Detrimental Reliance

The law has a few catch-all causes of action that I’ve found charming in their descriptions.  “Intentional Inflection of emotional distress” comes to mind, as does “prima facie tort” and the concept of “res ipsa loquitor”.  In that order, these principles mean deliberately doing something with the goal of upsetting someone; ‘when all else fails, this must be actionable’; and “the thing speaks for itself”, a quaint way of saying that the patient suffered and only the doctor could have done it.  (I’m simplifying  without losing much accuracy.)

But my favorite is “detrimental reliance”.  This concept charges a person with responsibility when they told someone something, or commited to something, knowing their assertion was false, and the other person reasonably expected truth and took action accordingly.  In detrimental reliance lies the crux of all complaints:  You said you WOULD, I believed you, and you DIDN’T.  Ah, life!  Where would we be, but for our dependence on hollow promises?

Disappointment coils itself around one’s heart; and one must find the release to shed oneself of its deadly clutch.  Here on the porch, in the subsiding summer rain, I remind myself that disappointment is but the flipside of expectation.  We invite disappointment through our expectations.  In doing so, we overlook one immutable truth:  We can’t control the words or actions of anyone but ourselves.

I watch the robin land on the stone pavement.  He scoots sideways and casts his eye up toward me, assessing whether I pose a threat to his quest for the dish of catfood.  He flies away, startled by the rustling of my newspaper.  He does not resent me.  He lands on the slick bark of the maple branch and sings.  I smile, and rock, and think about hope, a far better state than misery and anger.  The thunder gives one last gentle roll.  The squirrels dart out from the crannies where they have sought shelter.  I close my eyes and surrender to the sweetness of the morning as the sun breaks through the trees and begins to warm the air around me.

20140713_083650 20140713_090033

2 thoughts on “Detrimental Reliance

  1. ccorleyjd365 Post author

    Sometimes it’s darkest before the dawn. I’m finding the secret is not to blame the person or situation which goes contrary to the way you would choose. And let’s be real: Complaining changes nothing. One does not have to stop loving the person who behaves in a way we would prefer that they did not behave. One just needs to let that love shine for itself and brighten any darkness. And also — the love that others feel, the generosity that people show, the days which go the way we want them to go, the gifts that come willingly, that represent the best others can do — step from one to the next, through the rapids, until the other shore draws near..

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *