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In contrast to the benefit -detriment conception of consideration, which focuses on the welfare of the parties,
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the bargain -for conception focuses on the parties' reasons for entering into the transaction.
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Although the benefit detriment framework still exerts considerable influence in England and commonwealth countries,
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the bargain for theory has largely won the day in the United States.
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That said, because contract law is a product of judicial decisions, it has many authors and old rules die hard.
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Although the bargain for theory is the dominant approach to consideration, the benefit and detriment tests still figure into many courts holdings.
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Thank you.
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Section 79 of the second restatement states: that if the requirement of consideration is met,
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there's no additional requirement of a gain, advantage, or benefit to the promisor, or of a loss, disadvantage, or detriment to the promisee.
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Comment B to the same section observes
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that some courts say a legal detriment is sufficient even though there is no economic detriment or other actual loss,
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but suggests that it's more realistic to say simply that there's no requirement of detriment anymore.
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Another way of looking at the Hamer v.
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Sidway case is that the court isn't really looking for a benefit or legal detriment, but simply for a bargain for exchange.
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The uncle has offered to pay $5 ,000 in exchange for the nephew's clean living.
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Isn't it fairly clear that the return promise was sought by the promisor in exchange for this return promise.
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After all, we don't think the uncle,
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would have been willing to make his promise to pay unless the nephew had made his promise in return.
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Thus the facts of the case, if not the court's actual language,
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provide support for the second restatements bargained for rule that neither a benefit nor an actual detriment is essential.
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Finally, a close reading of the case reveals that the uncle in Hamer v.
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Sidway made two separate promises, one on March 20th at a wedding anniversary,
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and the second one in a letter of February 6, 1875.
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The court's analysis of the case focuses entirely on whether the first promise was supported by consideration,
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but the suit is more,
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I think, accurately premised on the second promise The nephew's consideration for The uncle's second promise was different.
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promise not to drink or smoke was the consideration for the first promise, And even if there was no consideration for that first promise,
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the second promise might well be supported by consideration.
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For the second promise, the nephew gave up a plausible
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lawsuit for breach of the first promise in exchange for the uncle's promise to pay $5 ,000 plus interest.
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Giving up the right to sue was arguably a settlement of a claim and separately enforceable.
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So, what have we learned?
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Consideration is a requirement for a contractual promise to be enforced.
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under Hammer, consideration could be either a promise or benefit, or more likely, a legal detriment to the promisee.
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And finally, because of the problems with the legal detriment test being manipulated,
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modern courts tend now to require that the promisor's return promise was bargained for.
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that the return promise actually induced the promisor to make his or her promise.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will dive into the classic legal case of Hamer v. Sidway to understand the crucial concept of consideration in contract law. This case illustrates a family dispute that revolves around a promise and the legal implications of forbearance. By analyzing the facts and the court's reasoning, you will learn how to articulate complex legal ideas in English, enhancing your vocabulary and comprehension. This lesson also provides an excellent opportunity for IELTS speaking practice as you explore legal terminology and persuasive language.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Consideration: An essential element in forming a contract, referring to what each party gives up in the agreement.
- Forbearance: The act of refraining from an action that one has the legal right to undertake.
- Mutual assent: An agreement between parties to enter into a contract, marked by a clear offer and acceptance.
- Legal detriment: A situation where a party suffers a loss or gives up a right in exchange for a promise.
- Quid pro quo: A Latin phrase meaning "something for something," used to describe a mutual exchange in contracts.
- Appellant: The party who appeals a court decision, seeking a review of the case.
- Executor: A person named in a will who is responsible for managing a deceased person's estate.
Practice Tips
For effective english speaking practice while engaging with this lesson, consider using shadowing techniques. Shadow speech involves closely following along with the video transcript, imitating the speaker's tone and rhythm. The pace of the narration is moderate, making it ideal for shadowing. Begin by listening to short segments of the video, pausing to repeat what you've heard, focusing on pronunciation and intonation.
As you practice, pay attention to the speaker's legal terminology and the nuanced way they convey complex ideas. This will help reinforce your understanding of the content while enhancing your ability to articulate similar arguments in your own words. Practicing this way on a dedicated shadowing site can further augment your learning experience, as you can record your voice and compare it against the original audio. Embrace the challenge, and let your understanding of legal English shine through your speaking!
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was decided · would be held · was brought |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has offered · have we learned |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | Sidway, which was · anyone who promises |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.