Apfel v. Prudential-Bache Securities, Inc.
New York Court of Appeals
616 N.E.2d 1095 (N.Y. 1993)
Relevant factsFree
Prudential (defendant) reviewed, negotiated over, and then contracted to pay Apfel (plaintiff) for his proposed computerized municipal-securities system, using the system exclusively and profitably for years before other banks adopted similar systems; Prudential later stopped payments, arguing the idea had already been in the public domain and thus lacked the novelty needed to serve as consideration.
IssueFree
Whether disclosure of an idea by a seller may constitute consideration to support a contract if the idea has value but is not novel.