The Blip Blop Blog (Team Entity)

In addition to common law remedies for breaches of contract there are also remedies that are provided by equity and they come into play when common law remedies fail to deliver a just outcome. As per the norm equitable remedies are governed by equitable principles or the rules of equity and for breaches of contract the types of equitable remedies that the courts will allow are as follows: - i) Specific performance and ii) Injunctions Specific Performance Specific performance simply means that the courts will compel a party to a contract to perform their duties and obligations under the contract. In Nutbrown v Thornton (1805) the plaintiff entered into a contract with the defendants to purchase some machines. Subsequently the defendant refused to deliver the machines and because the defendant was the sole vendor for that type of machines, the plaintiff brought an action against the defendants and sought specific performance as a remedy. The court granted specific performance and compell

Restitution occurs when a party to a contract has not performed his or her part and instead of claiming damages the other party may want to just claim the money they’ve paid. For example, let’s say that a dancer was contracted to perform at an event and the organizers had paid her an advance in order to secure her performance. She was not the main act but rather the supporting act and on the day of the event, for some reason or other, the dancer did not turn up. Despite the fact that the dancer has breached her contractual duties or obligations, the organizers may simply want to claim the advance that they’d paid, back. Restitution simply means returning to the owner what is rightfully theirs. Restitution is awarded when there has been a total failure of consideration. In Fibrosa Spolka Akcyjna v Fairbairn Lawson Combe Barbour (1943) a company in England entered into a contract with a company in Poland to supply machines. The buyer agreed to make partial payment prior to delivery o

In Victoria Laundry (Windsor) Ltd. v Newman Industries Ltd. (1949) the plaintiffs contracted to purchase a boiler from the defendants for use in their existing laundry business with the intention of expanding their business. The plaintiffs were also vying for a lucrative government contract and if they were successful in obtaining the contract, their weekly income would increase manifold. The defendants were aware of the nature of the plaintiffs’ business but were not aware of the fact that the plaintiffs were eyeing a government contract. The boiler was damaged just prior to delivery and there was a substantial delay in repairing the boiler and as a result the plaintiffs not only lost income resulting from their normal business but also lost the valuable government contract that they were after. The plaintiffs sued. The court held that the plaintiffs were able to recover for the loss that they incurred for their normal business because such loss was within the contemplation of the