QUASI CONTRACTS

SUBMITTED TO: MRS. DHANYA JHON

(FACULTY- LAW OF CONTRACTS)
SCHOOL OF LAW
SUMBITTED BY: MAYANK MADHUKAR KAD
SUBMITTED ON: / /2022.
 CERTIFICATE OF DECLARATION
I, MAYANK MADHUKAR KAD, have undergone research of the project work titled ‘QUASI
CONTRACTS’, as a student of the law of contracts, hereby declare that- this research project
has been prepared by the student for academic purpose only, and is the outcome of the
investigation done by me and also prepared by myself under the supervision of Mrs. Dhanya
Jhon. The views expressed in the report are personal to the student and do not reflect the views
of any authority or any other person, and do not bind the statue in any manner.
I also declare that this research paper or any part, thereof has not been or is not being submitted
elsewhere for the award of any degree or diploma. This report is the intellectual property of the
student research work, and the same or any part there of may not be used in any manner
whatsoever in writing.
Mayank Madhukar Kad.
(Second semester)

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 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

This is to certify that Mayank Madhukar Kad, PRN No. 210104061022, student of
second semester of B.A.L.L.B. (Hons.), Sandip University has undergone research
of the project work titled ‘QUASI CONTRACTS’, in partial fulfilment of the
subject law of contracts. His performance in research work is up to the level.
Place: Nashik, MH.

Mrs. Dhanya Jhon

(Faculty- Law of Contracts.)
Sandip University.
Date: / /2022.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

At the outset, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and thank my teacher,
for putting her trust in me and giving me a project topic such as this and for having
the faith in me to deliver. Ma’am I genuinely thankyou for an opportunity to help
me grow.
My gratitude also goes out to the other staff and administration of Sandip
university for the infrastructure in the form of our library and IT lab that was a
source of great help for the completion of this project.

Mayank Madhukar Kad

(Second semester).

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Quasi-Contract Meaning
Explanation
Quasi-Contracts Through History
Quasi-Contract Requirements
What Is Unjust Enrichment?
Contracts That Are Implied-In-Law vs. Implied-In-Fact
Examples of Quasi-Contract
Features
Requirements of Quasi-Contract
Types of Quasi-Contract
1 – Section 68
2 – Section 69
3 – Section 70
4 – Section 71
5 – Section 72
Difference Between Quasi-Contract and Contract
Advantages
Disadvantages
Conclusion
Biblography

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 Webliography

QUASI CONTRACT MEANING:

A quasi-contract refers to the obligation of the contract created out of order by the
court not to let one party get unfair benefit out of the situation at the expense of
other parties where there is the absence of initial agreement among the parties and
there is a dispute between them.

EXPLANATION:
1
The term “quasi contract” refers to an agreement that exists between two parties
who have not previously had obligations to each other. This agreement is created by
the court system, specifically imposed by a judge, in order to correct a situation in
which one party owes something to the other party because they are in possession
of that person's property.

People who are involved in a quasi-contract do not create the agreement

themselves. Since it is imposed by the court, the individuals do not need to agree to
the contract for it to be legally enforceable. Quasi-contracts enforce fairness when
one party benefits unjustly through a loss to another.

Quasi-contracts are also called implied contracts. When they are imposed, the
defendant must pay an amount of restitution to the wronged party, or the plaintiff.
This repayment is known as quantum meruit and is based on the amount of the
money or value of the item that the defendant acquired unfairly.

1
Avatar Singh, “Contract and Specific relief”, ed. 12 th, (Lucknow : Eastern publishing company, 2017), pp.3-9
pg. 6
 Another name for a quasi-contract is a constructive contract. It may be created
when there is no existing true contract. However, if a real contract exists, which
may be implied or in writing, a quasi-contract may not be imposed.

Quasi-Contracts Through History

The first example of quasi-contracts originated in the Middle Ages from a law
called indebitatus assumpsit. If the plaintiff had been paid money or been given
property by the defendant, with the agreement that the defendant was paying the
plaintiff in exchange for a service or other form of property, the court recognized
that an implied contract existed and therefore used indebitatus assumpsit to make
sure reparations were made. This quasi-contract was most commonly used to
enforce agreements regarding restitution.

Quasi-Contract Requirements
There are several requirements that must be met in order for a quasi-contract to be
imposed:
The plaintiff must have provided a service or given an item with value to the
defendant, with the implied promise that they would receive payment in exchange.
The defendant must have agreed to this promise and received the item or service,
but failed to pay.
The plaintiff must explain to the court why it is unfair that the defendant received
the service or item of value without paying the plaintiff. Therefore, unjust
enrichment on the defendant's part took place.

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 What Is Unjust Enrichment?
When the term “unjust enrichment” is used, it means that one party has received
some type of benefit either by accident or because of another person's bad luck. The
unjustly enriched party has received a service or item without paying or earning it.
Therefore, it is morally incumbent upon him to either return it or pay for it.
There are five things that must be proven in order for unjust enrichment to take
place:
The defendant has received a service or item from which they have benefited.
The plaintiff has been disadvantaged or suffered a loss as a result of this unfair
benefit to the defendant.
The plaintiff must prove that the benefit was received unfairly.
There is no apparent reason for the benefit to have been received, nor for the
defendant's disadvantage because of it.
The defendant has not made any attempt to provide repayment or restitution.
The restitution that is given to the plaintiff when unjust enrichment has taken place
is whatever payment is needed to fairly compensate the plaintiff for the service or
item that the defendant received, thereby creating an injustice. This can be either
payment for the service or item or the return of the item, whichever is more
practical and appropriate.

