## Facts

- A large decorative lawn urn sat at Hickory Hill in McLean, Virginia, and had been associated with the property since at least 1941.
- In December 2009, Ethel Kennedy contracted to sell Hickory Hill to Alan J. Dabbiere; the sale conveyed the real property and its “fixtures.”
- After signing the sales contract but before closing, Ethel Kennedy gifted the urn to her daughter, Kerry Kennedy.
- The urn was not removed before closing and remained on the property when Dabbiere took possession.
- A dispute arose over whether the urn was a fixture that transferred with the real estate sale or personal property owned by Kerry Kennedy.
- In 2010, the parties reduced a settlement to writing: Dabbiere agreed to relinquish any claim that the urn was his as a fixture, and Kerry Kennedy agreed the urn could remain at Hickory Hill for ten years, with delivery to her in June 2020.
- By 2020, Dabbiere located historical information suggesting the urn predated any claimed provenance that had motivated his 2010 assent; he refused to deliver the urn, asserting the 2010 agreement lacked consideration and was unenforceable.
- Kerry Kennedy sued for declaratory relief recognizing her ownership and for enforcement of the 2010 agreement; both sides moved for summary judgment, and the court treated the material facts as undisputed.

## Issues

1. Whether the 2010 written agreement was supported by legally sufficient consideration under Virginia law.
2. Whether Kerry Kennedy’s forbearance from immediate possession and from pursuing a disputed claim for ten years can constitute consideration even if her underlying entitlement was uncertain.
3. Whether alleged misstatements about the urn’s history defeated enforcement on a consideration theory.

## Decision

- The court granted Kerry Kennedy’s motion for summary judgment and denied Dabbiere’s cross-motion.
- The court held the 2010 agreement was an enforceable contract supported by adequate consideration.
- The court entered judgment declaring Kerry Kennedy the owner of the urn and entitled to recover it from Dabbiere.

## Legal Principles

- Under Virginia law, forbearance to assert or prosecute a claim may constitute valid consideration if the claim is asserted honestly and in good faith, even if the claim later proves doubtful or invalid.
- A compromise resolving a bona fide dispute supplies sufficient consideration so long as the claim is not obviously frivolous or wholly without foundation.
- The adequacy of consideration is evaluated from the bargain at the time of contracting; later-discovered facts or a later reassessment of underlying legal entitlement does not negate a settled exchange.
- Alleged misstatements that explain a party’s motivation to settle do not, without more, negate the existence of consideration where the agreement contains a bargained-for exchange resolving a real dispute.

## Conclusion

The court enforced the parties’ 2010 settlement because Kerry Kennedy’s good-faith forbearance from immediate possession and litigation of a disputed property claim provided consideration, entitling her to a declaration of ownership and recovery of the urn.


Kennedy v. Dabbiere, 545 F. Supp. 3d 269 (E.D. Va. 2021)