Annotate Legal Massachusetts Jury Instructions Forms For Free

When a party has the burden of proving any claim [or affirmative defense] by a preponderance of the evidence, it means you must be persuaded by the evidence that the claim [or affirmative defense] is more probably true than not true.

Unjust enrichment occurs when Party A confers a benefit upon Party B without Party A receiving the proper restitution required by law. This typically occurs in a contractual agreement when Party A fulfills his/her part of the agreement and Party B does not fulfill his/her part of the agreement.

The judge issues a judge's charge to inform the jury how to act in deciding a case. The jury instructions provide something of a flowchart on what verdict jurors should deliver based on what they determine to be true. Put another way, "If you believe A (set of facts), you must find X (verdict).

Under Massachusetts law, a plaintiff may recover for unjust enrichment upon a showing that 1) she conferred a benefit upon the defendant, 2) the defendant accepted that benefit and 3) the defendant's retention of the benefit would be inequitable without payment for its value.

The elements of unjust enrichment exist if: 1) you provided something of value to the defendant; 2) the defendant acknowledged, accepted and benefitted from what you provided; and 3) it would be inequitable for the defendant to enjoy the benefit you provided without compensating you.

A cause of action for unjust enrichment arises wherever there is a benefit received by one party at the cost of another. Unjust enrichment is a common law requirement that the law implicitly recognizes based on the particular case's equities and not on any contractual obligations.