Course Description

601:561. REMEDIES (3)


Swedloff


Most law school classes focus on legal liability—when has Jane breached a contract, John committed a tort, or Jerry violated the constitutional rights of Joy. This class is different.  In this course, we will assume that a defendant’s conduct is (or will be) wrongful and ask what a court can do for those who have been wronged or anticipate being wronged and do to those who have or will wrong others. Topics will include damages measurement, injunctive and preliminary relief, specific performance, declaratory judgments, restitution, criminal and civil contempt, punitive remedies, and complex equitable remedies in institutional and civil rights litigation. Some of these topics will offer a review of things learned elsewhere in the curriculum; other topics will be less familiar.


Questions about remedies dominate the lawyer-client relationship. Clients are less interested in proving liability than in asking what they can get through litigation. From that perspective, this course is eminently practical.  It is also deeply theoretical. It offers an opportunity to integrate insights, and observe regularities and differences, from disparate parts of the curriculum.