Legal Term: Equity
Generally justice or fairness. Historically equity refers to a separate body of law developed in England in
reaction to the inability of the common-law courts in their strict adherence to rigid writs and forms of action to consider or
provide a remedy for every injury. The king therefore established the court of chancery to do justice between parties in cases
where the common law would give inadequate redress. The principle of this system of law is that equity will find a way to
achieve a lawful result when legal procedure is inadequate. Equity and law courts are now merged in most jurisdictions.
