Complaint based on Open Account, Breach of Contract, Unjust Enrichment
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FAQ
Unlike a breach of contract claim, unjust enrichment claims don't require a direct contract between the claimant and the defendant. This offers an opportunity to recover from parties beyond merely the nonpaying party kind of like a mechanics lien.
Because a claim for unjust enrichment is a mixture of both contract and tort law, Colorado courts occasionally treat such claims as tort claims and sometimes as contract claims.The great example of unjust enrichment is a painter who paints someone's house.
Unjust enrichment occurs when Party A confers a benefit upon Party B without Party A receiving the proper restitution required by law.As such, when Party A gives Party B a gift, Party A has no legal recourse to receive something in return.
Unjust enrichment has been defined as: "A benefit obtained from another, not intended as a gift and not legally justifiable, for which the beneficiary must make restitution or recompense." A claim for unjust enrichment arises where there has been an "unjust retention of a benefit to the loss of another or the retention
The existence of a contract; Performance by the plaintiff or some justification for nonperformance; Failure to perform the contract by the defendant; and, Resulting damages to the plaintiff.
The bar to this type of claim is not altered when unjust enrichment is plead in the alternative to an unsuccessful breach of contract claim as the relationship of the parties is still governed by a valid contract, and therefore, there is no reason to apply the quasi-contract doctrine of unjust enrichment.
Unjustified enrichment is where one person receives a benefit or value from another at the expense of the latter without any legal cause for such receipt or retention of the value or benefit by the former.
If there is a dispute as to whether the contract exists in the first place, then you are entitled to sue the defendant for both breach of contract and unjust enrichment (though it's worth noting that only one will apply, after the existence of the contract is determined).
In order be able to prevail on a claim of unjust enrichment, a plaintiff must prove each of the following five elements: (1) an enrichment, (2) an impoverishment, (3) a connection between the enrichment and the impoverishment, (4) the absence of justification for the enrichment and impoverishment, and (5) the absence