In cases where a claim is admitted as to liability but the amount is not specified, what will the court determine and when will the amount be decided?

In cases where a claim is admitted as to liability but the amount is not specified, what will the court determine and when will the amount be decided?

• A. Judgment will be entered in relation to liability; the quantum will be determined at a later hearing.
• B. The court will settle the entire amount immediately.
• C. The case will be referred to arbitration for the amount.
• D. The court will dismiss the claim for lack of proof of liability.

Answer: (A)

When liability is admitted but the amount is not, the court can grant judgment on liability now and reserve the assessment of damages for a later hearing. This reflects treating fault and damages as two stages: establish that the defendant is legally liable, then determine how much they must pay in damages at a subsequent proceeding. The amount, or quantum, is decided later in a separate damages hearing or assessment process. This fits because you don’t need to delay resolving liability just because the damages haven’t been quantified yet. The other options don’t fit: the court doesn’t set the entire amount immediately if the quantum isn’t specified; arbitration isn’t the default route for determining damages when liability is admitted; and the claim isn’t dismissed since liability has been conceded.

When liability is admitted but the amount is not, the court can grant judgment on liability now and reserve the assessment of damages for a later hearing. This reflects treating fault and damages as two stages: establish that the defendant is legally liable, then determine how much they must pay in damages at a subsequent proceeding. The amount, or quantum, is decided later in a separate damages hearing or assessment process.

This fits because you don’t need to delay resolving liability just because the damages haven’t been quantified yet. The other options don’t fit: the court doesn’t set the entire amount immediately if the quantum isn’t specified; arbitration isn’t the default route for determining damages when liability is admitted; and the claim isn’t dismissed since liability has been conceded.