Families are Great! Now the Daughter Sues Dad for Breach of Contract - and Wins!
This is a really a great story. Sad for the family, but a great contracts story. The Connecticut Law Tribune reports the following story about a contract gone bad. Also see the report in the Contracts Professor.
This is the case of Dana Soderberg, who went to court to force her father to live up to his agreement to pay her tuition at Southern Connecticut State University.
The court agreed that the father had entered into a contract to make the payments. When Howard and Deborah Soderberg divorced, they agreed that Howard would pay all of the education costs of the children. Dana, a daughter, was smart enough to get a written agreement with her father since, as she knew, her father was not a person to follow through and actually pay for things as promised.
The article in the Tribune reads in part:
As part of the agreement, Dana would make an effort to apply for student loans and Howard Soderberg would pay off those loans. Co-signing the agreement was Howard's sister, Patricia.
Howard delivered on his word through March 24, 2007. But when it came time for Dana to begin her senior year at Southern Connecticut, Howard Soderberg refused to pay the bills. And so Dana got a $20,000 loan to pay for her last year of college, with her mother co-signing.
Dana graduated and sued her father.
The father argued that Dana breached their agreement by not making reasonable efforts to apply for student loans, by failing to attend classes full time and by not providing him with receipts for tuition and other school-related expenses.
Howard Soderberg also filed a counterclaim alleging that his daughter dropped courses and pocketed the refunds. He also said she spent money that was supposed to go toward textbooks on personal items.
Judge Trial Referee William L. Hadden Jr. issued a written opinion earlier this month, ruling that father and daughter had a legitimate contract, that Dana proved to be the more credible party in the lawsuit, and that the father had breached the agreement.
"The plaintiff has proven that she has performed all of her obligations as set forth …" wrote Hadden. "The defendants have failed to prove the claims set forth in their special defenses and in Howard's counterclaim."
Berman said damages totaled around $47,000, including the loan, interest, attorney fees and missed car insurance payments. Berman did not anticipate an appeal.
As I read this report I was wondering what the consideration was, since Dad already had the obligation to pay for the education costs. Perhaps it was the obligation to apply for student loans.
Even without a contract you clearly have what appears to be a good case of promissory estoppel.
The daughters instinct to get a written agreement with her father is probably unusual, but very smart in the circumstances. Good for her.
This a good lesson in all business arrangements. Write down your agreements. Most contracts are preformed without any problem. But when there is an issue, and the parties have written down their agreement, it is much easier to resolve than it is when the agreements are verbal. Once there is a dispute over a verbal agreement, the parties will disagree on what the agreement was, or even if there was an agreement. This case is a good lesson for all.
Gavin Craig
