Also known as: restitutionary interest
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A protected interest of a promisee consisting of the right to recover the value of any benefit conferred on the other party by way of part performance or reliance. The interest prevents unjust enrichment by requiring the breaching party to restore the conferred benefit rather than merely compensating for the promisee's loss or expectation.
Green Marine completed half the fuel-saving retrofit on Peak Coastal's vessel and installed permanent components before Peak Coastal halted the work and hired another yard. Peak Coastal retained and used the installed components to finish the project. Green Marine recovers the reasonable value of the benefit it conferred on Peak Coastal through the installed components and completed work.
Coastal Steel Erectors supplied labor and equipment at its own expense to Algernon Blair under a subcontract that Blair breached. Blair retained the labor and equipment without full payment. Coastal recovers the reasonable value to Blair of the labor and equipment received, measured either by the cost Blair would have incurred to obtain equivalent performance or by the increase in value to Blair's interests.
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The restitution interest protects the promisee's right to recover the value of any benefit actually conferred on the breaching party. The reliance interest instead reimburses the promisee's own out-of-pocket losses caused by reliance on the contract.
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A court may measure the award by the reasonable value to the recipient of what it received or by the extent to which the recipient's property or other interests increased in value.
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No. A party may recover the value of a benefit conferred through part performance when the other party retains that benefit after the contract ends without completion.
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Restitution restores the value of the benefit the plaintiff conferred on the defendant. Expectation damages place the plaintiff in the position it would have occupied had the contract been fully performed.
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…it honestly. Id ; Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 376 comment a. The issue we must now address is the proper measure of the restitutionary interest. The first step determining the proper measure of restitution requires that the rescinding party return or offer to return, conditional on restitution, any interest in property that he has…