INTRODUCTION
Quantum meruit is a legal action based on equitable
compensation. It is an alternate remedy to an action on a contract
which can be brought for partial performance. A claim in quantum
meruit can at best be described as residual equity. Procedurally,
quantum meruit is the name of a legal action brought to recover
compensation for work done and labour performed "where no
price has been agreed."1 The term literally
means "as much as is deserved"2 and
often can be seen as the legal form of equitable compensation or
restitution.
In a claim of quantum meruit, the plaintiff does not seek a
precise sum of money, nor a sum representing the general damages
incurred by the plaintiff as a consequence of some unjust act on
the part of the defendant, but a sum which will provide the
plaintiff, the value of what the plaintiff has done for the
defendant, usually calculated in terms of the market price or value
of those services.3
