Contract Law
Part of the common law series
Contract theory
Contract formation
Offer and acceptance  · Mailbox rule
Mirror image rule  · Invitation to treat
Consideration
Defenses against formation
Lack of capacity to contract
Duress  · Undue influence
Illusory promise  · Statute of frauds
Non est factum
Contract interpretation
Parol evidence rule
Contract of adhesion
Integration clause
Contra proferentem
Excuses for non-performance
Mistake  · Misrepresentation
Frustration of purpose  · Impossibility
Unclean hands  · Unconscionability
Illegality  · Accord and satisfaction
Rights of third parties
Privity of contract
Assignment  · Delegation
Novation  · Third party beneficiary
Breach of contract
Anticipatory repudiation  · Cover
Exclusion clause
Fundamental breach
Remedies
Specific performance
Liquidated damages
Penal damages  · Rescission
Quasi-contractual obligations
Promissory estoppel
Quantum meruit
Subsets: Conflict of law Commercial law
Other areas of the common law
Tort law  · Property law
Wills and trusts
Criminal law  · Evidence

Liquidated damages is a term used in the law of contracts to describe a contractual term which establishes damages to be paid to one party if the other party should breach the contract. Under the common law, a liquidated damages clause will not be enforced if the purpose of the term is solely to punish a breach of contract (in this case it is a penal clause). This is because such a clause does not allow the court to determine actual damages, and its enforcement would therefore require an equitable order of specific performance. However, courts sitting in equity will seek to achieve a fair result, and will not enforce a term that will lead to the unjust enrichment of the enforcing party. Image File history File links Scale_of_justice. ... A contract is a promise or an agreement made of a set of promises. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Contract theory comprises many different theories and various interpretations of the various body of rules and subrules that define Contract Law. ... Offer and acceptance analysis is a traditional approach in contract law used to determine whether an agreement exists between two parties. ... The mailbox rule or the postal acceptance rule is a term of common law contracts which determines when a contract has been formed where the parties are communicating via the mail. ... In the law of contracts, the mirror image rule states that an offer must be accepted exactly without modifications. ... In contract law, an invitation to treat (invitation to bargain in the US) is an action by one party which may appear to be a contractual offer but which is actually inviting others to make an offer of their own. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Consideration under English law. ... The capacity of both natural and artificial persons determines whether they may make binding amendments to their rights, duties and obligations, such as getting married or merging, entering into contracts, making gifts, or writing a valid will. ... Duress in the context of contract law is a common law defence, and if you are successful in proving that the contract is vitiated by duress, you can rescind the contract, since it is then voidable. ... Undue influence (as a term in jurisprudence) is an equitable doctrine that involves one person taking advantage of a position of power over another person. ... In contract law, an illusory promise is one that courts will not enforce. ... The statute of frauds refers to a requirement in many common law jurisdictions that certain kinds of contracts, typically contractual obligations, be done in writing. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A standard form contract (sometimes referred to as a contract of adhesion or boilerplate contract) is a contract between two parties that does not allow for negotiation, i. ... An integration clause, in the contract law, is a term in the language of the contract that declares it to be the complete and final agreement between the parties. ... Contra preferendum or contra preferentem is the rule in contract law that is applied when interpreting a clause, especially an exclusion clause, in an action that says that, where ambiguity as to a terms meaning exists, it should be read against the party who wrote it. ... In contract law a mistake is incorrect understanding by one or more parties to a contract and may be used as grounds to invalidate the agreement. ... In contract law, a misrepresentation is a false statement of fact made by one party to another party and has the effect of inducing that party into the contract. ... Frustration of purpose is a term used in the law of contracts to describe a defense to an action for non-performance based on the occurance of an unforseen event which makes performance impossible or commercially impracticable. ... Impossible is also a name of a skateboarding trick. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... An illegal agreement, under the common law of contract, is one that the courts will not enforce because the purpose of the agreement is to achieve an illegal end. ... Accord and satisfaction is the purchase of the release from a debt obligation. ... The doctrine of privity in English law provides that a contract cannot confer rights or impose obligations arising under it on any person or agent except the parties to it. ... An assignment is a term used with similar meanings in the law of contracts and in the law of real estate. ... Delegation is a term used in the law of contracts to describe the act of giving another person the responsibility of carrying out the performance agreed to in a contract. ... Novation is a term used in contract law and business law to describe the act of either replacing an obligation to perform with a new obligation, or replacing a party to an agreement with a new party. ... A third party beneficiary, in the law of contracts, is a person who may have the right to sue on a contract, despite not having originally been a party to the contract. ... Breach of contract is a legal concept in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other partys performance. ... Anticipatory repudiation (or anticipatory breach) is a term in the law of contracts that describes a declaration by one party (the promissing party) to a contract that they do not intend to live up to their obligations under the contract. ... Cover is a term used in the law of contracts to describe a remedy available to a merchant buyer who has received an anticipatory repudiation of a contract for the receipt of goods. ... An exclusion clause is a term in a contract that seeks to restrict the rights of the parties to the contract. ... Fundamental breach, sometimes known as a repudiatory breach, is a breach so fundamental that it permits the aggrieved party to terminate performance of the contract, in addition to entitling that party to sue for damages. ... Definition of Specific performance In the law of remedies, a specific performance is a demand of a party to perform a specific act. ... Penal damages are best seen as quantitatively excessive liquidated damages and are invalid under the common law. ... In contract law, rescission (to rescind or set aside a contract) refers to the cancellation of the contract between the parties. ... Estoppel is a concept that prevents a party from acting in a certain way because it is not equitable to do so. ... Quantum meruit is a Latin phrase meaning as much as he has deserved. In the context of contract law, it means something along the lines of reasonable value of services. Situations The concept of quantum meruit applies to the following situations: I. When a person employs (impliedly or expressly) another... International private law, private international law or conflict of laws is the branch of private law which regulates lawsuits involving foreign laws or jurisdictions. ... Commercial law or business law is the body of law which governs business and commerce and is often considered to be a branch of civil law and deals both with issues of private law and public law. ... In the common law, a tort is a civil wrong for which the law provides a remedy. ... Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land as distinct from personal or movable possessions) and in personal property, within the common law legal system. ... In the common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the testator) regulates the rights of others over his property or family after death. ... The law of trusts and estates is generally considered the body of law which governs the management of personal affairs and the disposition of property of an individual in anticipation and the event of such persons incapacity or death, also known as the law of successions in civil law. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of statutory and common law that deals with crime and the legal punishment of criminal offenses. ... The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (e. ... The stela of King Hammurabi depicts the god Shamash revealing a code of laws to the king. ... A contract is any promise or set of promises made by one party to another for the breach of which the law provides a remedy. ... In law, damages refers to the money paid or awarded to a claimant (as it is known in the UK) or plaintiff (in the US) following their successful claim in a civil action. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Penal damages are best seen as quantitatively excessive liquidated damages and are invalid under the common law. ... A trial at the Old Bailey in London as drawn by Thomas Rowlandson and Augustus Pugin for Ackermanns Microcosm of London (1808-11). ... Definition of Specific performance In the law of remedies, a specific performance is a demand of a party to perform a specific act. ... The Court of Chancery, London, early 19th century This article is about concept of equity in Anglo-American jurisprudence. ... The following analysis is based on English law. ...

