A quantum of merit -- Say what?

Quantum of Solace, Quantum of Merit, and Quantum Meruit 

Quantum meruit translates from Latin to modern English as ‘the amount that is deserved’, -- the amount referring to money, and the basis for the deserving being the work done, and -- in the case of a law suit asserting a quantum meruit claim -- not paid for.

Quantum meruit is not the most acrane of legal terms. Both words have modern-day derivatives, though not usually employed in everyday conversation,  except perhaps when a movie takes such a quaint term as part of its title (as in Quantum of Solace).

Quantum, of course, also features in science (quantum leap, quantum mechanics, quantum physics); but it is used generically too. In the most general sense, quantum refers to amount (and not just amount in dollar-terms), such as in quantum of hope, quantum of this or that,  mostly abstract “things” that defy -- to use another derivative - easy quantification.

In court, of course, it’s all about quantification of unpaid-for services in dollar terms, and that’s how the legal use of the term quantum differs from the common one. A quantum meruit claim comes into play when there is no contract that specifies the price, fee, or rate, and testimony is therefore needed to establish the value of the services rendered or goods delivered.

As for the meruit part, we have the modern English term merit both as a noun and a verb: Merit system, merits and demerits. So, using the modern English terms that have the Latin ones as etymological ancestors, the Quantum Meruit theory could be renamed the Quantum-merited theory, or perhaps the As-merited theory. That, of course, does not sound very fancy and erudite, and would not behoove persons of academic merit who paid more than a small quantum to attend law school and become conversant in Legalese. Such folk merit a chance to plead quantum meruit when asked to take a customer to court and make them pay what the client’s work was worth, or when they sue for their own fees. 

While on the topic of merit (as a noun), it happens to happily co-exists with meruit, its Latin ancestor, in the legal community. In fact, it is a word of great currency in the court of appeals, whose members judge the quality of arguments as having merit or not day-in, day-out.  Worst verdict on appeal: No merit. Worse even than non-meritorious.

When it comes to the adjective, it gets trickier. Those who can’t resist the temptation to use it better know the difference between meritorious and meretricious. Probably not a good candidate for the Spelling Bee, but a great opportunity for a greenhorn of a law school graduate to make a fool of himself, and learn a lesson of humility. It least his faux pas of classic proportions won’t make it into Jerry Buchmeyer’s erstwhile et cetera column for the legal community’s collective amusement.