The Law and Ethics of Restitution [Hardcover]

This 2004 book provides acomprehensive account of the American law of restitution.After a long period of decline, the American law of restitution is finally being revived. The production of a new Restatement and a few recent high-profile restitution cases have played a part in this revival. This is the first book in more than two decades to provide a comprehensive account of the American law of restitution. By integrating doctrinal and ethical analyses of restitution, this book makes a major contribution to the long-overdue resurrection of restitution in America.After a long period of decline, the American law of restitution is finally being revived. The production of a new Restatement and a few recent high-profile restitution cases have played a part in this revival. This is the first book in more than two decades to provide a comprehensive account of the American law of restitution. By integrating doctrinal and ethical analyses of restitution, this book makes a major contribution to the long-overdue resurrection of restitution in America.Dagan's book provides a dynamic and much needed account of the American law of restitution. The book reviews the existing doctrine, including the forthcoming (third) Restatement, using an ethical perspective to expose and examine critically the normative underpinnings of the core categories of restitution. Dagan also discusses some of the most controversial issues in the area, such as cohabitation, improper tax payments, and the role of constructive trusts as trumps in bankruptcy. He further tackles the recent restitution claims of slave laborers (or their descendants) against corporations that benefited from their enslavements, and of governmental bodies against injurious industries. Dagan argues that the concept of unjust enrichment is not an independent reason for restitution but, rather, serves as a loose framework, structuring the contextual application of commitments to autonomy, utility, and community in situations where lә