Evans v. Evans, 2022 Ohio 2167

Decedent Rhonda Evans died; family arranged funeral at Tobias Funeral Home but STRS retirement funds were not yet available.
Chad Evans paid the $10,585.44 funeral bill out of pocket; Michelle Evans later received about $22,000 in STRS funds.
Chad sued Michelle in municipal court claiming she orally promised to reimburse him; testimony conflicted about timing of the promise.
A magistrate and the trial court credited testimony finding an oral promise and entered judgment for Chad for the funeral amount.
On appeal, the court held the trial court erred by relying on a promise made after Chad’s payment (past consideration) and remanded for findings on whether Michelle promised to reimburse before Chad paid.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether an enforceable oral contract existed obligating Michelle to reimburse Chad for funeral expenses	Chad: Michelle promised to reimburse him and he paid in reliance — creates contract if promise preceded payment	Michelle: Chad voluntarily paid first; any later promise is past consideration and unenforceable; no bargained-for exchange	Reversed and remanded: trial court erred relying on past consideration; remand to determine whether Michelle promised to reimburse before Chad paid (if so, judgment for Chad; if not, judgment for Michelle)

Kostelnik v. Helper, 96 Ohio St.3d 1 (2002) (lists essential contract elements including offer, acceptance, consideration, and mutual assent)
Irwin v. Lombard Univ., 56 Ohio St. 9 (1897) (explains consideration as either detriment to promisee or benefit to promisor)
Williams v. Ormsby, 131 Ohio St.3d 427 (2012) (gratuitous promises are not enforceable contracts)
Carlisle v. T & R Excavating, Inc., 123 Ohio App.3d 277 (1997) (past consideration generally cannot support a contract)
Perlmuter Printing Co. v. Strome, Inc., 436 F. Supp. 409 (N.D. Ohio 1976) (quoted for contract definition)