Also known as: quasi-contract · quasi contract · quasi-contracts · quasi-contractual · implied-in-law contract
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An obligation created by law to prevent unjust enrichment when one party confers a measurable benefit on another that the recipient appreciates and retains under circumstances rendering retention inequitable. The obligation arises without any actual agreement between the parties and supplies a remedy measured by the value of the benefit conferred.
Quentin Quinn received landscaping services from Quest Pharmaceuticals worth $12,000 under an expired agreement whose limitations period had run. Quinn later sent a signed letter acknowledging the full amount still due and promising to pay it in installments. The letter revived the obligation so that Quest Pharmaceuticals could enforce the renewed commitment.
Quintina Qualls and Quincy Quigley became engaged after two years of joint work on a startup. Quigley incurred substantial relocation and career-preparation expenses in reliance on the planned marriage. When the engagement ended, Qualls could recover those actual expenditures under the retained quasi-contract theory even though expected financial benefits from the marriage remained unavailable.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Quinlan Quick and Quest Quail lived together for several years while Quick managed the household and contributed to property improvements. After separation, Quick showed that Quail had received and retained the value of those contributions under circumstances making retention inequitable. The court imposed a quasi-contract obligation requiring Quail to make restitution measured by the benefit conferred.
Quinlan Quezada and Quinn Industries' owner lived as spouses for years before discovering the marriage was invalid. Quezada had performed services that increased the value of shared assets. A court awarded restitution for the reasonable value of those services under a quasi-contract theory to prevent unjust enrichment even though no valid marital contract existed.
The plaintiff must show a benefit conferred on the defendant, the defendant's knowledge or appreciation of the benefit, and the defendant's acceptance or retention of the benefit under circumstances making retention inequitable.
Supporting sources
Yes. A voluntary acknowledgment admitting the present existence of the antecedent indebtedness or a statement that the statute of limitations will not be pleaded revives the obligation and supplies a fresh basis for enforcement.
Supporting sources
No. Quasi-contract supplies a remedy only when no enforceable agreement exists. When the parties formed a valid contract, recovery is governed by contract principles rather than restitution.
Supporting sources
Recovery is limited to actual damages such as expenditures made in preparation for marriage, loss to reputation, mental anguish, and injury to health. Expected benefits such as social or financial position are not recoverable.
Supporting sources
…in Desny v. Wilder (1956) 46 Cal.2d 715 [299 P.2d 257], in a sense all contracts made in fact, as distinguished from quasi-contractual obligations, are express contracts, differing only in the manner in which the assent of the parties is expressed and proved. (See 46 Cal.2d at pp. 735-736.) [^maj-17]: The Court of Appeal…