The maxim holds that the law does not concern itself with trifles. It appears in contract thresholds, technical violations, tax rules, and indemnification provisions excluding small claims.
Contractual de minimis thresholds are enforced as drafted.
Alternative Names:
De Minimis Non Curat Lex|Trifling
Why it Matters?
Contractual de minimis provisions in indemnification packages exclude individually small claims from counting toward the basket, which compounds the threshold's filtering effect and can eliminate a substantial volume of minor breaches. In wage and hour law the doctrine has been narrowed substantially, with courts and the Supreme Court in Sandifer limiting the availability of a de minimis defense for compensable time.
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Frequently asked questions
What does a de minimis provision accomplish?
Has the wage and hour doctrine narrowed?
