QUANTUM MERUIT v. UNJUST ENRICHMENT

Abstract

At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice, he is the 

worst.” 

 -  Aristotle  Day to day situations exist where people receive services from others often on unexpected basis or without obtaining a price for those services albeit the fact that a reasonable man would know that a payment is expected. One of the example of such services would be obtaining spur-of-the moment service of your neighbour’s gardener. It is not necessary for a written agreement to be present so that a contractual relationship can exist. A contract is seen to exist when one individual provides to another any service for which the other may have requested knowing that they are not performed free of charge. If a situation occurs where the receiver of the service fails to pay, the one providing the service may file a civil lawsuit seeking payment. The question of fair payment maybe brought to the court in situations where the contract is entered into but the services are not completed. This failure to provide proper and complete services may be due to many reasons including impossibility of performance. In such cases, the theory of ‘quantum meruit’ applies which further determines whether the payment is due or not, what amount of payment should be made and which party should be paid.