Abstract:
An account of profits compels a fiduciary to disgorge unauthorised gains. While justified on the basis that no one should gain from their wrongdoing, the courts have acknowledged the harshness and inflexibility of this remedy. This article argues that the conflicting approaches adopted by the courts can be reconciled into a coherent framework by incorporating the common law two stage framework of causation. It goes on to consider how this framework for causation can be operationalised in relation to an account of profits, so as to ensure that the remedy is applied in a manner that is both principled and just.