Recourse

The word recourse comes from the Latin regressus and means decline. The word is used in both philosophy and law, but in this article we focus on recourse in a legal context.

The term recourse is also referred to as recourse claim and means the same thing.

What does recourse mean?

The word recourse in a legal context refers to a claim that a party wants to be reimbursed for something that party has paid on behalf of others.

In other words, recourse is a payment claim that can be made by a debtor or guarantor against one or more other persons or companies.

Examples of recourse

In Denmark, recourse claims are made against other people, companies and organizations every single day, and there are countless examples of recourse claims.

A classic example of recourse is when a company or private individual pays one total amount of compensation, even though there are several people liable for the compensation. The person or company that has paid the full amount can then make a recourse claim against the other persons who are liable for part of the compensation in the relationship.

Another example of recourse is in connection with surety bonds. If a guarantor pays a debt to, for example, a bank, the guarantor can make a recourse claim against the other guarantors for their share of the guarantee.

Recourse claims are often seen in connection with insurance cases, bail or in cases where the Danish Civil Contingencies Agency decides that a tortfeasor must pay a claim to an injured party. In such cases, the state has typically assumed liability for the tortfeasor and subsequently makes a payment claim against the tortfeasor.