... undertaken. Pinnel's Case 1602 This case is possibly the earliest to establish the principle that if one person owes money to another, then an agreement to take a lesser sum to settle the debt is not a binding obligation. The reason it is not rests on the fact that there is no new consideration to support the new agreement. Cole owed Pinnel £8 10s, but at Pinnel's request paid £5 2s 6d one month before the full sum was due. Cole claimed that there was an agreement that the part-payment ¹ Contract Law 5th Edition Elliott and Quinn 2005 page 71 ² Contract law, text, cases and materials 2nd Edition McKendrick, Oxford 2005 page 220 would discharge the full debt. The court found in favour of Pinnel, because part-payment of an original debt did not make for fresh consideration. Therefore the agreement was not a contract. This case has been influential but ...

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