What is the difference between remedies at law and remedies in equity?

Answer 1

Legal remedies is essentially a request for money damages (in return for plaintiff's loss, defendant pays money). Equitable remedies are orders for the defendant to do some act, or refrain from doing some act - injunction and specific performance are the two most common equitable remedies.

Answer 2

Remedies at law are generally paid in some amount of money whereas equitable remedies result in a court ordering one party to do (or not do) some action, e.g., an injunction.

: Equitable remedies, unlike remedies at law, are granted at the sole discretion of a judge. A jury is not involved. Equitable awards also require that the person seeking equitable relief must have acted in good faith in the matter at hand (i.e., he who asks for equitable relief must come before the court "with clean hands"). : Equitable remedies (I am excluding preliminary relief) are sought in those cases when money damages will not make a party "whole" in the eyes of the law, or where the other party has been unjustly enriched. Accordingly, it is not uncommon for courts to require the seller's performance of a contract to sell land to the petitioner if the seller has tried, unlawfully or unfairly, to back out of the deal. That is because, in the eyes of the law, land is unique: no amount of money will compensate for a seller's failure to sell a particular parcel of land he lawfully contracted to sell. : Sometimes equitable remedies are sought in cases where the strict imposition of the law would result in a great injustice to the person seeking equitable relief. The maxim that applies to this case is "Equity abhors a forfeiture." The existence of equitable remedies is an acknowledgement by the legal system that even when a legal remedy exists, there are a few cases in which the legal remedy (adhering to the letter of the law) would produce an unjust result. These situations are relatively rare, but they do occur.

Answer 3

Remedies at law will typically award money to make up for whatever damage has been proved to be done to you. Remedies in equity involve having the court order another to do or not do something that will make up for whatever damage has been proved to be done to you.

If your TV is stolen, you may be awarded a remedy at law, such as the monetary value of the TV. On the other hand, if it was your grandmother's wedding ring stole, then rather than simply receiving the money value, a remedy in equity would direct the return of the specific ring.

As with all questions of legality and the law, consultation with a local attorney is advised so that a competent legal opinion pertinent to your specific case may be had. Often times they will answer a question for free, or provide a free consultation.

Answer 4

The difference between remedies at common law and remedies in equity is that at common law the remedy available is limited to damages only, which is monetary compensation. However in equity the courts have a wider discretion in the awarding of remedies and these include injunctions, which prevents someone from carrying out a particular act, in some cases the court may award someone an interest in property although they are not the legal/paper owner but because the legal owner's conduct was such gave the belief that that person had interest or would acquire an interest and know the legal/title owner is know denying the person of what was promise. Where the court finds that the act of the legal/paper owner has become unconscionable the will seek to do satisfy the minimum equity that would do justice to all parties involved.