This Article is written by Tanvi Sondkar, a Third-Year Law Student of Advocate Balasaheb Apte College of Law

Let us start this topic by understanding what ‘remedy’ actually means in Law. A party is said to be ‘aggrieved’ when something that they may have been enjoying has been taken away from them by another party. This is an infringement of a party’s rights and it is treatable by law. Similarly, a legal remedy is one such treatment. Let us learn remedies in tort in detail. If someone's situation returns to what it was before the violation of their rights or the commission of a tort, that person is said to have received a legal remedy. There are various kinds of legal remedies. For instance, the court has the power to order the return of an object in its original state or to compensate you for any lost value if someone takes something that is legally yours. The party may even face fines from the court in specific circumstances.
Tort Law Remedies come in two varieties:

1. Judicial Remedies: These are the options available to a party who has been wronged by the legal system.
2. Extra-Judicial Remedies: These are recourses that the harmed party pursues on their own, provided that they do so legally.[1]

Judicial remedies

These remedies include a legal system and are of three types, in the form of damages, injunction, and specific restitution of property.

1. Damages:[2]

The plaintiff’s main remedy following the commission of the tort is damages. The amount of money granted to the injured person to return them to their pre-tort condition is known as compensation, sometimes referred to as legal damages. They are compensated to help a plaintiff recover their losses. Damages are the primary remedy available in a tort claim. It is important to distinguish the term “damages” from its plural form, “damage’s,” which typically denotes “harm” or “injury”. The fundamental tenet that informs a damages award calculates that the claimant ought to be fully compensated for the loss he has endured. He is entitled to a second chance at life.

There are various kinds of damages:

i. Nominal Damages:

In cases where the plaintiff has suffered legal injury at the defendant's hands but has not suffered any losses, this is known as nominal damages. When a plaintiff's rights are violated but there has been no actual loss to the plaintiff, a situation known as "injuria sine damnum" occurs, and these damages are given, albeit in very small or non-existent amounts.

Case laws: In Constantine V. Imperial London Hotels Ltd., The plaintiff was a cricketer from the West Indies who had gone to the defendant’s hotel to stay but he was rejected based on his nationality. Therefore, the plaintiff stayed at another hotel and did not suffer any actual damage. In the action brought by him, the defendant was held liable because the plaintiff’s legal right was violated despite no actual injury happening and they had to pay nominal damages of five guineas.

In the case of Ashby V. White, the plaintiff was prevented from voting by the defendant, and the candidate for whom the plaintiff was going to vote still won. The plaintiff sued the defendant. It was held that even though no actual damage was suffered by the plaintiff, the defendant was still liable for preventing him from exercising his legal right to vote, and thus nominal damages were awarded in this case.

ii. Contemptuous Damages.

In certain instances, the plaintiff proves that the claim was so baseless that it was merely an attempt to eat up the court's time, even while the court admits that the plaintiff's rights have been violated. In these cases, the plaintiff is only awarded a small number of damages. The plaintiff in a contemptuous damages case suffers actual damages (albeit a small amount for which he does not receive full recompense), whereas, in a nominal damages case, the plaintiff experiences no actual loss. This is the only difference between the two types of claims.

Illustration: If A’s dog enters B’s house and relieves himself and B accidentally steps on it and is disgusted and thus, he brings a suit against A, the Court will rule in B’s favour but because of such a trivial nature of this case the damages awarded by the Court will be of a meager amount.

iii. Compensatory Damage:

The goal of compensatory damages is to return the plaintiff to his pre-damage state rather than to penalize the perpetrator. These damages are particularly useful in situations involving monetary losses where the plaintiff can quickly quantify the amount of loss and have that amount ordered to be paid so he can replace the damaged goods or product with an equivalent sum. Restoring the plaintiff to his pre-damage state is the aim of compensating damages, not punishing the offender. When a plaintiff can swiftly determine the amount of loss and have that amount ordered to be paid so he can replace the damaged goods or product with an equivalent cost, these damages are especially helpful.

Illustration: A takes B’s Car and due to his rash driving the car gets damaged. Here A can be awarded compensatory damages in which the amount for repairing the car will be payable to B by A so that the car’s condition can be restored back to its original state.

iv. Aggravated Damages:

The plaintiff's suffering, loss of self-worth, and other intangibles that are difficult to put a monetary value on are among the reasons these damages are given. They are given to the plaintiff in case of further harm that is not compensated for by compensatory damages.

