The doctrine of unjust enrichment applies the principles of restitution to disputes that are not governed by a contract between the parties. It characterizes the result of a failure to make restitution under circumstances that give rise to an implied or quasi-contractual obligation to return those benefits.

The courts describe this claim in general principles. For example, courts have stated that a claim for unjust enrichment seeks to restore money where equity and good conscience require restitution; it is not premised on wrongdoing, but seeks to determine to which party, in equity, justice, and law, the money belongs; and it seeks to prevent unconscionable loss to the payor and unjust enrichment to the payee.

Because recovery based on unjust enrichment of another party relies on the court's sense of fairness or equity rather than the law, it is often referred to as the equitable doctrine of unjust enrichment.

In Minnesota, the doctrine of unjust enrichment is recognized as a legal principle that allows a party to recover benefits conferred on another party if it would be inequitable for the latter to retain those benefits without paying for them. This doctrine is applied in situations where there is no enforceable contract between the parties but where one party has received a benefit at the expense of another. The key elements that must be proven for a claim of unjust enrichment in Minnesota are: (1) a benefit conferred by the complainant upon the defendant, (2) the defendant's appreciation or knowledge of the benefit, and (3) the defendant's acceptance and retention of the benefit under circumstances that make it inequitable for the defendant to retain the benefit without paying for its value. Unjust enrichment claims are equitable in nature and are aimed at preventing one party from being unjustly enriched at the expense of another, based on the principles of equity and good conscience. Minnesota courts will consider these claims and may order restitution to balance the equities and prevent unjust enrichment.