Also known as: mulcts · mulcted · mulcting · fine · penalty
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A monetary penalty or fine imposed for a violation or breach.
The act of imposing such a penalty or of depriving a person of property through fraudulent means.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
A monetary penalty or fine imposed for a violation or breach.
Mariam Mansour prepaid the full balance on her home loan to Matrix Technologies. The lender refused to record a satisfaction until Mariam paid an additional sum labeled as a mulct for early termination. Once the full debt was satisfied the mortgage was discharged and title reconveyed without the extra charge.
Meredith Maxwell faced a mulct after her testimony at trial contradicted an earlier deposition given under penalty of perjury. The prosecutor sought the penalty for the inconsistent statement about the defendant near the scene. The court imposed the mulct as a sanction for the violation.
The act of imposing such a penalty or of depriving a person of property through fraudulent means.
Maya Malik signed a consulting contract that fixed damages at three times the anticipated loss for any late delivery. When she breached the agreement the client demanded the full stipulated sum. The court refused to enforce the clause because the amount constituted an unreasonable mulct rather than a genuine estimate of harm.
Miguel Mendoza agreed to purchase equipment from Millennium Media under a contract that imposed a mulct equal to the entire contract price for any buyer breach. After Miguel canceled the order the seller sought the full amount. The court held the clause void as an unreasonable penalty under the UCC.
Maria Morales was injured when a general partner of Marathon Logistics negligently operated a delivery vehicle in the ordinary course of partnership business. The limited partnership was held liable for the resulting loss and any mulct incurred by the partner acting with apparent authority.
Madison Meyers suffered property damage caused by a partner of Monarch Pharmaceuticals who acted with actual authority during routine partnership operations. The partnership was required to pay both the compensatory damages and any mulct assessed against the partner for the wrongful act.
A mulct is a fine or penalty imposed for a violation or breach. It may also refer to the act of depriving someone of property through fraudulent means.
A court examines whether the amount is reasonable in light of the anticipated or actual loss and the difficulties of proof of loss. An unreasonably large amount is treated as a penalty and is unenforceable on public policy grounds.
The entity is liable when the partner commits a wrongful act or omission while acting in the ordinary course of business or with actual or apparent authority of the partnership.
…contrast was continued in the general revision of 1828, 9 Geo. 4, c. 31, § 13. It disappeared, however, together with the death penalty, in 1837, 7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict., c. 85. § 6, and did not reappear in the Offenses Against the Person Act of 1861, 24 & 25 Vict., c. 100, § 59, that formed the core of English anti-abortion…