Dear Colleagues:

A student of mine is thinking of doing a research project on the
question of whether a breach of contract is a sufficiently illegal
purpose to render a contract unenforceable. The fact pattern he has in
mind is something like the following: X dislikes Y (who is something of
a minor celebrity/politician). X then promises a doorman at an
apartment building some money (say $1000) to not open the door for Y if
he is being followed by the press/photojournalists (since this will
cause embarrassment for Y). The doorman is employed by Z (the owner of
the building). The doorman then does what is requested of him and seeks
to recover the $1000 from X. Is the contract enforceable?

The trouble he tells me that he has run into is that almost all the
examples of illegal purposes he can find are crimes (or related torts).

As I know very little about this area, any thoughts or points to helpful
sources (judicial or academic) are very much appreciated.

Sincerely,

--
Jason Neyers
Professor of Law
Faculty of Law
Western University
N6A 3K7
(519) 661-2111 x. 88435