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 Contracts That Are Implied-In-Law vs. Implied-In-
Fact
A contract that is implied-in-law was not intended to be created, at least by one of
the parties, but should be created by a judge in order to promote justice. A contract
that is implied-in-fact is a contract that is unwritten but still exists between the
parties due to a consensual transaction, and may be enforced in court.
The difference between the two may seem complicated, but it is important in terms
of legal enforcement. For one thing, courts may not enforce a quasi-contract against
the federal government. The doctrine of Sovereign Immunity prevents the federal
government from being sued without its consent.
However, if the contract is determined to be implied-in-fact, a court could rule that
consent was given. A quasi-contract does not claim that there was an unwritten
agreement in effect and would therefore not be enforceable against the government.
If you need more information or help with a quasi-contract, you can post your legal
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 Examples of Quasi-Contract:
A person orders some perishable items online by providing his address and paying
for the same. At the time of the delivery of the goods, the delivery man delivers
them to the wrong address. Instead of denying the delivery, the receiving party
accepts the order and consumes the same.
The case went to the court, and the court then ordered to issue a quasi-contract
according to which the recipient has to pay back the cost of the item to the party
who paid for the item initially. So, in this case, the benefits of the goods have been
enjoyed by the receiving party, so such a receiving party is bound to give
compensation to the former party.

Features:
The features are as follows:
Usually, the quasi-contracts provide the right to the money.
There is an absence of the contract or mutual consent among the parties, and thus it
is imposed by the law and is not the outcome of any agreement.
They are based on equity, a good conscience, justice, and principles of natural
justice.

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 Requirements of Quasi-Contract:
There are certain types of the requirement that are required for a judge to fulfill for
making a ruling for the quasi-contract, as discussed below: –
The plaintiff must have provided service or tangible goods to the defendant, and the
plaintiff had the impression that he would receive payment for such goods or
services.
Also, the plaintiff should justify that the defendant would be unjustly enriched if he
received goods or services without their payment.

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 Types of Quasi-Contract: The types are laid down under sections 68
to 72, which are mentioned below

1 – Section 68:
It states that a person is not capable of entering into any contract. Therefore, the
supplies are provided to him or anyone the incapable person is legally bound to
support by the third party. The supplier third party is entitled to recovering the price
of such supplier from the unable person’s property.

2 – Section 69:
It states that if a person is interested in paying money and pays on behalf of another
person, he is bound to pay by the law. So then, the person who made the payment is
entitled to reimbursement by another party (on behalf of whom he has paid).

3 – Section 70:
It states that the receiving party has enjoyed the same benefits if a person does
anything for the other person lawfully or delivers something without intending to do
the same gratuitously. Then, such a receiving party is bound to compensate the
former party.

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 4 – Section 71:
It states that if a person finds goods that belong to another party and takes such
goods into his custody, then the former has responsibility the same as that of a
bailee.

5 – Section 72:
It states that if a person has been paid or delivered mistakenly or under coercion, he
must repay or return.

Difference Between Quasi-Contract and Contract:

2
The contracts are the expressed ones approved by the parties under consideration
as a matter of law where they share interests and consequences though specifically
described conditions. In contrast, under quasi-contracts, the obligations are enforced
by the law based on the parties’ conduct to prevent the undue advantage of one
party over the cost of another party.

2
Dinshaw Fardunji Mulla, “The Indian Contract Act 1872” , ed. 16th, (Gurgaon : LexisNexis, 2015), pp. 13-15

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 Advantages:
The advantages are as follows:
It prevents the undue advantage of one party over the cost of other parties as it is
based on the unjust enrichment principle.
It is created by order of the court, so none of the parties involved can disagree with
such orders. So, all the parties involved are obliged to follow it.

Disadvantages:
The Disadvantages are as follows:
The enriched party will not be held liable in the cases where the benefit he received
was tendered negligently, unnecessarily, and by the miscount.
It is generally created only to the extent necessary to prevent unjust enrichment. The
plaintiff must forgo all the expected profit he would have earned if there is a whole
expressed agreement between the parties involved.

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 CONCLUSION:
Contracts are an important part of our lives and everywhere we can spot contracts.
There are situations when there is no contract between the parties. Still, even then,
certain social relationships create specific obligations that some parties must
perform by order of the court. These obligations are known as the quasi-contracts
since the same obligations are created as that would have been made in the case of
the regular contract. These quasi-contracts are created based on justice, equity, and
good conscience principles.

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 BIBLOGRAPHY:
BOOKS:
Contract and specific relief by Avatar Singh published by eastern book company
(27th February, 2021).
The Indian Contract act 1872 by Sir Dinshaw Fardunji Mulla published by Lexis
Nexis first edition (28th October, 2015).

WEBLIOGRAPHY:
https://www.upcounsel.com/quasi-contract
https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/quasi-contract/

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