A quasi contract is a legal obligation imposed by law to prevent unjust enrichment. This is also called a contract implied in law or a constructive contract. A quasi contract may be presumed by a court in the absence of a true contract, but...
contracts
ratification
See: ratify.
[Last updated in August of 2023 by the Wex Definitions Team]
ratify
To ratify means to approve or enact a legally binding act that would not otherwise be binding in the absence of such approval.
In the constitutional context, nations may ratify an amendment to an existing or adoption of a...
ready, willing, and able
When a prospective buyer is fully prepared to render the consideration required to consummate a transaction, that person is said to be “read, willing, and able" or, simply, “ready willing and able.” Specifically, the term often arises in the context...
reaffirmation
In bankruptcy, a reaffirmation is an agreement that a debtor and a creditor enter into after a debtor has filed for bankruptcy, in which the debtor agrees to repay all or part of an existing debt after the bankruptcy proceedings are over and the...
real covenant
A real covenant is a promise or obligation by a landholder that limits their use of the property, either requiring a specific act to be or not to be performed. If the covenant demands action, it is an affirmative covenant; if the covenant...
reasonable time
In the context of contract law, “reasonable time” is a vague, and largely disfavored, qualifier used to connote a period by which an act should be performed. What is a reasonable time is a fact-intensive inquiry, often a question for the jury to decide...
rebus sic stantibus
Rebus sic stantibus is a doctrine that allows parties to change the terms of a contract if conditions change dramatically. See: Lopez Morales v. Hospital Hermanos Melendez, Inc.
Rebus sic stantibus reflects the principle...
reformation
Reformation is a court’s equitable power to modify a contract to reflect the parties’ true intent where some error has been committed. Courts require plaintiffs seeking to reform a contract to prove certain elements, however. The Oregon Supreme Court...
release
To cease to be bound by an obligation or to concede a right. A release usually takes the form of a voluntary private contract between parties to cease the obligation or concede the right. California Civil Code § 1541 upholds...