ESTOPPEL..

Black's Law Dictionary defines estoppel as a "bar or impediment raised by the law, which precludes a man from alleging or from denying a certain fact or state of facts, in consequence of his previous allegation or denial or conduct or admission, or in consequence of a final adjudication of the matter in a court of law".

Estoppel in its broadest sense is a legal term referring to a series of legal and equitable doctrines that preclude "a person from denying or asserting anything to the contrary of that which has, in contemplation of law, been established as the truth, either by the acts of judicial or legislative officers, or by his own deed, acts, or representations, either express or implied."

This term appears to come from the Old French estoupail (or a variation), which meant "stopper plug", referring to placing a halt on the imbalance of the situation. The term is related to the verb "estop" which comes from the Old French term estopper, meaning "stop up, impede"

Where a court finds that a party has done something warranting a form of estoppel, that party is said to be "estopped" from making certain related arguments or claiming certain related rights. The defendant is said to be "estopped" from presenting the related defense, or the plaintiff is said to be "estopped" from making the related argument against the defendant.
It is perhaps best understood by considering specific examples.

Example 1: A city entered into a contract with another party. The contract stated that it had been reviewed by the city's counsel and that the contract was proper. Promissory estoppel applied to estop the city from claiming the contract was invalid.

Example 2: The creditor unofficially informs the debtor that the creditor forgives the debt. Even if such forgiveness is not formally documented, the creditor may be estopped from changing its mind and seeking to collect the debt, because that change would be unfair.

Example 3: A landlord informs a tenant that rent has been reduced, for example, because there was construction or a lapse in utility services. If the tenant relies on this notice in choosing to remain in the premises, the landlord could be estopped from collecting the full rent.

Estoppel is closely related to the doctrines of waiver, variation, and election and is applied in many areas of law, including insurance, banking, employment, international trade, etc.
Major types of estoppel:-

1) Reliance-based estoppels:-
These involve one party relying on something the other party has done or said. The party who did/said the act is the one who is estopped. Under English law, this class includes estoppel by representation of fact, promissory estoppel.
An estoppel by representation of fact will arise between A and B if the following elements are made out.
i- A makes a false representation of fact to B or to a group of which B was a member.
ii- In making the representation, A intended or knew that it was likely to be acted upon.
iii- B, believing the representation, acts to its detriment in reliance on the representation.
iv- A subsequently seeks to deny the truth of the representation.
v- No defence to the estoppel can be raised by A.
Estoppel by representation of fact:- (English law name is equitable estoppel) including
i- Proprietary estoppel.
ii- Promissory estoppel.
Estoppel by representation of fact and promissory estoppel are mutually exclusive: the former is based on a representation of existing fact (or of mixed fact and law), while the latter is based on a promise not to enforce some pre-existing right (i.e. it expresses an intention as to the future).
A proprietary estoppel operates only between parties who, at the time of the representation, were in an existing relationship, while this is not a requirement for estoppel by representation of fact.

2) Estoppel by record:-
This frequently arises as issue/cause of action estoppel or judicial estoppel where the orders or judgments made in previous legal proceedings prevent the parties from re-litigating the same issues or causes of action,

3) Estoppel by deed:-
Where rules of evidence prevent a litigant from denying the truth of what was said or done

4) Estoppel by silence:-
Estoppel that prevents a person from asserting something when he had the right and opportunity to do so earlier, and such silence put another person at a disadvantage.

5) Laches:-
estoppel in equity by delay. Laches has been considered both a reliance-based estoppel, and a sui generis estoppel. All reliance-based estoppels require the victimised party to show both inducement and detrimental reliance, i.e.
there must be evidence to show that the representor actually intended the victim to act on the representation or promise, or
the victim must satisfy the court that it was reasonable for him or her to act on the relevant representation or promise, and
what the victim did must either have been reasonable, or
the victim did what the representor intended, and
the victim would suffer a loss or detriment if the representor was allowed to deny what was said or done — detriment is measured at the time when the representor proposes to deny the representation or withdraw the promise, not at the time when either was made, and
in all the circumstances, the behavior of the representor is such that it would be "unconscionable" to allow him or her to resile.

6) Equitable estoppel (English law):-

The American doctrine of equitable estoppel is Estoppel by representation of fact.
Under English and Australian legal systems, estoppels in equity include promissory and proprietary estoppel.

Example: A father promised a house to his son who took possession and spent a large sum of money improving the property, but the father never actually transferred the house to the son. Upon the father's death, the son claimed to be the equitable owner. The court found the testamentary trustees (as representatives of the deceased father's estate) were estopped from denying the son's proprietary interest, and ordered them to convey the land to the son.

Equitable estoppel is distinct from promissory estoppel. Promissory estoppel involves a clear and definite promise, while equitable estoppel involves only representations and inducements. The representations at issue in promissory estoppel go to future intent, while equitable estoppel involves statement of past or present fact. It is also said that equitable estoppel lies in tort, while promissory estoppel lies in contract. The major distinction between equitable estoppel and promissory estoppel is that the former is available only as a defense, while promissory estoppel can be used as the basis of a cause of action for damages.

Other kinds are as under:-

7) Pais...

Estoppel in pais (literally "solemn formal act”) is the historical root of common law estoppel by representation and equitable estoppel. The terms Estoppel in pais and equitable estoppel are used interchangeably in American law.

8) Convention...

Estoppel by convention in English law (also known as estoppel by agreement) occurs where two parties negotiate or operate a contract but make a mistake. If they share an assumption, belief or understanding of how the contract will be interpreted or what the legal effect will be, they are bound by that belief, assumption or understanding if:

(i) they both knew the other had the same belief, and
(ii) they both based their subsequent dealings on those beliefs.

9) Estoppel by acquiescence:-

Estoppel by acquiescence may arise when one person gives a legal warning to another based on some clearly asserted facts or legal principle, and the other does not respond within "a reasonable period of time". By acquiescing, the other person is generally considered to have lost the legal right to assert the contrary.

10) Estoppel by deed:-

Estoppel by deed is a rule of evidence arising from the status of a contract signed under seal — such agreements, called deeds, are more strictly enforced than ordinary contracts and the parties are expected to take greater care to verify the contents before signing them. Hence, once signed, all statements of fact are conclusive evidence against the parties who are estopped from asserting otherwise.

11) Conflict Estoppel...

“an inconsistent position, attitude or course of conduct may not be adopted to loss or injury of another”.

12) Issue estoppel...

estoppel when a issue arises.
Articles 114, 115 and 116 of QSO 1984 deal with estoppel.
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