In order for a liquidated damages clause to be upheld, two conditions must be met. First, the amount of the damages identified must roughly approximate the damages likely to fall upon the party seeking the benefit of the term. Second, the damages must be sufficiently uncertain at the time the contract is made that such a clause will likely save both parties the future difficulty of estimating damages. Damages that are sufficiently uncertain may be referred to as unliquidated damages, and may be so categorized because they are not mathematically calculable or are subject to a contingency which makes the amount of damages uncertain. In philosophy and logic, contingency is the status of facts that are not logically necessary. ...

For example, suppose Joey agrees to lease a storefront to Monica, from which Monica intends to sell jewelry. If Joey breaches the contract by refusing to lease the storefront at the appointed time, it will be difficult to determine what profits Monica will have lost, because the success of newly created small businesses is highly uncertain. This, therefore, would be an appropriate circumstance for Monica to insist upon a liquidated damages clause in case Joey does indeed fail to perform.

The law applied to bank and credit card charges

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page .

This law has recently been of great interest to bank and credit card customers who have been charged as much as £38 for a single transaction that took them over their credit limit. Consumers argued these charges were well beyond the cost of sending a computerised letter. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ...

In 2006 the Office of Fair Trading investigated the excessively high charges being imposed on customers of Credit card companies. In its report, the OFT confirmed these charges were unlawful under UK Law as they amounted to a penalty. It said it would be prepared to investigate any charge over £12, though this was not intended to indicate that £12 is a fair and acceptable charge. The OFT said it would be up to a court to determine such an amount based on the established legal precedent that the only recoverable cost would be actual costs incurred. The Office of Fair Trading or OFT is a UK statutory body established by the Enterprise Act 2002, which seeks to protect the consumer from anti-competitive practices. ...

The credit card companies did not produce evidence of their actual costs to the OFT, instead insisting their charges are in line with clear policy and information provided to customers.

Following the ruling, many bank customers have made County Court claims against their banks and credit card companies for return of penalty charges for returned cheques, direct debits and unauthorised overdraft charges. To date no bank or credit card company, save NatWest on one occasion, has attended at Court for a Trial. The Classic NatWest logo National Westminster Bank Plc trading as NatWest (formerly as National Westminster Bank) is a commercial bank in the United Kingdom, part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. ... A trial at the Old Bailey in London as drawn by Thomas Rowlandson and Augustus Pugin for Ackermanns Microcosm of London (1808-11). ... Look up trial in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...