70116 Notes 2 - overview of remedies PDF

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REMEDIES NOTES Contents INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 5 MONETARY REMEDIES ................................................................................................................... 9 INTRODUCTION TO DAMAGES AND ENFORCEMENT ............................................................... 9 COMPARING TORT/CONTRACTUAL DAMAGES ...................................................................... 10 SPECULATION AND REASONABLENESS ................................................................................... 10 ENTITLEMENT TO DAMAGES ................................................................................................... 11 CAUSATION GENERALLY .......................................................................................................... 11 TYPES OF DAMAGES ..................................................................................................................... 12 DAMAGES GENERALLY ............................................................................................................. 12 ORDINARY/COMPENSATORY DAMAGES ................................................................................ 13 CONTEMPTUOUS DAMAGES ................................................................................................... 13 RESTITUTIONARY DAMAGES ................................................................................................... 14 NOMINAL DAMAGES ............................................................................................................... 14 AGGRAVATED DAMAGES ......................................................................................................... 15 EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ............................................................................................................ 16 CONTRACTUAL REMEDIES ........................................................................................................... 17 ELEMENTS OF COMPENSATORY DAMAGES IN CONTRACT .................................................... 17 CONTRACTUAL DAMAGES SCAFFOLD ......................................................................................... 18 (1) CAUSE OF ACTION/BREACH ............................................................................................... 18 (2) IDENTIFY HEADS OF DAMAGE ............................................................................................ 18 (3) DOES THE CLA APPLY? ........................................................................................................ 18 (4) CAUSATION ......................................................................................................................... 19 (5) REMOTENESS ...................................................................................................................... 21 (6) CALCULATING DAMAGES ...................................................................................................22 (7) ADJUSTMENTS TO DAMAGES ............................................................................................25 (8) CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE ............................................................................................ 26 (9) MITIGATION ........................................................................................................................ 27 (10) APPORTIONMENT B/W CONCURRENT WRONGDOERS .................................................. 28 (11) CALCULATE TOTAL DAMAGES RECOVERABLE ................................................................. 28 (12) EQUITABLE RELIEF ............................................................................................................ 28 EXTENDED CONTRACT DAM. PRINCIPLES ................................................................................... 29 ECONOMIC LOSS/EXPECTATION DAMAGES ...........................................................................30

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LOSS OF CHANCE/OPPORTUNITY DAMAGES .......................................................................... 31 RELATED DAMAGES .................................................................................................................32 FIXED SUM DAMAGES.............................................................................................................. 33 TORTIOUS REMEDIES ...................................................................................................................34 ELEMENTS OF COMPENSATORY DAMAGES IN TORT .............................................................34 CIVIL LIABILITY ACT .................................................................................................................. 34 TORTIOUS DAMAGES SCAFFOLD .................................................................................................35 (1) CAUSE OF ACTION...............................................................................................................35 (2) IDENTIFY HEADS OF DAMAGE ............................................................................................36 (3) DOES THE CLA APPLY? ........................................................................................................37 (4) CAUSATION .........................................................................................................................38 (5) REMOTENESS ......................................................................................................................40 (6) ASSESSING DAMAGES ............................................................................................................41 ECONOMIC LOSS (Past or Future)............................................................................................41 CLA GRATUITOUS ATTENDANT CARE SERVICES......................................................................42 CL GRATUITOUS ATTENDANT CARE SERVICES ........................................................................ 42 CL LOSS OF EARNING CAPACITY .............................................................................................. 43 CLA FUTURE LOSS OF EARNING CAPACITY .............................................................................. 45 CL RECOVERY OF NON-ECONOMIC LOSS ................................................................................47 CLA RECOVERY OF NON-ECONOMIC LOSS .............................................................................. 48 AGGRAVATED DAMAGES.........................................................................................................50 EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ............................................................................................................ 50 (7) ADJUSTMENTS TO DAMAGES ................................................................................................51 (8) CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE ............................................................................................ 55 (9) MITIGATION ........................................................................................................................56 (10) CALCULATE TOTAL DAMAGES RECOVERABLE ................................................................. 57 (11) EQUITABLE RELIEF ............................................................................................................57 (11) APPORTIONMENT B/W MULTIPLE TORTFEASORS .......................................................... 58 OTHER DAMAGES CLAIMS ...........................................................................................................61 REPAIR COSTS/PROPERTY DAMAGE: Land/Fixtures (Both) ...................................................61 REPAIR COSTS/PROPERTY DAMAGE: Chattels (Both) ............................................................ 62 PURE ECONOMIC LOSS (Tort) ..................................................................................................63 TRESPASS (Tort) ....................................................................................................................... 63 CONVERSION AND DETINUE (Tort) .........................................................................................64 EQUITABLE REMEDIES.................................................................................................................. 65 RESCISSION ............................................................................................................................... 66 RECTIFICATION .........................................................................................................................69

