Commercial Applications of Equity (LAWS70011)

Equitable doctrines and remedies lie at the heart of commercial conduct, transactions and private law litigation. They provide unique standards of conduct that restrict and guide commercial dealings and a raft of powerful personal and proprietary remedies that dictate defendant liability when transactions fail. Over recent years their influence has been seen in important judicial decisions affecting commercial dealings. This subject considers some of the more pressing points of convergence between equitable doctrine and commercial practice, drawing throughout comparisons with the law in Australia and that in England and Wales. In doing so, our subject is tightly structured to ensure that students are exposed to cutting-edge legal theory concerning court-led equitable developments and to the ramifications of those developments at the coal-face of commercial practice and dealings.

This subject will be relevant to transaction lawyers involved in planning, initiating and drafting contracts, for corporate lawyers and regulators involved in consumer and banking law and for commercial litigators. The lecturer is an internationally recognised expert in the commercial applications of equitable doctrines and remedies.

Indicative list of principal topics:

• The role of equity in commercial transactions
• Recipient liability
• Accessory liability
• Undue influence
• Vitiating factors and banks
• Quistclose trusts
• Proprietary and promissory estoppels
• Proprietary restitution (unjust enrichment)
• Proprietary restitution (wrongdoing)