Promissory Fraud Without Breach

Abstract

It is of course true that proving breach of contract is not sufficient to establish promissory fraud liability. But in this paper we argue that breach of contract should not even be a necessary element for proving promissory fraud. There are a variety of contexts without legally enforceable contracts where insincere promising should still be deemed tortuous because of the willful harm that it causes. Promisors who are free from contractual liability nonetheless are sometimes potentially liable for this promissory tort.

Keywords: contract, promissory fraud, false promise