Civil remedies The AIM of civil remedies is

Civil remedies The AIM of civil remedies is to restore the parties to their ORIGINAL POSITION BEFORE THE HARM WAS CAUSED

Remember! While there are many remedies available, the study design specifically states that you must know DAMAGES and INJUNCTIONS. You should be able to describe these remedies and discuss their ability to achieve the purpose of civil remedies.

Damages can involve an amount of money paid by the defendant to the plaintiff in settlement of their claim. They are the most common types of remedy and there are several types:

Compensatory Damages that aim to compensate the plaintiff for the injury suffered, to the extent that money is able to do so. Compensatory damages: 1. specific/special damages: readily identifiable costs for which monetary value can be calculated (medical bills, loss of income) 2. General damages: not so easy to calculate as they take into account the IMPACT of the injury on the plaintiff’s PAST/PRESENT/FUTURE (pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, future loss of wages)

Remember! Compensation is NOT a type of civil remedy, nor it is the purpose of civil remedies. AVOID using this term in descriptions and definitions.

Aggravated Damages Additional compensation received for the humiliation suffered by the plaintiff due to the defendant’s offensive or particularly nasty conduct

Exemplary Damages Where a large sum of money is awarded to the plaintiff with the aim of punishing the defendant and making a example of them for engaging in such grossly reckless, malicious or cruel behaviour ( also called punitive damages)

Nominal Damages Where only small amounts of money are awarded to the plaintiff, as they are more concerned with proving a legal point than recovering money, and there may be no significant injury suffered.

Contemptuous damages Contemptuous damages-small amount to the plaintiff in contempt of the claim made.

Whilst it is not always possible for damages to return an injured party to the position and condition they were in before the harm caused by the defendant occurred, damages try to do so, as much as money is possible. This could be through specific damages for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and so on. If the injury suffered by the plaintiff is a financial loss, then damages are more able to restore them to their former position

Injunctions can try to return an injured party to a position they were in before the harm occurred, by ordering the defendant to stop the behaviour that is causing harm or to compel them to perform an act

Injunctions An injunction is a court order against a losing party in a civil case that either prohibits them from performing a particular act (prohibitive or restrictive injunction), or compels them to perform a particular act (mandatory injunction) Injunctions can be short term/temporary (provisional/interim injunction) or permanent (perpetual injunction)

Enforcement of civil remedies A warrant of distress- If the defendant fails to pay the amount awarded by the court. Then the court can order that property owned by the defendant be seized and sold to recover sufficient funds to ay the amount owing. A garnishee order- The plaintiff can apply to the court for a garnishee order. This compels a third party who owes money to the defendant to pay the plaintiff. An attachment of earnings- This instructs the defendant’s employer to deduct the amount owing from the defendant’s wages or salary A writ of sequestration- enables the court to seize or control land or property owned by the defendant until the debt is paid.

Enforcement of civil remedies Bankruptcy and liquidation- the plaintiff can apply to have the defendant’s assets placed under the control of an independent person or trustee. This means the defendant is declared bankrupt. The defendant’s assets are sold and the proceeds distributed. This does not always guarantee the plaintiff absolute recovery of the judgment debt.

Enforcement of civil remedies Imprisonment- if the defendant fails to comply with a court order, the plaintiff can take action to have the defendant imprisoned for contempt of court. This does not mean the defendant doesn’t have to comply with the original order. In addition to the prison sentence, the court will take the necessary steps to ensure that the original court order is met.