, PVL3704 Assignment 1
Semester 2 2025
DUE 21 August 2025
Use this document as a guide and for references to answer your assignment
QUESTION 1
Discuss in general (without reference to a specific enrichment action) how the extent of
enrichment liability (or the quantum of the enrichment claim) will be calculated. (15)
To discuss how the extent of enrichment liability (or the quantum of the enrichment
claim) is calculated in the law of unjustified enrichment, one must focus on general
principles and considerations applied by courts when assessing the value of the
enrichment received by the defendant and the corresponding loss suffered by the
claimant. This answer provides a general overview of how quantum is determined,
without referring to a specific enrichment action,though the principles discussed align
with the views typically reflected in South African enrichment law.
1. Fundamental Principle: Unjustified Transfer of Value
The central concept in calculating enrichment liability is the extent to which the
defendant has been enriched at the expense of the plaintiff, and whether this
enrichment was unjustified. The quantum of the claim will reflect the value retained by
the defendant, not necessarily the full value transferred by the plaintiff.
2. Objective vs Subjective Decrease or Retention of Value
There are two main approaches courts may use in assessing the value of the enrichment:
Objective Approach: This considers the market value of the benefit received. It
looks at what the enrichment would be worth to a reasonable person, regardless of
the defendant’s actual use or gain.
Subjective Approach: This considers the actual benefit the defendant received or
retained. For example, if someone receives a service they neither wanted nor
benefited from, their enrichment may be negligible or nil.
Semester 2 2025
DUE 21 August 2025
Use this document as a guide and for references to answer your assignment
QUESTION 1
Discuss in general (without reference to a specific enrichment action) how the extent of
enrichment liability (or the quantum of the enrichment claim) will be calculated. (15)
To discuss how the extent of enrichment liability (or the quantum of the enrichment
claim) is calculated in the law of unjustified enrichment, one must focus on general
principles and considerations applied by courts when assessing the value of the
enrichment received by the defendant and the corresponding loss suffered by the
claimant. This answer provides a general overview of how quantum is determined,
without referring to a specific enrichment action,though the principles discussed align
with the views typically reflected in South African enrichment law.
1. Fundamental Principle: Unjustified Transfer of Value
The central concept in calculating enrichment liability is the extent to which the
defendant has been enriched at the expense of the plaintiff, and whether this
enrichment was unjustified. The quantum of the claim will reflect the value retained by
the defendant, not necessarily the full value transferred by the plaintiff.
2. Objective vs Subjective Decrease or Retention of Value
There are two main approaches courts may use in assessing the value of the enrichment:
Objective Approach: This considers the market value of the benefit received. It
looks at what the enrichment would be worth to a reasonable person, regardless of
the defendant’s actual use or gain.
Subjective Approach: This considers the actual benefit the defendant received or
retained. For example, if someone receives a service they neither wanted nor
benefited from, their enrichment may be negligible or nil.
