Also known as: restitutionary recoveries · restitution
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A measure of recovery that awards a sum of money equal to the value of any benefit conferred on another party under circumstances rendering retention of that benefit unjust.
Green Marine completed half the retrofit and installed permanent components on Peak Coastal's vessel before the owner halted work. A second yard finished the project using those components. Green Marine recovers the reasonable value of the installed benefit Peak Coastal retained.
Both parties to a land sale assumed the acreage figure was accurate when it was not. After discovering the error, the buyer recovers the payments made because the mistake materially affected the exchange and restitution restores the conferred value.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
WarehouseDev filled a shared stormwater basin that benefited multiple parcels. Neighboring owners recover the value of the restored drainage function through restitution because the servitude's purpose was flood control and the violation produced measurable harm.
A donee promised to exercise a postponed power of appointment in exchange for value received. After the promise proved unenforceable, the promisee recovers the value given because restitution returns the benefit conferred under the failed agreement.
A client conferred value on a lawyer through advance payment for services that were never performed due to the lawyer's withdrawal. The client recovers the reasonable value of the unearned benefit because retention would be unjust under the circumstances of the failed engagement.
A contractor installed permanent upgrades on a client's property before the owner repudiated the deal. The contractor recovers the reasonable value of the upgrades to the owner because the restitution interest protects the benefit actually conferred through part performance.
It measures the reasonable value of any benefit the plaintiff conferred on the defendant through part performance. The award prevents the defendant from retaining that benefit without paying for it.
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No. Restitution remains available precisely when no contract exists but one party has been unjustly enriched by retaining a benefit conferred by the other.
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Yes. When the defendant uses research documents or clips developed by the plaintiff, restitution awards the value of that specific benefit actually received and exploited.
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Reliance damages reimburse expenditures made in preparation for performance. Restitution instead awards the value of the benefit the defendant actually received and retained.
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…by the plaintiff’s expenditures or change of position in reliance as well as by the value to him of the promised performance. Restitution is also an ‘enforcing’ remedy, although it is often said to be based upon some kind of a rescission. In determining what justice requires, the court must remember all of its powers, derived…