Illustration: A makes false claims against B as a result of which B’s standing in society is greatly affected and he is also ridiculed by people which leads to him losing his self-confidence and self-esteem. Here the court can award B aggravated damages for the humiliation and loss of confidence because of his suffering which is caused by A’s act.

v. Punitive Damages:

These losses, also known as exemplary damages, are meant to punish the offender and act as a deterrent to others, keeping them from committing the same crime that he did.

Illustration: A company advertises that its pill will help in quick weight loss and is made up of natural ingredients, as a result, the plaintiff purchases it. But due the pills containing certain chemicals, made the plaintiff severely ill. Here the Court can not only allow compensatory damages to the plaintiff but because of the company’s false claims, it can also award punitive damages so that it does not repeat the act again.

vi. General and Specific Damages:

In situations where the defendant's misconduct directly caused the plaintiff's loss. Assume, for instance, that A's negligence results in his vehicle striking B, who has a rare bone condition. In this case, the plaintiff's rare bone illness will not be taken into account when determining compensation; rather, it will only be based on the plaintiff's real losses. General damages are calculated using the amount of actual loss that results from it, or the decline in the plaintiff's quality of life.

2. Injunction:

One type of equitable remedy that the court may award in tort proceedings is an injunction. An equitable remedy is one in which the injured party does not receive monetary compensation; instead, the court directs the other party to carry out his share of the agreements. Therefore, when a court issues an order compelling someone to cease acting or take remedial action to make up for the harm done to the party who was wronged, it grants an injunction.

Case Law: M/S. Hindustan Pencils Pvt. Ltd. Vs M/S. India Stationery Products. In this case, the plaintiff filed a suit for perpetual injunction against M/S. India Stationery Products for infringement of their trademark on their product ‘Natraj’. In respect of pencils, pens, sharpeners, erasers, etc. claiming that the trademark was adopted by them in 1961 and that the defendants had wrongly got themselves registered a similar trademark. The court rules in favor of the plaintiff granting the defendant a perpetual injunction.[3]

3. Specific Restitution of Property:[4]

The third judicial remedy available in the Law of Torts is that of Specific Restitution of Property. Restitution means the restoration of goods back to the owner of the goods. When a person is wrongfully dispossessed of his property or goods, he is entitled to the restoration of his property.

Extra-Judicial Remedies in Torts:

It speaks about those legal avenues via which an oppressed person can take action toward restitution without the involvement of a judge.
These can be divided into five groups:

1. Trespasser expulsion:

A person is entitled to use a reasonable amount of force to eject a trespasser from his property. To utilize this remedy, the owner must fulfill two prerequisites: first, they must have the right to seize their property immediately; second, the owner's use of force must be warranted given the circumstances.

2. Re-entry on land:

In this case, the owner of the property may expel the trespasser and re-enter his property by using a fair amount of force.

3. Recaption of items: In this case, the products' owner is entitled to take them back from anyone using them in an unauthorized manner. In contrast to particular restitution, the reception of commodities is an extrajudicial remedy that gives the party the ability to implement the law on his initiative without needing the court's help. For example, if A has illegally gained custody of B's belongings, B is entitled to retake them from A by employing reasonable force.[5]

4. Abatement of Nuisance: This is the process by which the aggrieved party files a lawsuit to remove an annoyance. This right usually entails providing notice to the defendant and taking action in response to their inaction, and it must be employed within a reasonable timeframe. It is acceptable to employ appropriate means, and the plaintiff will be held responsible if he engages in unreasonable behaviour.

5. Distress Damage Feasant: It is the second, and it arrives last. In this case, when a person's cattle or other animals go to another person's farm, their crops are destroyed. Until he is compensated for the losses he endured, the landowner is entitled to keep the animals under his care.

Conclusion:

Therefore, Judicial and Judicial Remedies in Tort play a vital role in maintaining discipline and order in a Nation. Provided the given information we got to know about the full-length concept of Torts.

References

[1] Rini Rastogi, “Remedies for Torts : Judicial and Extra Judicial Remedies” (2021)https://lawbhoomi.com/remedies-for-torts-judicial-and-extra-judicial-remedies/ accessesd 17 September 2024.

[2] Law of Torts by R.K Bangdia

[3] Wardah Beg, “ What are the Remedies Available in thevLaw of Torts? (2019)https://blog.ipleaders.in/remedies-of-tort-law/ accessesd 17 September 2024

[4] Aayushi Singh, “Injunction and Extra Judicial Remedies under Tort Law” https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-484-injunction-and-extra-judicial-remedies-under-tort-law.html accessed 18 September 2024.

[5] Nandini.K.T, “A critical Analysis on lega. Remedies”(2024)https://thelegalquorum.com/a-critical-analysis-on-legal-remedies/#google_vignette accessed 19 September 2024.