what is a quasi contract 
quasi contract is another name for a contract implied in law which acts as a remedy for a dispute between two parties that don t have a contract a quasi contract is a legal obligation not a traditional contract which is decided by a judge for one party to compensate the other thus a quasi contract is a retroactive judgment to correct a circumstance in which one party acquires something at the expense of the other these arrangements may be imposed when goods or services are accepted by a party even though they might not have been requested the acceptance then creates an expectation of payment for the providing party understanding quasi contractsunder common law jurisdictions quasi contracts originated in the middle ages under a form of action known in latin as indebitatus assumpsit which translates to being indebted or to have undertaken a debt 1this legal principle was the courts way of making one party pay the other as if a contract or agreement already existed between them so the defendant s obligation to be bound by the an exchange is viewed to be implied by law from its earliest uses the quasi contract was typically imposed to enforce restitution obligations it would be handed down ordering the defendant to pay restitution to the plaintiff the restitution known in latin as quantum meruit or the amount deserved is calculated according to the amount or extent to which the defendant was unjustly enriched 23this remedy is also referred to as a constructive contract as it is constructed by a judge when there is no existing contract between two parties if there is an agreement or contract already in place a judge will not create a quasi contract because there is no need to do so implied in law contract is an alternate name for a quasi contract quasi contracts outline the obligation of one party to a second when the first receives a benefit or property from the second a person might knowingly or unknowingly give something of value to another without an agreement being made it is assumed that a reasonable person would pay for it give it back or otherwise compensate the giver upon receiving the item or service quasi contracts are awarded as a remedy to a giver to keep them from being taken advantage of and keep others from being unjustly enriched because the agreement is constructed in a court of law it is legally enforceable so neither party has to agree to it 3 the purpose of the quasi contract is to render a fair outcome in a situation where one party has an advantage over another the defendant the party who acquired the property must pay restitution to the plaintiff the wronged party to cover the value of the item certain aspects must be in place for a judge to issue a quasi contract quasi contract vs contracttypes of quasi contractthe types of quasi contract are outlined in sections 68 thru 72 of the contract act of 1872 as follows 4unjust enrichment is what happens when an individual benefits from a situation inappropriately either because of luck or because of another person s bad fortune 5advantages and disadvantages of quasi contractsadvantages of using a quasi contract include the fact that these legal instruments are typically based on the unjust enrichment principle this prevents one party from gaining an undue advantage over another thus it is a safeguard for innocent victims of wrongful acts and a legal alternative to compensation for damages ensuring that the one who provides services or goods gets compensated for the same in order to comply with quasi contracts all parties involved are obliged to follow them as they are created by court order there are also some drawbacks or limitations those who received benefits negligently unnecessarily and by miscount will not be held liable although a person can be liable under a quasi contract he cannot be charged more than the amount he has received under the contract thus there is no provision available for the recovery of more amount than that which has been received by the plaintiff if the plaintiff obtains only part of the services goods that he contracted for originally he cannot claim a compensation as the whole amount is not recovered if there s an express agreement between the parties plaintiffs have to give up all profits though a quasi contract is a legal remedy that provides protection from unjust enrichment of the beneficiaries of the services or goods a plaintiff can get relief only if he can prove that he has suffered losses due to the breach of the contractual obligations of the defendant prevents one party from unfairly benefitting at the expense of anothercourt order is legally bindingnot suitable in all casesamount cannot include additional damages