Also known as: monetary damages · monetary relief · pecuniary
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Pertaining to money or financial value. The term identifies obligations, losses, interests, defaults, or exactions measured or satisfied in currency rather than in kind or by other means.
Mohan Malhotra told a coworker that he had never repaid a large loan from his brother. When the coworker later testified, the court admitted the statement because a reasonable person in Mohan's position would have made it only if he believed it true, given its tendency to expose him to civil liability for the unpaid debt.
Musa Mensah, an attorney, agreed to purchase a client's commercial building for below-market value. The transaction violated professional rules because the lawyer failed to ensure the terms were fair and reasonable, disclose them in writing, or advise the client to seek independent counsel before acquiring the pecuniary interest adverse to the client.
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Miranda Morales paid the required amount after failing to obtain health insurance. The payment operated as a tax because it was collected by the IRS with her income tax return, varied with household income and filing status, and was expected to raise substantial revenue, regardless of the statutory label attached to it.
Mustafa Mahmoud received a foreclosure notice on his home loan. He cured the monetary default by tendering the full amount due via certified check two days before the scheduled sale, thereby halting the foreclosure proceedings under the uniform act.
Matthew Martinez bought a business after the seller falsely stated its annual revenue. The seller became liable for the pecuniary loss Matthew suffered because his justifiable reliance on the misrepresentation was a substantial factor in completing the purchase that resulted in the shortfall.
Michael Miller assigned his right to payment for services rendered to clients. The right qualified as an account under the UCC because it constituted a monetary obligation for services to be performed, whether or not earned by performance at the time of the assignment.
A monetary exaction functions as a tax when collected by the IRS with income tax returns, varies with income or revenue, and raises substantial revenue, even if labeled a penalty. The constitutional characterization turns on the measure's practical operation and effect rather than its statutory label.
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A lawyer may not enter a business transaction with a client or acquire an ownership, possessory, security, or other pecuniary interest adverse to the client unless the transaction terms are fair and reasonable, fully disclosed in writing, the client is advised to seek independent counsel, and the client gives informed consent confirmed in writing.
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A monetary default on an obligation may be cured by tendering payment in cash, cashier's check, certified check, teller's check, electronic funds transfer, or money order in the specified amount at any time after notice and not later than two days before a scheduled or postponed foreclosure sale.
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The maker of a fraudulent misrepresentation is subject to liability for pecuniary loss suffered by one who justifiably relies on the truth of the matter misrepresented, provided the reliance is a substantial factor in determining the course of conduct that results in the loss.
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…respondent had nothing to do with procuring the indictment. Respondent made no effort to prove that he suffered actual pecuniary loss as a result of the alleged libel. One of his witnesses, a former employer, testified that if he had believed the statements, he doubted whether he "would want to be associated with…