Remedies

• Remedies in tort


  What the claimant is seeking to 'right the wrong'
• Damages


  The aim is to put the injured party in the same position as he/she would have been in if the tort had not occurred. Damages are the main remedy for tort.
• Mitigation of loss


  The claimant is expected to take reasonable steps to mitigate any losses
• General damages


  Damages which are not capable of being calculated before the trial and the court has to calculate them (e.g. loss of future earnings, pain and suffering)
• Special damages


  Damages which are capable of being calculated at the time of the trial (e.g. loss of earnings and medical expenses before trial)
• Nominal damages


  Damages awarded when there has been little or no harm caused and the court wishes to award a very small amount
• Contemptuous damages


  Damages awarded when the level of harm has been low and the court believes that an action should not have been taken even though the defendant has been liable under tort
• Aggravated damages


  Damages awarded over and above that needed to put the claimant back in the position that he/she would have been had the tort not occurred, due to some aggravating factor
• Exemplary damages


  Damages whose purpose is to punish the defendant for committing the tort, awarded in certain circumstances
• Injunction


  A court order that requires the defendant to behave in a certain way, either mandatory (instructing the defendant to take action) or prohibitory (instructing the defendant to not behave in a certain way)
• Quia timet injunction


  An injunction obtained before the tort occurs, where the danger is imminent, the potential damage is substantial, and the only way the claimant can protect themselves is through a quia timet injunction
• Interim injunction


  An injunction granted once an action has begun but before the main court hearing, instructing the defendant to not behave in a certain way
• Maxims of equity


  • One who seeks equity must do equity
  • Equity does nothing in vain
  • Delay defeats equity
• Injunctions tend not to be used for torts such as negligence or occupier's liability, they are mostly used for the torts of nuisance, trespass to land and defamation
• Mandatory injunctions are rarely granted in tort actions
• Interim injunctions are only granted if the claimant agrees to pay damages to the defendant for any loss caused by the injunction, if it is held at the trial that the claimant had not been entitled to restrain the defendant
• The courts must try to balance the need for the injunction against the effects on the defendant when granting an interim injunction