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What is Quantum Meruit as a Quasi-Contract Measure of Damages?

Quantum meruit is a legal doctrine that allows a person to sue and recover for the value of goods or services even though there might not be a specific business contract. As a simple example, your delivery truck has a flat tire. You have your employee put on the spare tire and then drive the truck to a repair shop. Let us say that — strangely — your employee says nothing but just leaves the tire at the shop to be patched. Again, strangely the repair shop does not call or anything, but proceeds to fix the tire.

At this point, even though there is no oral or written contract, it will be difficult for your business to argue that you are not obligated to pay for the reasonable cost of fixing the tire. If litigation results, then the repair shop will argue that it is entitled to recover under the theory of quantum meruit. If you own the repair shop, it is good to know that you have the ability to recover under quantum meruit if necessary. Here is a quick discussion of the legal principles.

San Diego Corporate Law: Legal Principles

Under California law, to recover in quantum meruit, the person suing must establish the following:

That services were rendered pursuant to either an express or implied request
That the services rendered were intended to benefit person sought to be charged
That the services did, in fact, benefit the person/business sought to be charged.

See Pacific Bay Recovery, Inc. v. California Physicians’ Services, Inc., 12 Cal.App.5th 200 (Cal. App. 4th Dist. 2017). Legally, quantum meruit is considered a quasi-contractual recovery. The public policy rationale is that a party should not be allowed to accept and retain the benefit of someone else’s service without payment when a party has led another to believe that services were requested.

The “request” part of the rule has nuances under the law. As noted, the “request” can be explicit or implicit. In our tire repair example, the “request” was implicit by virtue of leaving the truck at the shop with the spare tire on. But the request can also come by actions that amount to acquiescence. That is, a party might not have requested or even wanted some service but noticed the service was being performed and did not demand that the activity cease.

In general, if there is a contract for services in effect which sets and delineates the scope of the work to be performed, the service provider cannot recover for extra work that is beyond the scope of the contract. At the same time, if the service provider — like an electrician — provides some of the work under the contract, the provider can recover under quantum meruit even if there has been a breach of the contract.

Contact San Diego Corporate Law

For more information, contact experienced and skilled business attorney Michael Leonard, Esq. at San Diego Corporate Law. Mr. Leonard has the experience to draft your contracts properly to help avoid ending up in court and help avoid having to rely on quantum meruit. San Diego Corporate Law focuses on legal services for San Diego businesses. Contact Mr. Leonard by email or by calling (858) 483-9200.