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SPECIFIC RESTITUTION .............................................................................................................71 SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE .........................................................................................................72 PART PERFORMANCE ............................................................................................................... 74 EQUITABLE FINAL INJUNCTIONS .............................................................................................75 EQUITABLE INTERIM INJUNCTIONS.........................................................................................77 DECLARATIONS.........................................................................................................................77 ACCOUNT OF PROFITS (Not covered)......................................................................................78 EQUITABLE COMPENSATION (Not covered) ........................................................................... 79 REMEDIAL CONSTRUCTIVE TRUST (Not covered) ................................................................... 80 EQUITABLE DAMAGES (Not covered)...................................................................................... 80 EQUITABLE DEFENCES ..................................................................................................................81 OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................81 UNCLEAN HANDS ..................................................................................................................... 82 HARDSHIP ................................................................................................................................. 82 HE WHO SEEKS EQUITY MUST DO EQUITY..............................................................................82 LACHES AND ACQUIESCENCE ................................................................................................... 83 LACK OF MUTUALITY (SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE) ...................................................................83 READY, WILLING AND ABLE (SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE) .........................................................84 IMPOSSIBILITY AND FUTILITY .................................................................................................. 84 DAMAGES ARE INADEQUATE ..................................................................................................84 STATUTORY REMEDIES (ACL s 18) ............................................................................................... 85 (1) STANDING ...........................................................................................................................85 (2) LIMITATION ......................................................................................................................... 85 (3) ‘ENGAGING IN CONDUCT’ ..................................................................................................86 (4) ‘TRADE AND COMMERCE’ .................................................................................................. 87 (4) WHO IS MISLED OR DECEIVED? ......................................................................................... 89 (5) ‘MISLEADING OR DECEPTIVE’.............................................................................................89 (5) FUTURE REPRESENTATIONS [s 4 ACL] ................................................................................ 93 (6) CAUSATION/RELIANCE ........................................................................................................... 95 (7) RELIEF ......................................................................................................................................97 STATUTORY DAMAGES (s 236) ................................................................................................97 INJUNCTIONS (ss 232-235) ....................................................................................................... 99 OTHER ORDERS (ss 237-245) .................................................................................................100 (8) ACCESSORIAL LIABILITY ........................................................................................................102 (9) PROPORTIONATE LIABILITY ..................................................................................................103 MDC CASES .................................................................................................................................104 MEANING OF ‘in trade or commerce’ ...................................................................................104

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EMPLOYER/EE CASES .............................................................................................................104 REAL PROPERTY CASES ..........................................................................................................104 MEDICAL CASES ......................................................................................................................106 RELIGIOUS CASES ...................................................................................................................106 PUBLIC/POLITICAL COMMENTARY CASES.............................................................................107 CLASSES OF PERSONS MISLED OR DECEIVED ........................................................................109 INTENTION..............................................................................................................................109 MISLEADING THE PUBLIC .......................................................................................................110 REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT FUTURE MATTERS.....................................................................113 SILENCE AS MDC .....................................................................................................................115 RELIANCE AND CAUSATION ................................................................................................... 118 DISCLAIMER CLAUSES ............................................................................................................119 DAMAGES FOR MDC ..............................................................................................................120 PERSONS INVOLVED IN CONTRAVENTION............................................................................124

