cardinal principle
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 78 U.S. 217 - May v. Le Claire · 1870Most cited · 114 citing opinions
equity — wrongdoer's profit
The cardinal principle is that the wrong-doer shall derive no benefit from his wrong. The entire profits belong to the cestui que trust, and equity will so mould and apply the remedy as to give them to him.
How often courts cite the case defining “cardinal principle”
Court decisions citing the opinion that defined “cardinal principle” — 114 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining case as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.