(63.)
Quasi-contract claims against idea appropriators have been
In practice, courts often misinterpret
quasi-contract and contract implied in fact by confusing the two (132) or conflating them into a monolithic quantum meruit hybrid.
So if the law of
quasi-contracts deals with contract-like situations that aren't strictly contractual, and the law of quasi-torts with tort-like scenarios that aren't purely delictual, does a more prominent category of situations exist where the law creates property-like entitlements, but recognizes them to be something other than truly proprietary in character?
Here is the whole law of quantum meruit--a phrase that survives from the days of
quasi-contract and can be translated into plain English as "reasonable value" ([section] 31 cmt.
(34) p H Winfield, 'The American Restatement of the Law of Restitution' (1938) 54 Law Quarterly Review 529 (where it is stated at 529 that 'English lawyers cannot have their attention directed too often or too emphatically to this branch of the law'); P H Winfield, 'Equity and
Quasi-Contract' (1948) 64 Law Quarterly Review 46; Sir P H Winfield, The Law of
Quasi-Contracts (Sweet & Maxwell, 1952).
The
quasi-contract principle is likewise motivated by equity concerns.
So when classical theorists tried to put agency on a contract footing, (23) claimed that bailments were not actually contracts but rather some other form of undertaking, (24) took pains to distinguish contracts from
quasi-contracts, (25) or reworked the law governing interpretation to focus on intent rather than on which category of relations the transactions fit, (26) they were reiterating the same basic maneuver of setting up contract as a realm wholly governed by the parties themselves, rather than by legally determined obligation.
Part II treats specific contracts and covers agency; bailment; aleatory contracts; sale of goods; hire of work & skills, building contracts; lease, commercial and agricultural leases; compromise settlement; suretyship; pledge; loans; contracts with the government and other public administrations; contract of partnership; and
quasi-contracts. ([umlaut] Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR)
as well as academics and researchers, the author defines and classifies contracts and the differences between contracts and other legal instruments such as torts and
quasi-contracts. Topics include, but are not limited to: formal and evidentiary requirements, defects of consent, contract contents, termination, and remedies such as damages.
This brings up the question of how new labour movements attempt to deal with work-related health problems in an era of
quasi-contracts and benefit slashing.
The rest of the book covers offers and deals, consideration, reasons for not enforcing agreements, terms of the deal, and alternatives to contracts, such as
quasi-contracts and restitution.
They discuss the political and legal system of the Netherlands, the distinctions between public and private law and between civil and commercial law, contract formation, conditions of substantive validity, the contents of a contract, third persons, the end of a contract, and special topics like agency, bailment, gaming and wagering, sale of goods, building contracts, lease, contracts with government and other public administrations, and
quasi-contracts. The volume is derived from the multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws.