Past Consideration

Past consideration refers to a situation where something has already been done or provided before a promise or agreement is made. In contract law, for a promise to be enforceable, it generally needs to be supported by “consideration” – something of value exchanged between the parties. With past consideration, since the action or benefit was given before the promise, it cannot be used as valid consideration for a new agreement. Essentially, you cannot enforce a promise based on something that has already occurred; there must be a mutual exchange happening at the same time.