NCA Remedies key terms

A money award paid by a losing party to compensate for loss or harm caused by a breach or wrong, assessed by a court after liability is established.

Money intended to place the injured party in the position they would have occupied had the wrong not occurred, covering proven losses rather than punishment.

Losses that flow from the breach but are not the direct result, recoverable only when they were reasonably foreseeable at the time the agreement was made.

The rule limiting recovery to losses a reasonable person would have anticipated when contracting, applied to remote or indirect harm rather than direct loss.

The principle that a claimant cannot recover for losses too distant in causal chain or kind from the wrong, even if factually caused by it.

The required link showing the defendant's conduct actually produced the loss and that the loss is not so far removed that responsibility should be cut off.

The duty on an injured party to take reasonable steps to reduce loss after a breach, with recovery reduced for avoidable loss that was not prevented.

A small symbolic sum awarded where a legal right was violated but no actual financial loss was proven, confirming the wrong without compensating loss.

An additional award above compensation, meant to punish especially egregious conduct and deter repetition, usually requiring proof of malice or reckless indifference.

Compensation for intangible harm such as distress, humiliation, or loss of enjoyment, awarded where the manner of the wrong increased the injured party's suffering.

A sum fixed in advance by the parties as the agreed consequence of breach, enforceable if it is a genuine estimate of likely loss rather than a penalty.

A contractual provision imposing an excessive or disproportionate sum on breach, intended to frighten rather than estimate loss, and therefore unenforceable.

A court order compelling a party to carry out a contractual promise, granted only where money would be inadequate and performance remains possible.

A court order requiring a party to do or refrain from doing a specified act, available where damages would not adequately protect the claimant's rights.

Relief such as an order or declaration granted by discretion rather than as of right, subject to defences and to the principle that damages are inadequate.

The unwinding of a transaction so both parties are restored to their pre-contract positions, available for misrepresentation, mistake, or serious breach.

The requirement that rescission restore both parties substantially to their original positions, which may fail if benefits were consumed or third-party rights arose.

Recovery based on reversing an unjust enrichment, returning a benefit obtained at another's expense rather than compensating for loss.

A claim for payment of a reasonable sum for work done or services supplied without a fixed price, based on the value of the benefit conferred.

An order requiring a wrongdoer to hand over gains made from the wrongdoing, measured by the defendant's benefit rather than the claimant's loss.

A binding court statement clarifying the parties' legal rights or obligations without ordering payment or conduct, often used to prevent future disputes.

A remedy correcting a written document so it reflects the parties' actual prior agreement, available where a common mistake caused the record to misstate it.

A process following an asset or its substitute through transfers or mixtures so the claimant can assert a proprietary claim over what it became.

A trust imposed by law over property held by someone who would be unjustly enriched, compelling them to hold it for the rightful beneficiary.

Relief created by legislation rather than common law or equity, with its own conditions, limits, and procedures set out in the governing statute.

The statutory time limit within which a claim must be brought, after which the right to sue is generally barred unless an extension applies.

An equitable defence barring relief where the claimant unreasonably delayed and that delay prejudiced the defendant, even within any limitation period.

The equitable principle that a claimant seeking discretionary relief must not have engaged in serious misconduct connected with the matter in dispute.

A defence to specific relief arguing that the ordered performance would impose a burden grossly disproportionate to the benefit the claimant would gain.

The requirement that a party seeking specific performance show it was able and prepared to perform its own obligations under the contract.

The idea that specific relief should generally be available to both parties, so a court may refuse an order one side could not equally obtain.

The sanction for disobeying a court order, which may include fines or imprisonment and gives equitable orders their coercive force.

A temporary order made before final trial to preserve the position, granted where there is a serious question and the balance of convenience favours it.

The discretionary weighing of which party would suffer greater irreparable harm if interim relief is granted or refused pending final determination.

A promise by an applicant for interim relief to compensate the respondent for loss if the order later proves unjustified, often a condition of the grant.

The rule that a party must choose between inconsistent remedies, such as affirming a contract for damages or rescinding it, and cannot take both.

The impermissible award of more than the claimant's total loss through overlapping heads of relief, which courts must prevent.

The claimant's loss calculated after deducting benefits saved or received because of the breach, so the award reflects the true financial detriment.

The expense wasted or liability incurred in relying on a promise that failed, used where expectation loss is too speculative to prove.

The benefit the claimant would have gained had the contract been performed, measured by comparing actual position with the promised position.