Beyond Promissory Estoppel: Contract Law and the "Invisible Handshake"

The results of a survey of over 200 promissory estoppel cases decided in the last 10 years are presented. The results document the declining role of reliance in establishing liability and determining remedies. The study indicates that most cases denying recovery, purportedly for lack of reasonable reliance, can be readily explained on other grounds. A new rule of promissory liability is emerging from the courts' encounters with an economy in which Okun's (1981) ''invisible handshake'' is increasingly relevant. A rule is proposed as a new standard of enforcement. The proposed rule is that any promise made in furtherance of an economic activity is enforceable. This rule unifies promissory estoppel and other exceptions to the consideration requirement with consideration doctrine itself.