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Contracts-Promissory Estoppel
(Beverly, dba PSB v. Network Solutions)

Contracts-Promissory Estoppel
(Beverly, dba PSB v. Network Solutions)

Beverly's third claim alleges detrimental reliance on the Cooperative Agreement. Beverly alleges that by entering into the contract with NSF and conducting the business of registering domain names, [NSI] made an implied promise to the registrants of such domain names, including [Beverly], not to arbitrarily interfere with registrants['] continued use of their domain names.

Compl P XXI. Presumably the breach of this alleged implied promise underlies Beverly's allegation that NSI's dispute policy allows NSI to deny Beverly's continued use of "whoswhointheworld.com" unfairly and arbitrarily. See Compl P XV (incorporated by reference).

Beverly's claim is more suitably titled promissory estoppel. Promissory estoppel exists if, despite a lack of consideration between the parties, the one who makes a promise upon which another justifiably relies may be bound to perform that promise. See Witkin, Summary of California Law: Contracts § 248 (9th ed); see also Southern California Acoustics Co v. C.V. Holder, Inc, 71 Cal. 2d 719, 723, 79 Cal. Rptr. 319, 456 P.2d 975 (1969); Drennan v. Star Paving Co, 51 Cal. 2d 409, 413, 333 P.2d 757 (1958). The promise must be sufficiently specific so that the court can determine the obligation assumed and enforce the promise according to its terms" in order to support this allegation. See Ladas v. California State Automobile Ass'n, 19 Cal. App. 4th 761, 770 (1993) (holding that promise cannot be so amorphous that there is no rational method of determining breach or damages).

In the case at bar, Beverly fails to allege a specific implied promise. The alleged promise to refrain from interfering arbitrarily with Beverly's use of his domain name is not sufficiently specific. It neither provides a basis for the court to determine whether a breach of the implied promise has occurred nor what damages may have resulted. Moreover, NSI's dispute policy explicitly defined the circumstances under which NSI would interrupt a registrant's use of his domain name and what options the registrant could pursue.

NSF has left the administrative decisions regarding domain name registrations to NSI and therefore NSI is complying with the Cooperative Agreement by effectuating an express dispute policy. Beverly's assertion that the dispute policy is an arbitrary interference with his domain name is undermined by the specific options expressed in NSI's dispute policy. An implied promise never to discontinue Beverly's use of "whoswhointheworld.com" therefore is inconsistent with the explicit language of the dispute policy.

BEVERLY, dba PSB,  v. NETWORK SOLUTIONS, No. C-98-0337-VRW-District Court Orde re Motion to Dismiss
 

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