Quantum merit — MCQs

All questions with answers and explanations

Read the full set here, or use the practice card above to test yourself one question at a time.

1. "Quantum meruit" literally means:

   • As much as was promised
   • As much as he has earned (correct answer)
   • As much as was written
   • As much as the market allows

   Explanation. Quantum meruit means "as much as he has earned" — a claim for the reasonable value of work or goods actually provided.

2. A quantum meruit claim can arise when an agreement is discovered to be void, under:

   • Section 65 (correct answer)
   • Section 15
   • Section 10
   • Section 56

   Explanation. Section 65 requires restoration of, or compensation for, any advantage received under an agreement later discovered to be void.

3. In Craven-Ellis v. Canons Ltd., the court awarded quantum meruit even though:

   • The claimant had breached the contract
   • No valid contract of employment ever existed (correct answer)
   • The company was insolvent
   • The claimant had already been paid in full

   Explanation. The persons who made the agreement had no authority to bind the company, so the agreement was void. The Court of Appeal still allowed the managing director a reasonable sum for the services he had rendered.

4. Quantum meruit is available to an innocent party when the other party's breach prevents completion of the contract because:

   • The innocent party is limited only to damages
   • The innocent party may instead claim the reasonable value of work already done (correct answer)
   • The contract automatically becomes void
   • No remedy is available at all

   Explanation. Instead of only suing for damages, the innocent party may elect to claim quantum meruit for work already performed up to the point of breach.

5. Where a party has delivered part of what the contract required, quantum meruit is available for that part when:

   • No part of the contract was performed
   • The other side has voluntarily kept the part delivered (correct answer)
   • The entire contract was cancelled by mutual consent
   • The contract price was never disclosed

   Explanation. A party who voluntarily keeps the part delivered must pay for it (Section 65, illustration (b), and Section 70). A party who abandons an entire contract halfway cannot claim for the part done (Sumpter v. Hedges).

6. In Alopi Parshad & Sons Ltd. v. Union of India, the Supreme Court held that quantum meruit:

   • Always overrides a subsisting contract's rates
   • Cannot be used to escape a subsisting, valid contract (correct answer)
   • Applies automatically when prices rise
   • Is unavailable in government contracts

   Explanation. The Court held that as long as a valid contract subsists, the parties must abide by its terms — quantum meruit cannot substitute a "fairer" rate.

7. Quantum meruit differs from damages for breach because:

   • They are always claimed together for the same work
   • Quantum meruit pays reasonable value for work done, while damages compensate for loss caused by breach (correct answer)
   • Quantum meruit is a criminal remedy
   • Damages can only be claimed with a written contract

   Explanation. The two are alternative remedies with different measures — quantum meruit values what was actually given; damages compensate for loss, including lost profit.

8. A designer completes three of five contracted rooms, and the client uses those rooms before terminating the engagement with no fixed price ever agreed. The designer can claim:

   • Nothing, since no price was fixed
   • Quantum meruit for the reasonable value of the three completed rooms (correct answer)
   • The full contract value for all five rooms
   • Only nominal damages

   Explanation. No price was fixed and the client accepted and used the three rooms, so the designer can claim a reasonable fee for them. She cannot claim for the two rooms not done.