Restitution Flashcards
(13 cards)
Unjust Enrichment
Case Law
What must plaintiff prove? 3 elements
A sistuation where the defendant hold property that rightfully belongs to the plaintiff and allowing the defendant to keep it would be unjust.
The plaintiff must allege and prove:
1. The def has aquired a benefit
2. that benefit was acquired at the expense of the plaintiff
3. and retention of that benefit by the def would constitute unjust enrichment
-Is a cause of action independent of tort or contract generally accepted by the texas supreme court and federal courts
Beacon homes - reasonable mistake if def were to keep the house
Conoco case - If contract is enforceable you cannot prevail on a unjust enrichment claim which is why you should claim quantum meirut
Quantum Meirut
If a plaintiff sold goods or services assuming payment, but the defendant claims there’s no valid contract, the defendant may be correct. If no valid contract exists and a quantum meruit cause of action is asserted, the plaintiff can recover the reasonable value of the goods or services provided to the defendant.
Chevron case: Ps gave confidential inforfamtion expecting a contract to be made. Ds went and drilled at the site.
Allows for attorneys fee’s unlike a breach of contract claim
Volunteers vs. Mistaken Improver
Avolunteeris someone who intentionally builds on another person’s property, knowing that they don’t own it, to burden the property owner.
> Amistaken improvermakes a legitimate mistake that excuses their voluntary action. To differentiate between a volunteer and a mistaken improver, it must be proven that the improver made a legitimate mistake. If not, they are considered a volunteer and have no recourse.
Constructive Trust
Casw law? 3? Elements
Constructive Trust - Bradshaw case - kinsel decision eliminates 1st requirement in texas?
- Prove a breach of special trust, fiduciary relationship, or actual or constructive fraud.
- Show the defendant holds identifiable property that belongs to the plaintiff or was taken at the expense of the plaintiff
- If the defendant continued to hold that property, he or she would be unjustly enriched).
Tracing Methods
personal property? Assets? Accounts? Presumptions??
Case law supporting presumptions?
Personal Property:
1. Establish that the personal property was taken from the plaintiff.
2. Show that the defendant sold the property and used the money to buy a second piece of personal property.
3. Once traced, obtain a temporary injunction to freeze the second property and pursue a constructive trust.
Presumption in Commingling Cases ⚖️**
If money taken from the plaintiff can be traced to an asset held by the defendant, a presumption applies:
> The entirety of the asset is deemed to have been purchased with the plaintiff’s money.
>
Rebutting the Presumption
- The defendant can present evidence to show that personal funds were used to purchase some or all of the asset.
- In the Wills case, since the defendants (the farm owners) invoked the Fifth Amendment, they presented no evidence to rebut the presumption.
- The court concluded that the entire farm belonged to the trust, even if the farm owners had made some payments with their personal funds.
If in accounts
- An expert witness might use an “averaging method.”
- Compare the percentage of embezzled money to personal funds that went into the account during the embezzlement period.
- In the case discussed, 68.1% of the money was deemed embezzled money.
- The insurance company gets ownership of 68.1% of the insurance policy.
- The court of appeals upheld the averaging method.
Willis case? father been raiding sons trust
Money had and received
CL?
is another cause of action but differs significanlty from quantum meirut.
falls under UE umbrella
Stats Case: Ps conversion claim failed but they were able to succeed on a Money had and recieved claim(harvester case)
Laches
Lachesis a defense to a claim for equitable relief and serves as an absolute defense. It resembles a statute of limitations but is a judge-made rule, not a statute.
Two key factors determine whether laches applies:
- Inexcusable delay:Has the plaintiff unreasonably delayed in bringing the lawsuit?
- Undue prejudice:Has the delay caused significant harm or disadvantage to the defendant?
defense can be used against an injunction also.
Unclean Hands
Case law?
A party may not obtain equitable relief when he has engaged in some
1. Wrongful conduct
2. Directed to the subject matter of his suit
Unclean Hands in Tex:
Under Texas law, a defendant using the unclean hands defense must show that:
(a) he has been seriously harmed and that
(b) the wrong complained of cannot be corrected without applying the doctrine.
Orr case: guy who qualified as mistaken improver tore down the house he built on the property and no longer could qualify for equitable relief
Bona Fide Payees
name of case and the name of exception??
A party who makes a mistaken payment (mistake of fact) may recover through resitution unless the recipient has made a material change of position in reliance on that payment.
Columbia Medical case: applied the exception from Lincoln National in which bona fide payee doctrine shielded the healthcare provider from liability for repayment, even though the insurer made a mistake, because the provider acted honestly and without knowledge of the exclusion.
Insurer was in a better position to know about the mistake when it released funds to the hospital.
Slayer Rule
CL?
> The Slayer Rule prevents someone who intentionally causes the death of another person from inheriting from the person they killed.
Example:Bounds v. Bounds
- Mr. Bounds was in Ms. Bounds’ will and life insurance policy.
- He shot and killed her (negligent homicide conviction, but civil jury found intentionality).
Consequences
- Texas statute in the insurance code prohibits life insurance benefits from being paid to the slayer.
- Benefits go to another relative per the distribution statute.
- Common law also prevents the slayer from inheriting from the estate.
Bounds Case:
Reformation
A contract can be reformed based on mutual mistake when enforcement of the mistake would cause unjust enrichment. Can file suit to reform the contract and correct the mistakel.
Equitbale Subrogation
3 elements
Remdial and Contractual Subgrogation??
Equitbale subrogation :
The substantive form of equitable subrogation requires the plaintiff to satisfy three requirements:
(1) Prove that the plaintiff paid a debt primarily owed by the defendant to a third party,
(2) And did so involuntarily,
(3) Under circumstances indicating that denying plaintiff subrogation would unjustly enrich the defendant.
The law can substitute the plaintiff as the holder of a lien against the defendant’s property that was released when the defendant paid off the underlying debt with plaintiff’s property. (Remedial Subrogation)
- Contractual Subgrogation can occur if parties agree
Equitable estoppel requires
Equitable estoppel requires
(a) a false representation or concealment of material facts;
(b) made with knowledge, actual or constructive, of those facts;
(c) with the intention that it should be acted on;
(d) to a party without knowledge or means of obtaining knowledge of the facts;
(e) who detrimentally relies
