Also known as: equitable remedy · equity remedies
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A form of judicial relief granted when monetary damages would not adequately compensate the injured party. Courts award such relief to prevent unjust enrichment or to compel specific performance of an obligation. The remedy operates by operation of law to assign rights or impose obligations that restore fairness between the parties.
Ulysses paid the full balance on a mortgage after Nova defaulted on the factory loan. The payment prevented Nova from obtaining clear title without satisfying the debt. A court applies subrogation to assign the mortgage to Ulysses so that he may foreclose rather than leaving him with only an unsecured claim.
Federal agents conducted a warrantless search of Bivens's apartment. Bivens sought damages for the Fourth Amendment violation. The court recognizes an implied cause of action allowing equitable relief to vindicate the constitutional right when no statutory remedy exists.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Fitzgerald sued former President Nixon for damages arising from an alleged retaliatory discharge. Nixon asserted absolute immunity for official acts. The court weighs whether equitable considerations support extending immunity or instead permit the claim to proceed.
Shareholders brought a derivative suit alleging corporate mismanagement. They demanded a jury trial on the underlying legal claims. The court determines whether the equitable nature of the derivative action precludes a jury on issues that would otherwise be tried at law.
A plaintiff filed a diversity action seeking an accounting and constructive trust. The defendant argued that state limitations periods barred the claim. The court applies equitable principles to decide whether the federal forum must follow state rules governing equitable remedies.
A city pension plan used sex-based actuarial tables that required women to contribute more than men. Female employees challenged the disparity. The court considers whether equitable remedies can adjust contributions to eliminate the discriminatory effect.
A court grants an equitable remedy when monetary damages cannot adequately compensate the plaintiff or when necessary to prevent unjust enrichment. The remedy assigns rights by operation of law or compels performance to restore fairness between the parties.
Supporting sources
Subrogation arises when one party pays an obligation secured by a mortgage owed by another. The payor receives the mortgage and obligation by operation of law to avoid an unearned windfall to the original obligor.
Supporting sources
Legal remedies award money damages to compensate for harm already suffered. Equitable remedies order specific acts or forbearance when damages are inadequate or when fairness requires preventing unjust enrichment.
Supporting sources
…specific complaints, some of them, or even many of them, may be found to be clearly arbitrary and unreasonable. But where the equitable remedy of injunction is sought, as it is here, not upon the ground of a present infringement or denial of a specific right, or of a particular injury in process of actual execution, but upon the…