Adequate Remedy

Dictionary Definition

n. a remedy (money or performance) awarded by a court or through private action (including compromise) which affords “complete” satisfaction, and is “practical, efficient and appropriate” in the circumstances. In part, this depends on what relief (like an order granting one an easement over a neighbour’s property or an order keeping the drunken husband away from the complaining wife) a party is seeking. A court is a bit self-congratulatory and subjectively judgmental when it announces that the remedy granted is “adequate” when it has done the best it can in the circumstances. Example: a “stay away” order telling an abusive husband to keep his distance from his wife but not putting him in jail. The order is only a piece of paper until he violates it, giving cause for his arrest.