Remedies

The action for restitution allows recovery in a variety of contexts when the defendant would be "unjustly enriched" if he/she were not required to pay restitution. One of those contexts is the situation in which one person acts on behalf of another in the case of an emergency situation requiring immediate action. In this lesson, we explore the parameters of an individual's right to recover restitution for providing aid to another in an emergency situation. Of course, as an inevitable incident of this discussion, we will explore situations when recovery should be denied. This lesson is intended for students who have studied these issues in class and wish to further refine their knowledge.

When defendant has been unjustly enriched at plaintiff's expense, plaintiff is entitled to seek restitution. Among the rules and principles that qualify a plaintiff's right to seek restitution is the notion that a "volunteer" is not entitled to seek restitution.

When a preliminary or temporary injunction has been entered against a defendant, and the defendant believes that injunction is wrongfully issued, he has three choices in resisting the injunction: disobey and risk contempt; move to modify or terminate; or appeal.

This lesson deals with issues related to an employer's damage remedies for breach of an employment contract. As we shall see, employers might be able to claim various types of remedies depending on the circumstances and context. This lesson is intended for students who have studied these issues in class and wish to expand and refine their knowledge.

When an employer breaches an employment contract, the employee might seek any of several different types of remedies. In general, it will be difficult (if not impossible) for the employee to obtain injunctive relief against the employer. As a result, most of the litigation focuses on damages and the level of recovery that an employee might obtain against a breaching employer. This lesson focuses on the employee damage remedy, and is intended for students who have studied these issues in class and wish to refine their knowledge.

This is the third in a series of lessons on injunctions against speech. This lesson focuses on injunctions against invasions of privacy. The lesson is intended for students who have studied this material in class and who seek to refine their knowledge.

This lesson focuses on the problem of modifying injunctions. As we shall see, even though an injunction is labeled as "permanent," it is subject to modification or alteration. Indeed, some injunctions, even some far reaching ones, are not intended to last forever. In this lesson, we examine the standards and criteria by which courts decide whether to terminate or modify existing injunctions. This lesson is intended for students who have studied these issues in class, and wish to refine and enhance their knowledge.

This lesson focuses on problems related to injunctions against crimes and against criminal prosecutions. The lesson is intended for students who have studied the topic in class and seek to expand and refine their knowledge of the topic.

This is the second lesson involving injunctions against speech. The first lesson focused on various aspects of injunctions against speech including injunctions against defamation, obscenity and related to national security.

This lesson focuses on issues relating to injunctions against speech. It is designed for students who have studied these issues in class, and who have a strong working knowledge of the material, but who wish to further refine and develop their understanding.

This is a lesson on the equitable defense of unclean hands. The first part of the lesson is designed to introduce the basics of the concept for students before and during its study in class. The "Review" questions at the end are an aide for students who have completed their study, either through class work or this lesson. Students who want simply to review in anticipation of a final exam can go straight to the Review materials and backtrack only as necessary for understanding questions missed.

This lesson is intended for students who have studied equity and, in particular, in personam remedies in class, and who wish to obtain a further and deeper understanding of the topic.

This lesson provides an overview of both criminal and civil contempt. It includes both direct and indirect contempt, as well as compensatory civil contempt and coercive civil contempt. It covers the differences among these types of contempt in their function and procedures and explores why it is important to distinguish among them.

This lesson introduces students to the concepts of ripeness and mootness. This lesson is geared to students who have studied these concepts in class (perhaps some time ago in their constitutional law classes) and wish to delve into the subject more deeply.

This lesson examines remedial options in defamation litigation. Included within the scope of this lesson are the remedies of injunctions and damages. These remedies are examined from both a common law and constitutional perspective. This lesson is designed for students who have studied this material in class and wish to refine and develop their knowledge.

Expense is a significant factor in any litigation. In deciding whether a judicial remedy is worth pursuing, parties must consider the cost of obtaining that remedy. The "American Rule" provides that parties to a lawsuit ordinarily pay their own attorney's fees, unless a statute or contract provides that fees can be shifted to the opponent. As it is fundamental to the litigation landscape, you may have touched on this doctrine in a number of your law school classes.

This lesson is intended for students who have studied restitution in class, and who wish to expand and refine their knowledge of the topic. The lesson deals with the basics of restitution (what constitutes "unjust enrichment"), and how is it measured. Little attempt is made to deal with more sophisticated aspects of restitution such as tracing, equitable liens, constructive trusts, etc.

Part I of this lesson is designed to explain why certain types of damage awards must be adjusted to their "present value," and to demonstrate precisely how those adjustments are actually calculated. Part II of this lesson addresses the related concept of adjusting future pecuniary damage awards to account for the potential effects of future economic inflation. 

This lesson covers the availability of non-economic damages; evidentiary issues in proving these damages; and issues in the argument to the jury of these damages. This lesson gives you an opportunity to explore the "how to" of non-economic damages, particularly damages for pain and suffering and mental or emotional distress. The lesson is designed for upper-level students in remedies, advanced torts, or trial practice courses. Students should have some basic knowledge of both tort law and evidence law. First-year students may find the lesson accessible by making use of the pop-up screens providing background on concepts and rules.