Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: promissory estoppel

I think you have several theories upon which you could proceed in court, promissory estoppel being among them. The others would include breach of an oral contract, breach of a written contract, breach of fiduciary duty, an action for dissolution of a partnership, and fraud.

Promissory estoppel is not a cause of action in itself; it is a doctrine for establishing enforcability of a contract, written or oral, which would otherwise be uneforcable due to lack of consideration, or some other defect e.g. a promise to convey real property without a written agreement. See Monarco v. LoGreco (1950) 35 Cal.2d 621. So, if I were writing a complaint on your behalf, I would probably mention "estoppel" and "promissory estoppel" at several points, but would assert claims for relief ("counts" or "causes of action") based upon contract, partnership, fiduciary duty and fraud theories.

Unless your ex-fried has defenses that are not apparent from the facts as you give them, it should be possible to convince a judge or jury that a partnership was formed, and must now be dissolved (meaning, you must be bought out); or that there was an oral, possibly partially written, agreement that can be enforced.

I would be pleased to offer you a free consultation including review of all the fatcs.

Re: promissory estoppel

Possibly, were there any witnesses to his promises? How much did you spend in reliance on his false promise to reimburse you from the sale of the house? Send me an email.

Re: promissory estoppel

Based upon the facts that you provided, it would not be necessary to rely upon promissory estoppel to proceed against your ex-friend. Rather, you would simply allege a breach of an agreement -- presumably, a written agreement, but an oral agreement could just as well be established. (Also, keep in mind that promissory estoppel is not really a cause of action, as much as it is a substitute for something called consideration; in rare cases, the courts will substitute promissory estoppel for consideration in a contract, when it is found to be lacking, and when the circumstances warrant it. Based upon these facts, it would not be necessary to rely upon promissory estoppel).

Find a good civil litigator and have him/her review your documents to ascertain whether or not you have a case worth pursuing.

Re: promissory estoppel

As usual, Mr. Whipple has given an excellent answer. It sounds like you have a strong case, provided that there is evidence of what you say happened and that other facts don't give your former partner a valid defense.