In a common law relationship, a party may make a claim for unjust enrichment, if one party benefited due to the efforts of the other unjustifiably. The Superior Court of Ontario in the recent Gibson v. Mead case (2015 ONSC 6935) dealt with this issue. The courts provided a summary of the determinations that need to be made for a successful claim of such a nature.
In order for a common law partner to establish a claim for unjust enrichment, the following three elements must be met:
(a)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â an enrichment;
(b)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â a corresponding deprivation; and
(c)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â an absence of juristic reason for the enrichment.
After a party has been able to establish the first three elements, the next step is for the responding party to establish is there are any reasons to deny the claim for unjust enrichment. If the Respondent fails to establish a denial of the Applicant’s claim for unjust enrichment, the next step is for the court to determine the remedy in terms of it being either a monetary award or proprietary award and the quantum thereof.
https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2015/2015onsc6935/2015onsc6935.html