法則 Ep 9

This is another Law post from my exam :D

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Question:
How far is it true that equity has fulfilled its potential?

Answer:

Equity, which is generally known as 'fairness', plays an important role in today's community. It is an evolution from history's common law and continues to grow as time does.

Equity came about when the general public realised that there were certain flaws in the structure of common law. For example, the fact that the only remedy that common law could offer was damages. Damages are a form of compensation to the plaintiff in the form of money. Equity came to existence because of this as it offered more remedies such as injunctions, specific performance, rescission and rectification.

Injunctions are orders received in which the receiver either has to do something or is not permitted from doing something. The injunctions are, therefore, mandatory and prohibitory injunctions respectively. An example of prohibitory injunctions is in the case Warner Brothers v Nelson. In the case, Bette Davis  was prohibited from appearing in another film from another firm because that would breach her contract with Warner Brothers.

Specific performance is when a party is ordered to do something specific. However, personal actions are not granted such as singing at a concert. Also, specific performance does not apply if one of the parties is a minor.

Rescission is the act of returning both parties as far away as possible to their pre-contractual positions. Therefore, in the event that someone has bought something, the purchases are returned for the purchasing price.

The remedy of rectification is the act of rectifying a mistake in a contract so as to reveal its intentions.

Apart from equity remedies, equities also come with equitable maxims. Some examples are that equity looks at the intention and not the form, those who come with equity must come with clean hands and delay defeats equity.

The maxim that equity looks at the intention and not the form can be seen in the Berry v Berry case. Usually, a deed is needed to overrules another deed, however in the Berry case, a simple contract sufficed because the intentions were clear.

The case that incorporates the maxim that those who come with equity must come with clean hands is the D & C Builders Ltd v Rees case. In this situation, Mr and Mrs Rees paid the builders a portion in advance. When asked for the full pay afterwards, they declared that the builders had not done the job properly and paid them lesser. The builders, experiencing financial difficulties, accepted in desperation. However, they later sued the Rees for the remaining.

Under the rule of estoppel, the builders were actually not allowed to sue the Rees for the remaining, however Lord Denning said that the Rees had not come with 'clean hands'. Therefore, the claim succeeded.

In many ways, the system of equity has plenty of hidden potential. However, it is just as undeniable that equity has maximised its potential where discovered.

Marks: 16/25

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You'll do better not knowing where the other 9 marks went, because I don't either -.- It was pretty much similar to other essays that my friends wrote but the difference between ours was that theirs got 19/25 and above.

Ugh, whatever.

CIAO!!

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