Fiege v. Boehm
Court of Appeals of Maryland
123 A.2d 316 (1956)
Hilda Boehm (plaintiff) sued Louis Fiege (defendant) for breach of contract, alleging he had agreed to pay her child-support expenses in exchange for her not filing bastardy (paternity) proceedings against him. Fiege made payments from 1951 to 1953 and Boehm held off filing suit, but Fiege stopped paying in 1953 after a blood test suggested he wasn't the father, and he was later acquitted of the bastardy charge. At Boehm's breach-of-contract trial, the court told the jury the acquittal wasn't binding on them, and the jury ruled for Boehm. Fiege appealed, arguing her underlying paternity claim was invalid and so could never have supplied valid consideration for his promise.
Whether there is adequate consideration to support a binding agreement when one party promises to refrain from bringing a legal claim that appeared valid at the time of agreement but is later shown to be unsuccessful.