What is the difference between damages and remedies in the civil justice system, and when is restitution used?

• A. Damages are monetary compensation; restitution seeks to prevent unjust enrichment; remedies in equity include injunctions and specific performance.
• B. Damages are monetary compensation; remedies in equity include injunctions and specific performance; restitution seeks to prevent unjust enrichment.
• C. Restitution is monetary compensation; damages seek to prevent unjust enrichment; remedies are illegal.
• D. Remedies and damages are the same; restitution is a penalty.

Answer: (B)

Damages are monetary compensation intended to make the harmed party financially whole after a breach or tort. Remedies in equity, on the other hand, are non-monetary relief used when money alone isn’t enough to address the harm or to shape behavior, such as injunctions to stop a wrongful act or specific performance to compel someone to fulfill a contractual obligation. Restitution sits separately from damages and remedies in equity; it focuses on preventing the defendant from keeping a benefit they obtained unjustly. In practice, restitution is about disgorging or restoring value to the plaintiff when the defendant has been unjustly enriched at the plaintiff’s expense, which can occur even when there isn’t a contract or when damages would not adequately compensate.

So the best answer states that damages are monetary compensation; remedies in equity include injunctions and specific performance; restitution seeks to prevent unjust enrichment. This captures the differing aims: compensate losses, compel or stop conduct when needed, and undo unjust gains.