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INTRODUCTION  Distinction between primary obligations (the right) and secondary obligations (the remedy) o EG: primary obligation is breach of duty of care while secondary is obligation to pay damages  General definition of remedy: o Something that cures or relieves or heals; o Something that corrects or removes an evil.  Legal definition of remedy o Legal redress; the legal means of enforcing a right or redressing a wrong  ubi ius ibi remedium → “wherever there is a right, there is a remedy”

THEORY ON REMEDIES  NOTE: do not need to know these for exam – neither comprehensively fit with the practical reality as different remedies fit within each theory o EG: typical contractual remedy is damages although there may be a choice with other remedies such as an injunction or specific performance  Monism o The remedy and the cause of action are inseparable o Promotes thinking of remedies in terms of causes of action o Examples: damages are assessed by cause of action; establishing the cause of action in negligence is bound up in the remedy  Dualism o Causes of action and remedies are separable and two-staged o Once the cause of action is proved, then judge can choose a remedial response o Examples: both legal and equitable remedies are available for tort and contract; statutory remedies; litigation practice

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SOURCES OF REMEDIES  Source of the remedy is important because it will determine: o When it is available; and o How it will be applied  Common law o Developed and applied by the courts of common law (King’s Bench, Common Pleas, Exchequer) o Limited remedies: usually just damages o Consequence: damages are a legal right and not subject to court’s discretion o Common law actions and remedies became too rigid  Equity o Informed by religious authority and based on “conscience” – developed and applied by Lord Chancellor/Courts of Chancery o Prepared to look at the substance of the case o The conduct of the D scrutinised and remedies are not granted as of right o Remedies are practical and flexible  EG: specific performance, injunctions, account of profits, rescission on terms, etc. o NOTE: two jurisdictions in Equity  Exclusive – where asserting a right only exercisable in Equity  Principles that developed separately from the common law and which are not recognised by the common law  If a P asserts an equitable right, the remedy must be equitable; a court of CL cannot provide a remedy  EG: breach of trust  Auxiliary (FOCUS OF THIS COURSE) – principles that developed as a supplement or an alternative to the rigid rules of the common law  EG: seeking an injunction to enforce a common law right  Statute o Developed in response to increasingly inadequacy of general law remedies to provide relief as their development had not kept up with modern standards of justice o Typically very flexible and allow for individualised outcomes not possible at general law  NOTE: general law remedies refers to remedies available at common law (tort or contract) and in Equity

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 NOTE: legal remedies are those available at common law and under statute whereas equitable remedies are available in Equity  NOTE: CL remedies can be granted by equitable court but not the other way around o CL and equitable jurisdictions are separate, although they interact o Judicature Acts only fused the administration of the principles into a single court, not their ability to be awarded o BUT equitable remedies are available for common law wrongs (eg. injunctions and specific performance) CAUSES OF ACTION GIVING RISE TO REMEDIES  Common law o For breach of contract o For trespass o For defamation o For restriction for unjust enrichment o For negligence  Equitable o Breach of trust o Breach of fiduciary duty  Statute o MDC under s 18 ACL  NOTE: where multiple causes of action are available, the P must make an election between them before judgment is enforced (after judgment given)

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FUNCTION/POLICY OF REMEDIES  Compensation o Reversing detriment that has occurred o EG: Common law damages/equitable compensation  Compulsion o Being ordered to perform an obligation or to refrain from engaging in a wrong o EG: Specific performance; injunctions  Vindication o Public recognition and affirmation of legal rights o EG: Declarations; nominal damages, Restitution  Punishment o The infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for certain wrongs o EG: Exemplary damages; aggravated damages  Restitution o Overlap with compensation o Do not always need some loss by the P – only need D’s gain  Focus on the defendant gains, rather than plaintiff’s loss o Common law restitutionary principles (unjust enrichment) ATTAINMENT OF REMEDIES  Remedies are attained through a court judgment and orders  Same interest may be protected by multiple causes of action and remedies (see Alati v Kruger)  Alternate remedies o More than one remedy is available o They are incompatible and one must be chosen by the time judgment is delivered  Cumulative remedies o More than one remedy is available o They a complimentary and can both be ordered