Commercial parties tend to operate in fluid and fast paced
environments. Frequently formal contracts are entered into or
amended late or possibly not at all. Time constrains, cost
constraints or simply oversight are often to blame.
Failing to record deals in contracts puts commercial parties at
risk. One party may decide to walk away from the deal after the
other party has already kept their side of the deal. With no
contract/contract amendment in place, the other party is in a weak
legal position.
One of the ways in which lawyers and judges attempt to grapple
with this commercial reality is by the doctrine of promissory
estoppel. Promissory estoppel prevents a person from unconscionably
departing from a representation, promise or assurance made by the
first person and relied on by a second person to the second
person's detriment.
