Glossary
Consideration
The value exchanged between parties that helps make a contract enforceable; it does not necessarily have to be money.
Consideration is what each side gives up. It can be money, goods, services, a promise to act, or a promise to refrain from acting that a party was otherwise entitled to take.
Its absence is a common reason an apparent agreement turns out to be unenforceable. A gratuitous promise, or a promise to do something a party was already legally obliged to do, generally will not support a contract on its own.
The question arises most often with agreements added after the fact, such as a non-compete presented to a current employee, where what was exchanged for the new promise is not obvious.
General information about Tennessee law, not legal advice. How this applies depends on the facts of your matter.
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