Notes on Remedies Under Law Of Torts
A). JUDICIAL REMEDIES
- Judicial remedies in remedy of torts is a very important part.
- If any wrong happens, people can recover their position by the judicial remedy, under remedy for torts.
- Compensation is given to the wounded party under the judicial remedies, the amount is dependent on the loss happened. Injured party will sue the wrongdoer, compensation is given to the injured party in the type of unliquidated damages which is provided by the court.
- Judicial remedies are divided into many parts as every remedy has their own law that is fixed by the court.
Judicial remedies in tort are of 3 main following types:
- Damages
- Damages are the sum of money which law inflict for violation of rights or a breach of duty.
- Damages are classified into the following types:
- Nominal Damages
- Contemptuous Damages
- Compensatory Damages
- Nominal Damages:
- Nominal Damages are those where the person has suffered the legal injury but not the actual injury.
- Nominal damages are given in the cases of Injuria Sine Damno (injury without damage).
- In this, violation of rights are recognised by court of the plaintiff but the amount of damage is nominal.
- In the case of Constantine v. Imperial London Hotels Ltd., In this case, A cricketer (plaintiff) who was from west Indies was denied to stay to a hotel (defendant) as he was on the basis of nationality got rejected so he stayed in another hotel, his legal rights were violated but he did not suffer any actual loss, so the defendant was liable and had to pay the nominal damages of 5 guineas.
- In the case of Ashby v. White (1703) 92 ER 126, In the election plaintiff was obstructed to vote by the defendant but the party whom the plaintiff was going to vote still won, in this case the plaintiff accuse the defendant of violating his legal rights even though he did not suffer any actual loss but still nominal damages were given to the plaintiff.
- Contemptuous Damages
- Contemptuous damages are when the plaintiff suffers actual damage but the damages are the trivial one, so the court gives a meagre amount and is not deserves to be fully compensated.
- There is a little difference between nominal damages and the contemptuous damages i.e. in nominal damages plaintiff suffers no actual loss but in contemptuous damages plaintiff suffers insignificant damages.
- Illustration: If x’s cat enters y’s house and relieves himself and y accidentally steps on it and is disgusted and thus, he brings a suit against x, the Court will rule in y’s favour but because of such a trivial nature of this case the damages awarded by the Court will be of a meagre amount.
- Compensatory Damages
- Compensatory damages are those which are given to the plaintiff to restore his/her previous situation, as the loss is actual.
- Compensatory damages are very helpful in the monetary losses because in monetary losses the amount of the loss easily be calculated and can be restored.
- Illustration: ‘A’ borrows ‘B’s car for one day and the car get some scratches upon it during ‘B’ was driving the car, here ‘A’ can be awarded with compensatory damages by the ‘B’ for removing the scratches so that the ‘A’s car condition can be restored back to the previous condition.
Remoteness of Damages
Remoteness of damages is a legal test which is held to determine the type of damages plaintiff have suffered and according to this legal test the compensation is given to the plaintiff.
The main aim of the remoteness of damages is to bring the accuser back to their status quo, by compensating.
The damage is said to be too remote when the defendant’s act and the injury caused has no cause and effect the relationship between them.
Case Laws
Re Polemis Case (Re Polemis & Furness, Withy & Co Ltd) In this case, the plaintiff owned a cargo ship and the defendant’s employees while uploading cargo from the ship knocked a plank into the ship and due to which a spark ignited and turned into an explosion. Subsequently the court held that defendant was liable for the damages and thus the plaintiff was compensated.
Leisboch Case (Liesbosch Dredger v SS Edison) In this case, the plaintiff was working with the terms under a contract which said that some amount was to be paid to the defendant if the work was not completed under a limited time. The plaintiff was not having the enough funds to complete the work on time, thus the court held that compensation cannot be given by the defendant as the plaintiff has the own lack of funds.
- Injunction
Injunction refers to the orders of the court to crease the actions of a person.The court has the freedom to grant or refuse this remedy. Injunctions are of the following types:
Temporary and perpetual injunctions
Under section 37 of specific relief act 1963, these are defined as:
- Temporary injunction: until the further orders of the court, generally it is granted before the case has been heard.
- Perpetual injunction: It is the final order by the court after all the consideration issued.
Prohibitory and mandatory injunctions
- Prohibitory injunction: This injunction obstructs the defendant from doing the act which will interfere with the plaintiff legal rights. The examples of this are the acts like trespass or nuisance.
- Illustration: If x continuously enters y’s property i.e. trespassing in y’s property, y can ask for prohibitory injunction and approach the court i.e. restricting/prohibiting x to enter in his property.
- Mandatory injunction: It is an order which requires the defendant to do the positive acts.
- Illustration: If x falsely possessed the property of y. y can ask for a mandatory injunction and court can direct x to give the property of y to y i.e. direct someone to do an act.
- Specific Restitution of Property:
- Under specific restitution of property, the court may order for the restoration of the plaintiff’s property which was wrongfully dispossessed.
- The property can be movable or immovable.
- By an action for ejectment recovery of land can be made.
- By the action for detinue recovery of chattels can be made.
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B). Extra-judicial Remedies in Tort
- When a person may have a recourse to certain remedies outside the court of law are known as extra judicial remedies.
- When the person can have the remedies by his own strength by the way of self-help without approaching to the court.
- These are of five main types:
- Expulsion of trespasser
- Self-help is an available remedy where the rightful owner forces the trespasser off the land and covers possession when considering trespass to land.
- Without unreasonable delay the rightful owner is entitled to expel an intruder.
- Re-entry on land
- By the reasonable amount of force only, the property owner can remove the trespasser and re-enter his/her property again.
- Re-caption of goods
- The owner is having the rights to take back the goods from another person who has acquired the goods with unlawful means.
- Illustration: If x is wrongfully acquiring the goods of y, y has the right to use the reasonable force to take back the goods from x.
- Abatement
- In nuisance, the injured party is entitled to remove the object causing nuisance.
- Illustration: Suppose x and y are neighbours, tree of x is growing on his own property but the branches of the same tree growing towards the y’s house, here after giving the due notice to x by y, y himself can cut the branches of the tree which are growing towards his house as they’re causing him nuisance.
- Distress Damage Feasant
- Distress Damage Feasant is a self-help legal remedy.
- When a person’s cattle or the group of cattle’s spoils the property of other’s land, the owner of the property is entitled to take the possession of the cattle or the group of cattle’s until he is compensated for the damages which he/she has suffered.