Which doctrine allows enforcement of a promise when a promisor reasonably relies on it to the promisee's detriment, even without consideration?

• A. The statute of frauds.
• B. Promissory estoppel.
• C. Rescission.
• D. Parol evidence rule.

Answer: (B)

Promissory estoppel is the doctrine that enforces a promise even when there’s no consideration, if the promisor reasonably expects the promisee to rely on it and the promisee does rely to their detriment. The idea is to prevent injustice when someone acts on a promise that was made, even though a formal contract with consideration didn’t form. For this to apply, there must be a clear and definite promise, actual reliance by the promisee, that reliance must be reasonable and foreseeable to the promisor, and enforcement must be necessary to avoid an injustice (often with reliance damages). This shifts the focus from traditional contract formation to protecting reliance and preventing harm from broken promises. The other doctrines don’t fit: the statute of frauds governs whether certain promises must be in writing, rescission concerns undoing a contract, and the parol evidence rule deals with admissibility of extrinsic evidence to interpret a written contract.