Legal Definitions - bare promise

A bare promise refers to a promise made by one person to another without anything of value being exchanged in return. In legal terms, this "something of value" is known as consideration. For a promise to be legally enforceable as a contract, both parties generally need to provide consideration – meaning each party gives up something or agrees to do something in exchange for the other party's promise.

Because a bare promise lacks this essential element of consideration, it is typically not considered a legally binding contract and therefore cannot be enforced in court.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Social Arrangement
  Imagine your friend, Alex, tells you, "I promise I'll help you paint your living room next Saturday." You don't offer Alex any money, a reciprocal favor, or anything else in exchange for this promise; it's simply a kind gesture. If Alex later changes their mind and doesn't show up to help, this would be considered a bare promise. You generally cannot legally compel Alex to paint your living room because there was no consideration exchanged to form a binding contract.

• Example 2: Unilateral Gift Promise
  Suppose a wealthy aunt tells her niece, "I promise to buy you a new laptop for your birthday next month." The niece doesn't do anything specific in response to this promise, nor does she give her aunt anything in return for it. This is a bare promise. If the aunt later decides not to buy the laptop, the niece typically cannot sue her aunt to enforce the promise because no consideration was provided by the niece to make it a legally binding agreement.

• Example 3: Business Goodwill Gesture
  A local restaurant owner tells a regular customer, "Because you're such a loyal patron, I promise you'll get a free dessert with every meal for the next month." The customer doesn't commit to buying more meals, promoting the restaurant, or doing anything else in exchange for this offer; it's simply a gesture of goodwill. This is a bare promise. If the owner later decides to stop offering the free desserts, the customer generally has no legal recourse because there was no consideration exchanged to create a contractual obligation.