Also known as: remedies · remedial · remediable · remediation · remedying · remedied · redress · relief · reparation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A means of enforcing a right or preventing or redressing a wrong. Legal remedies typically award money damages while equitable remedies compel or prohibit specific conduct when damages would be inadequate.
Rowan Russell posted signs criticizing local officials on his property. The city cited him under an ordinance banning such displays. Rowan sued seeking an injunction barring enforcement of the ordinance. The court granted the injunction as the appropriate remedy to protect his protected expression.
Ruby Rivera sued a supplier for breach after goods arrived damaged. The supplier moved under Rule 12(b)(6) claiming the complaint failed to state a viable claim. The court denied the motion and allowed the case to proceed so Ruby could pursue damages as her remedy.
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Ralph Richardson learned that a witness he called had given false testimony about contract terms. He immediately disclosed the falsity to the tribunal and withdrew the evidence. The disclosure served as the required remedial measure to correct the record.
Ronald Reed leased an apartment with a leaking roof that the landlord refused to fix. Ronald elected to remain in possession and sought rent abatement plus damages for the breach. The court awarded both forms of relief as the tenant's available remedies.
Renee Rogers alleged a bank wrongfully froze her account but included only conclusory statements. The bank moved to dismiss for failure to state a plausible claim. The court dismissed the action because the facts did not support any remedy under the governing standard.
Robert Rivera received the complaint on March 1 but filed his notice of removal on April 5. The federal court remanded the case because the thirty-day window had expired. Remand restored the state forum as the proper venue for any remedy.
Legal remedies award money damages while equitable remedies order specific performance or injunctions when damages cannot adequately compensate the injured party.
A court may deny equitable relief when an adequate remedy at law exists such as an award of damages that fully compensates the plaintiff.
Indemnity serves as a remedy that shifts the entire loss from one tortfeasor to another when equity requires placing ultimate responsibility on the party who created the danger.
A tenant may affirm the lease and obtain damages, rent abatement, or other equitable and legal relief when the landlord fails to correct an unsuitable condition.
…It is a general principle that a mandamus lies if there be no other adequate, specific, legal remedy. The writ is of extensive remedial nature and issues where the party has a right to have anything done and no other specific means of compelling its performance. Many English cases illustrate the practice of issuing…