Opinion ID: 1945816
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Proper Measure of Recovery

Text: For the foregoing reasons, we are quite satisfied that the trial court had the authority to make an award to Ms. Peart. It does not inexorably follow, however, that the amount of that award must fully equal her reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. Such an approach would measure her recovery based on the loss she incurred in procuring the benefit DCHA accepted and from which it profited. An award based on the value of her services would amount, in effect, to damages under a contract implied in fact. Where there has been an unjust enrichment, the plaintiff's remedy is restitution, which is typically measured by reference to the defendant's gain rather than the plaintiff's loss. Slick v. Reinecker, 154 Md.App. 312, 839 A.2d 784, 797 (2003) (citation omitted); 1 DAN B. DOBBS, DOBBS LAW OF REMEDIES: DAMAGES, EQUITY, RESTITUTION § 3.1, at 280 (2d ed. 1993) (Restitution, in contrast, begins with the aim of preventing unjust enrichment to the defendant.... To measure restitution, courts look at the defendant's gain or benefit.). Accordingly, Ms. Peart's restitution interest is to be measured by reference to the value of her services to DCHA, not by reference to the actual costs Ms. Peart incurred in providing them. To be sure, it would appear that ordinarily measuring that benefit by the actual cost to the claimant will provide a reasonable approximation of an appropriate award. Technically, however, the restitution interest is measured here by the reasonable value to DCHA of Ms. Peart's services in terms of what it would have cost DCHA to furnish the services itself. See RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF CONTRACTS § 371 (1981). Such a calculation should also reflect the services that DCHA actually provided in securing the award [16] as well as an appropriate allocation of Ms. Peart's costs attributable to her recovery of her rental overpayments. See notes 1, 8, supra. All these considerations may more appropriately be gauged by the trial court in the exercise of its discretion on remand. The order denying any award to Ms. Peart is vacated and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. So ordered.