General Remedies in Torts

In order to uphold justice and peace in any situation where a subject's legal rights are in jeopardy, that society's members are given remedies. The monetary compensation provided to a person as atonement for the loss he has suffered is referred to as "remedies."

Any person may be given redress in a number of ways, such as through a court order, a decision reached following a trial or hearing, a settlement reached between the party alleging harm and the party at fault, or by the straightforward application of the law.

Meaning of General Remedy

It is common knowledge that because torts are considered civil wrongs, the perpetrator cannot be punished under the criminal code. However, general remedies may be made available to the harmed person and to the alleged perpetrator.

Kinds of Remedies

Tort remedies often come in two varieties −

Judicial Remedies

Those remedies that are granted to a party by a court are known as "judicial remedies."

Types of Judicial Remedies

Three primary categories of judicial remedies are further defined.

Damages

When a tort is committed against a wrongdoer, damages are the most important and easily accessible remedy for the plaintiff. Damages in the law of torts are, to put it simply, monetary compensations paid to the party who was wronged; however, because damages in tort cases are frequently unliquidated, the court determines the magnitude and amount of such compensation.

Types of Damages

There are many kinds of damages depending on the "objective" of the compensation, or whether the plaintiff is to be reimbursed or the defendant must be "punished."

Contemptuous Damages

When it is decided that an action should not have been brought, contemptuous damages are given. The court may award a half penny or a paisa to the plaintiff as a token of its disapproval of his or her behavior where there is a legally valid claim on the plaintiff's behalf but no moral basis for it or when the plaintiff morally deserved what the defendant did to him.

Nominal Damages

Nominal damages are given in circumstances where the goal of the action is just to establish a right and no significant harm or loss has occurred, such as when the absolute rights to one's personal security (attack, for example) and property have been violated. Nominal damages are so-called because the amount awarded is modest and has little to do with the expense and hassle of filing a lawsuit.

Ordinary Damages

Ordinary damages are given when they are required to make up for the actual harm the plaintiff has suffered. Additionally, known as compensatory damages.

Exemplary Damages

The method in which a specific tort was committed may be noted by the court while deciding whether to award damages. A judge may grant aggravated damages if the defendant's intent in committing the tort was to undermine the plaintiff's right to dignity and pride. These damages are awarded in order to make up for the other party's losses, but they are higher than they would ordinarily be in order to account for the claimant's greater harm.

However, exemplary damages are strictly punitive. In contrast to exemplary damages, which are granted for conduct that shocks the court, aggravated damages are given for conduct that shocks the plaintiff, and as a result, these types of damages actually result in genuine loss.

Injunction

A court ruling known as an injunction commands a party to carry out a specific action or prohibits them from carrying it out (or from continuing to do so) altogether. The decision to give or deny such relief is in the court's sole discretion, and if damages are an option, the court must rule against issuing an injunction on behalf of the person who has been wronged.

Types of Injunctions

Three different injunctions are available −

Temporary Injunction

A temporary injunction is a court order that forbids a party from acting while there is still pending a trial or other legal action. Its goals are to preserve the status quo and prevent irreparable harm. A third aim of this form of injunction is to keep the issue of the current legal dispute in the spotlight until the trial is finished.

Perpetual Injunction

Some restraining orders can also have a time limit on how long they must remain in effect. Following several thorough court hearings on all relevant issues, a permanent injunction is granted. As the case's merits are clarified and debated in court in order to build relationships between the two sides.

Mandatory Injunction

A mandatory injunction is one that requires the party to comply with the court's request. In other words, when the court orders a party to take some action to put the aggrieved party or plaintiff back in the position they were in before the defendant's commission of the offense.

There are two kinds of mandatory injunction

Mandatory Restorative Injunction

The defendant in this kind of injunction is required to make amends for any wrongdoing he has done. A plaintiff must establish that no wrongdoing occurred—only that he was threatened—in order to enforce this type of injunction.

Mandatory Enforcing Injunction

In order to obtain this kind of injunction, the court must be convinced that the agreement between the defendant and plaintiff is specifically enforceable and that it is just and equitable to grant the specific injunction. This type of injunction enables the defendant to carry out some positive act that he has promised to carry out.

Specific Restitution of Property

The return of the property to its owner is referred to as specific restitution of property. The court may order the individual who took the item to return it if they had taken it illegally and there is a dispute between them as a result.

Extra Judicial Remedies

In addition to the judicial remedies that we have already examined, a person has the right to pursue remedies that are outside the purview of the law. These remedies may be employed in situations where no legal action results from the consequences of such actions and where they may be the only available remedy. These remedies are referred to as extrajudicial remedies.

Types of Extra-Judicial Remedies

Re-Entry On Land

The property owner is free to expel the intruder and re-enter his premises. Only with a reasonable amount of force can the owner accomplish this.

Abatement

The idea of abating nuisances is when the party that has experienced the disturbance takes control of the situation and eliminates the nuisance without resorting to legal action.

Expulsion of Trespasser

Any trespassers who invade someone's property have the right to be ejected by using reasonable methods to do so. However, the plaintiff's or the property owner's use of force against the trespasser must be justified and proportionate to the threat posed by the trespass.

Distress Damage Feasant

An extrajudicial remedy like this exists. A landowner has the right to distress (detain) a flock for the harm it has caused. Up until the owner pays the required compensation for the trespass, the owner has the right to seize and detain the cattle or animals. The word "feasant" can mean either chattels or animals.

Conclusion

Given the aforementioned facts, it would be appropriate to assume that although it is strongly recommended that legal action be taken in cases of legal injury or loss of property as a result of a civil wrong, we must also take into account the fact that parties are frequently constrained by time restrictions or are unable to pursue a legal matter. Therefore, in such situations, such aggrieved parties also have various extra-judicial means at their disposal that they can adopt. We must always act in a reasonable manner and keep in mind the law when performing such actions.

FAQs

Q1. What are the remedies under common law?

Ans. One remedy that is available by default is the common law's damages provision for breach of contract. The court will grant damages if the plaintiff can show that the defendant violated the terms of a contract and that the breach caused the plaintiff harm.

Q2. How do civil remedies work?

Ans. A party's obligation to make amends to the victim of a harm they perpetrate is referred to as a civil remedy. Although they can have a connection, a civil remedy and a criminal remedy are typically distinct from one another. Civil remedies are optional and dependent on the victim's participation.

Q3. What is a claim for wrongful death?

Ans. In a wrongful death case, it is claimed that the defendant's carelessness (or other fault) caused the decedent's death and that the defendant's actions warrant financial compensation for the decedent's surviving dependents.