What Is Equity Law?

Equity law is a form of dispute resolution in which an aggrieved party is asking his opponent for something other than money. Equity law is often referred to as means of acquiring justice through principles of fairness. A person seeking equitable relief is typically asking a judge to order his opponent to do--or to refrain from doing--something.

Permanent and temporary injunctions

Injunctions are judge-ordered directives to defendants, mandating that they stop or commence a certain activity, at least until such time as a full hearing can be held on the merits of the dispute. A plaintiff can seek an injunction only if he has property interest in need of protection and if monetary compensation would be an inadequate remedy.

Specific Performance

Specific performance is an equitable remedy in which a judge orders a party to obey an existing contract to fulfill the contractual obligations. The plaintiff must show that there is a contract that contains specific terms, and he must show how he has satisfied his obligations under the contract.

Contract Rescission

Rescission means voiding a contract. Parties may seek rescission if both parties were mistaken about the facts or the laws related to the subject of the contract. They may also do so if one party either fraudulently or innocently misrepresented the terms of the deal that was the basis for the contract.

Contract Reformation

Reformation is a remedy that changes the terms of an existing written contract so that it is consistent with what the parties had originally intended when they struck their deal. Typically, both parties will seek reformation because they were both mistaken about a fact or law related to the subject of their contract.

Defenses to a Request

If the terms of a contract were not in writing, a judge will not enforce it. In addition, if the plaintiff was involved in wrongdoing--or waited too long to go to court--the plaintiff will fail to win his case.