Equity & Trusts
9. Unconscionable Conduct
Authors: Staff Legal Eagle
Firm / Chambers:
Last updated: 25 Jul 2015
- Unconscionable conduct may include situations where:
- one party uses another’s disadvantage or weakness to gain a benefit for themselves;
- one party takes advantage of the other party’s reliance or trust in them to unduly influence the other party’s decision making or induce them to act against their own interests;
- one party agrees to hold property for another but then attempts to treat that property as their own;
- one party is attempting to gain an unjust enrichment by benefiting from fraud or from property obtained by mistake;
- businesses have engaged in harsh or oppressive conduct; or
- one party acts in a way designed to mislead another party for their own advantage.
- The enforcement of an obligation may be appropriate in situations where damages would not be an adequate remedy such as where:
- a service provider attempts to contract out work which only they can perform; or
- a party is attempting to evade a contract for the sale of goods that are unique and not readily replaceable on an available market.
- Equity matters have a wide scope as the court is required to take into account all the circumstances of the case and consider the actual conduct of all the parties involved.
- In order to make an application for equitable relief you must be able to identify a legal or statutory right that has been breached and establish that damages are not an adequate remedy in your situation.
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