Writing a Contract in Blood Apparently Doesn't Work in CA

It's late, you're tipsy and you just pricked yourself with a safety pin to write a contract in blood on a napkin. "Sir, please forgive me. Because of my deeds you have suffered financially. I will repay you to the best of my ability." Then some language was added in pen. That's what Stephen Son did for his friend Jinsoo Kim in October 2004 because he was owed $170,000. Kim then used that to sue Son, but a lower court and the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana yesterday said it was a "gratuitous unenforceable promise." Not only is the pen mightier than the sword, it's holier than your own blood.