Opinion ID: 1908722
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: The Common Law Actions of Unjust Enrichment and Money Had and Received

Text: We next decide whether the Circuit Court correctly dismissed the common law counts of unjust enrichment and money had and received. We shall affirm the court's judgment. Appellants argue that, because the telephone commission is illegal, retention of the benefits it conferred would be inequitable as unjust enrichment. A claim of unjust enrichment is established when: (1) the plaintiff confers a benefit upon the defendant; (2) the defendant knows or appreciates the benefit; and (3) the defendant's acceptance or retention of the benefit under the circumstances is such that it would be inequitable to allow the defendant to retain the benefit without the paying of value in return. Caroline County v. Dashiell, 358 Md. 83, 95 n. 7, 747 A.2d 600, 607 n. 7 (2000) (Citations omitted). Appellants failed to allege precisely why the collection of the telephone commission is an act of unjust enrichment, stating only that it would be inequitable, for reasons stated supra.  We assume that Appellants are referring to their allegations of: violations of Articles 14 and 8, and the CPA. We held supra that the State violated neither Article 14 nor Article 8. Moreover, we held supra that the CPA does not apply to the State's conduct here. Thus, there is no wrongful conduct upon which Appellants may rely to support a claim for unjust enrichment. The Circuit Court's dismissal of the unjust enrichment claim was correct. [22] Appellants contended that the facts establish the analogous cause of action under Maryland law for money had and received, citing Electro-Nucleonics, Inc. v. Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission., 315 Md. 361, 554 A.2d 804 (1989), for the proposition that this Court recognized the ability to bring a common law action for money had and received in the context of a State constitutional violation. Our finding in Electro-Nucleonics, Inc., however, was not so expansive. Rather, we stated, the money had and received action could be brought in the context of an unconstitutional taking claim. Electro-Nucleonics, Inc., 315 Md. at 372, 554 A.2d at 809. Reliance on Electro-Nucleonics, Inc. is misplaced in the present posture of this case where the Article 24 claim has been abandoned on appeal. The action for money had and received is a common count used to bring a restitution claim under the common law writ of assumpsit. Ver Brycke v. Ver Brycke, 379 Md. 669, 698 n. 13, 843 A.2d 758, 775 n. 13 (2004). We have stated that this count lies whenever the defendant has obtained possession of money which, in equity and good conscience, he ought not to be allowed to retain. State, Use of Employment Sec. Bd. v. Rucker, 211 Md. 153, 126 A.2d 846 (1956) (quoting POE ON PLEADING, § 117 (Tiffany Edition) and citing Moses v. Macferlan, 2 Burr. 1005 (1760)). A money had and received count may lie where the defendant receives the money as a result of a mistake of law or fact and did not have a right to it. Because we concluded that the State's imposition of the telephone commission does not violate the Declaration of Rights or the CPA and does not confer an unjust benefit on the State, the action for money had and received was dismissed properly.