Midwest Energy, Inc. v. Orion Food Systems, Inc.
Court of Appeals for the Eastern District of Missouri
14 S.W.3d 154 (2000)
Midwest Energy (Midwest) (plaintiff) was building a convenience store and considering an Orion Food Systems (Orion) (defendant) franchise; Orion's district sales manager, Ted Ries, told Midwest's president that other area franchisees posed no obstacle and they could move ahead, prompting Midwest to redesign its building around a larger Orion-provided layout, though its president later admitted Midwest probably would have built a smaller building regardless. Orion sent a franchise agreement and Ries said he would pick it up once signed, but no contract was ever executed, and Orion ultimately refused to grant the franchise; Midwest sued for breach of contract, promissory estoppel, and fraud, and the trial court granted summary judgment to Orion and Ries on all claims.
Whether a promise is binding if (1) the promisor should have expected his promise to induce an action, (2) the promise does induce that action, and (3) enforcing the promise is the only way to avoid injustice.