|
Restitution
Restitution and unjust enrichment is the field of law relating to gains-based recovery. In contrast with damages (the law of compensation), restitution is a claim or remedy requiring a defendant to give up benefits wrongfully obtained. Liability for restitution is primarily governed by the "principle of unjust enrichment": A person who has been unjustly enriched at the expense of another is required to make restitution. This principle derives from late Roman law, as stated in the Latin maxim attributed to Sextus Pomponius, ''Jure naturae aequum est neminem cum alterius detrimentum et injuria fieri locupletiorem'' ("By natural law it is just that no one should be enriched by another's loss or injury"). In civil law systems, it is also referred to as enrichment without cause or unjustified enrichment. In pre-modern English common law, restitutionary claims were often brought in an action for '' assumpsit'' and later in a claim for money had and received. The seminal case giving ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Failure Of Consideration
Failure of consideration is a technical legal term referring to situations in which one person confers a benefit upon another upon some condition or basis ("consideration Consideration is a concept of English law, English common law and is a necessity for simple contracts but not for special contracts (contracts by deed). The concept has been adopted by other common law jurisdictions. It is commonly referred to a ...") which fails to materialise or subsist. It is also referred to as "failure of basis". It is an ' unjust factor' for the purposes of the law of unjust enrichment. Where there is a "total failure of consideration" the claimant can seek restitution of the benefit by bringing an action in unjust enrichment against the defendant. Historically speaking, this was as a quasi-contractual claim known as an action for money had and received to the plaintiff's use for a consideration that wholly failed. The orthodox view is that it is necessary for any relevant contract to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Change Of Position
Change of position is a defence to a claim in unjust enrichment which operates to reduce a defendant's liability to the extent to which his or her circumstances have changed as a consequence of an enrichment. History The historical core of the law of unjust enrichment consists of the quasi-contractual actions of money had and received, money paid to the defendant's use, quantum meruit and quantum valebat. These personal common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ... actions generated an obligation on the part of the defendant to give restitution of a gain acquired at the expense of the plaintiff. This liability was strict and independent of any wrongdoing on the part of the recipient. Change of position provides a defence to a defendant where it would be inequ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damages
At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at law, the loss must involve damage to property, or mental or physical injury; pure economic loss is rarely recognized for the award of damages. Compensatory damages are further categorized into special damages, which are economic losses such as loss of earnings, property damage and medical expenses, and general damages, which are non-economic damages such as pain and suffering and emotional distress. Rather than being compensatory, at common law damages may instead be nominal, contemptuous or exemplary. History Among the Saxons, a monetary value called a '' weregild'' was assigned to every human being and every piece of property in the Salic Code. If property was stolen or someone was injured or killed, the guilty person had to pay th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Money Had And Received
An action for money had and received to the plaintiff's use is the name for a common law claim derived from the form of action known as '' indebitatus assumpsit''. The action enabled one person to recover money which has been received by another: for example, where a plaintiff paid money to the defendant while labouring under a mistake of fact or where there was a total failure of consideration. The action was a personal action only available in respect of money, rather than other benefits. Where the benefit received by the defendant was services or goods, the appropriate action was a ''quantum meruit'' or a '' quantum valebant'', respectively. The action for money had and received formed a part of the law of quasi-contract. Although the forms of action were abolished in the mid-19th century, reference continues to be made to the action in modern pleading.Cf. Graham Virgo, ''The Principles of the Law of Restitution'' (3rd ed, 2015). The terminology of "quasi-contract" has been rep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assumpsit
Assumpsit ("he has undertaken", from Latin, ''assumere''), or more fully, action in assumpsit, was a form of action at common law used to enforce what are now called obligations arising in tort and contract; and in some common law jurisdictions, unjust enrichment. The origins of the action can be traced to the 14th century, when litigants seeking justice in the royal courts turned from the writs of covenant and debt to the trespass on the case. History Fragmentation of actions for breach of agreement In the early days of the English common law, agreements were enforced in local courts. Where one wished to enforce an agreement in the royal courts, it was necessary to fit one's claim within a form of action. In the 13th and 14th centuries the forms of action for the enforcement of agreements were covenant, debt, detinue, and account. These were all writs in the ''praecipe'' form, meaning that they commanded the defendant to perform an act: for example, to keep a promise; to yie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Money Had And Received
An action for money had and received to the plaintiff's use is the name for a common law claim derived from the form of action known as '' indebitatus assumpsit''. The action enabled one person to recover money which has been received by another: for example, where a plaintiff paid money to the defendant while labouring under a mistake of fact or where there was a total failure of consideration. The action was a personal action only available in respect of money, rather than other benefits. Where the benefit received by the defendant was services or goods, the appropriate action was a ''quantum meruit'' or a '' quantum valebant'', respectively. The action for money had and received formed a part of the law of quasi-contract. Although the forms of action were abolished in the mid-19th century, reference continues to be made to the action in modern pleading.Cf. Graham Virgo, ''The Principles of the Law of Restitution'' (3rd ed, 2015). The terminology of "quasi-contract" has been rep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equity (law)
In the field of jurisprudence, equity is the particular body of law, developed in the English Court of Chancery, with the general purpose of providing legal remedies for cases wherein the common law is inflexible and cannot fairly resolve the disputed legal matter. Conceptually, equity was part of the historical origins of the system of common law of England, yet is a field of law separate from common law, because equity has its own unique rules and principles, and was administered by courts of equity. Equity exists in domestic law, both in civil law and in common law systems, as well as in international law. The tradition of equity begins in antiquity with the writings of Aristotle (''epieikeia'') and with Roman law ('' aequitas''). Later, in civil law systems, equity was integrated in the legal rules, while in common law systems it became an independent body of law. Equity in common law jurisdictions (general) In jurisdictions following the English common law syste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moses V Macferlan
''Moses v Macferlan'' (1760) 2 Bur 1005 is a foundational case in the law of restitution holding that in certain circumstances such as when money is paid by mistake, for failed consideration or under oppression; the law will allow the money to be recovered. Facts Chapman Jacob had made out four promissory notes to Moses for 30s each.''Moses v Macferlan'' (1760) 2 Bur 1005 at 1005. Moses owed Macferlan £26, did not pay him and was sued. A settlement was reached at arbitration whereby Moses would pay Macferlan £20; and endorse to Macferlan the four promissory notes he had received from Jacob, whose sum, 120 shillings, was equivalent to £6. Moses, endorsed these notes to Macferlan, thus transferring over rights to the money. Prior to Moses endorsement, Macferlan assured him that his endorsement would not prejudice him. In other words, Macferlan would not seek to get the value of the notes from Moses. There was also an agreement signed by Macferlan that Moses should "not be liab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ex Aequo Et Bono
''Ex aequo et bono'' (Latin for "according to the right and good" or "from equity and conscience") is a Latin phrase that is used as a legal term of art. In the context of arbitration, it refers to the power of arbitrators to dispense with application of the law, if appropriate, and decide solely on what they consider to be fair and equitable in the case at hand. However, a decision ''ex aequo et bono'' is distinguished from a decision on the basis of equity (''equity intra legem'') and even tribunals with ''ex aequo et bono'' powers generally consider the law too. "Whereas an authorisation to decide a question ''ex aequo et bono'' is an authorisation to decide without deference to the rules of law, an authorisation to decide on a basis of equity does not dispense the judge from giving a decision based upon law, even though the law be modified". Article 38(2) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) provides that the court may decide cases ''ex aequo et bono'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |