ABSTRACT
Most restitutionary claims concern money, goods or services; hence the most common of the old common law counts were the actions for money had and received, quantum valebat and quantum meruit. The receipt of money is indubitably a benefit; money is currency, a universal mode of exchange, which materially increases another's assets. The notion of free acceptance of services is generous. Yet it may not be generous enough to cover all the cases where restitutionary claims for services rendered should be recognised. Equity too may intervene to grant relief to a person who supplies services without request. The concept of free acceptance of services is both flexible and generous. This chapter seeks to examine, from a study of the common law decisions in various jurisdictions, some of the difficulties confronting the courts in determining whether a restitutionary claim for services rendered is appropriate. It suggests that two distinct restitutionary principles appear to be emerging.
