Latin for "as much as is deserved."
This is a legal principle under which a person should not be obliged to pay, nor should another be allowed to receive, more than the value of the goods or services exchanged.
Although the existence of a quantum meriut remedy does not depend on a contract, it is also a remedy in contract law where a contract has been breached but after one side received partial or full benefit, and the contract does not include a clause providing for this eventuality (such as a liquidated damages clause).
In Pavey & Matthews Pty Ltd v Paul (1987) 162 CLR 221, the High Court of Australia stated that an action could be brought on a quantum meruit to recover reasonable remuneration for work done under an unenforceable contract.