curative statute
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 282 U.S. 409 - Graham v. Goodcell · 1931Most cited · 507 citing opinions
a distinction is made between a bare attempt of the legislature retroactively to create liabilities for transactions which, fully consummated in the past, are deemed to leave no ground for legislative intervention, and the case of a curative statute aptly designed to remedy mistakes and defects in the administration of government where the remedy can be applied without injustice
How the Supreme Court has restated “curative statute”
Each Supreme Court definition of “curative statute,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “curative statute”
Court decisions citing the 4 opinions that defined “curative statute” — 1,177 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases 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.
All 4 definitions, chronological · 1911–1937
- 1911·219 U.S. 92 - West Side Belt Railroad Company v. Pittsburgh Construction Company[p27]· cited 68×ORIGINAL
the right of a defendant to avoid his contract is given to him by statute, for purpose of its own and not because it affects the merits of his obligation; and that whatever the statute gives, under such circumstances, as long as it remains in fieri, and not realized by having passed into a completed transaction, may, by a subsequent statute, be taken away. It is a privilege that belongs to the remedy, and forms no element in the rights that inhere in the contract.
validating prior contract
laws...ratifying, confirming, validating, or curing defective contracts. Such statutes, usually designated as 'remedial,' 'curative,' or 'enabling,' merely remove legal obstacles and permit parties to carry out their contracts according to their own desires and intentions
A distinction must be taken 'between a bare attempt of the Legislature retroactively to create liabilities for transactions * * * fully consummated in the past * * * and the case of a curative statute aptly designed to remedy mistakes and defects in the administration of government where the remedy can be applied without injustice.