Promise and Reliance

I have promised to keep a web log. In response, you -- my faithful reader -- probably bookmarked my site to check it from time to time. This is a form of reliance, and as such I have a duty* to keep the blog chock full of fresh content!

So despite my busy schedule, and the fact that homework seems to be coming at a faster pace than ever before, I feel responsible for providing some sort of legal entertainment. So, to that end, here is some righteous scorn from an early-19th century judge. :-)

"The son...was twenty-five years old, and had long left his father's family. On his return from a foreign country, he fell sick among strangers, and the plaintiff acted the part of the good Samaritan, giving him shelter and comfort until he died. The defendant, his father, on being informed of this event, influenced by a transient feeling of gratitude, promised in writing to pay the plaintiff for the expenses he had incurred. But he has determined to break this promise, and is willing to have his case appear on record as a strong example of a particular injustice sometimes necessarily resulting from the operation of general rules." Mills v. Wyman, 20 Mass. (3 Pick.) 207. (Emphasis added.)

Damn. It's one thing being scolded in private. But in public? For all the world to see? For the rest of eternity? That's rough.

*By "duty," I do not necessarily mean a "legal" duty, but a moral duty. I'm pretty sure there was no consideration, so there is no contract between us; and you can't claim promissory estoppel because I didn't promise anything to anyone in particular, just to the general public. I don't think that's enforceable, because it lacks specificity. Maybe. I'm just a 1L, for God's sake!