Action Of Assumpsit Research Articles

An Overview of the Origin of the Modern Doctrine of Contractual Laws with Particular Reference to Assumpsit

Unjust enrichment, the doctrine of modern contract dates back to the 13th century English Law, known as the “Action of Assumpsit” which developed from “Trespass on the Case.” The courts at that time did not recognize our modern concept of breach of contract. According to Ranulf Glanvill, a famous legal scholar, he wrote just before the year 1200 thus, “It is not the custom of the Lord King to protect the private agreements nor does it concern itself with such contracts as can be considered private agreements.” [1] However, in the early days of English common law, the forms of actions known as Writs provided a proactive approach to the categories of civil liability and according to Maitland’s words “the forms of action we have buried, but they still rule us from their graves.” [2] This article seeks to proffer an overview of the historical development of our modern contractual terms and law.

SIXTEENTH CENTURY CONTRACT LAW: SLADE'S CASE IN CONTEXT

For many years Slade's Case has been seen as the watershed of English contract law, the case where the new action of assumpsit finally triumphed over the old-fashioned and limited writ of debt after a period of almost one hundred years when the relationship between the two actions was in doubt. Many other consequences have been attributed to it, but Dr Baker's work has shown that such attributions are misplaced: all that Slade's Case was concerned with was the relationship between the action of debt and the emergent action of assumpsit.' In recent years a number of writers have offered interpretations of the case;2 but only Dr Baker's 1971 study has attempted to ground analysis of the case on the best available evidence, the mass of unprinted law reports and Plea Rolls of the late sixteenth century. Since 1971 a considerable amount of new material has emerged, and a reappraisal of the case itself and the wider issue of the relationship between assumpsit and debt in the second half of the sixteenth century is perhaps now in order.

The changing face of private law: doctrinal categories and the regulatory state

Legal scholars over the last 25 years or so have experienced a growing sense of dissatisfaction with the traditional classifications that segment university curricula and legal textbooks. Contract and tort, for instance, are felt to be not so different after all. The intimate historical links between the tort of negligence and the action of assumpsit may be seen as reflecting the realitics more truly than the later doctrinal separation of voluntarily and involuntarily incurred obligations. The growing impact of public law on the exercise of privatc rights, and the interweaving of public and private law that runs through an evcn greater portion of the legal system, cause still more fundamental doubts.

A History of the Common Law of Contract: The Rise of the Action of Assumpsit

A History of the Common Law of Contract: The Rise of the Action of Assumpsit

A History of the Common Law of Contract. The Rise of the Action of Assumpsit. By A. W. B. Simpson [Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1975. xlv, 640 and (Index) 6 pp. £12.75 net.

A History of the Common Law of Contract. The Rise of the Action of Assumpsit. By A. W. B. Simpson [Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1975. xlv, 640 and (Index) 6 pp. £12.75 net.

The Limitations of the Action of Assumpsit as Affecting the Right of Action of the Beneficiary. (Continued from Volume 53, Page 127)

The Limitations of the Action of Assumpsit as Affecting the Right of Action of the Beneficiary. (Continued from Volume 53, Page 127)

The Limitations of the Action of Assumpsit as Affecting the Right of Action of the Beneficiary. (Continued from Volume 52, Page 779)

The Limitations of the Action of Assumpsit as Affecting the Right of Action of the Beneficiary. (Continued from Volume 52, Page 779)

Pleading to an Action of Assumpsit on a Specialty, under Sec. 3246a Virginia Code Annotated

Pleading to an Action of Assumpsit on a Specialty, under Sec. 3246a Virginia Code Annotated

The Limitations of the Action of Assumpsit as Affecting the Right of Action of the Beneficiary

The Limitations of the Action of Assumpsit as Affecting the Right of Action of the Beneficiary