known heir
An heir who is present to claim an inheritance, the extent of which depends on there being no closer relative.
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contents unknown
contents unknown. A statement placed on a bill of lading to show that the carrier does not know what is inside shipped containers. • Carriers use this phrase in an attempt to limit their liability for damage to the goods shipped. Shipper’s load and count is also used. [Cases: Carriers 50; Shipping 106(3). C.J.S. Shipping
in pios usus
in pios usus (in pI-[schwa]s yoo-s[schwa]s), adv. [Law Latin] Hist. For pious uses; for religious purposes. • This phrase referred to property used by, or claimed by, the church, such as the property of an intestate who had no known heirs.
le mort saisit le vif doctrine
le mort saisit le vif doctrine (l[schwa] mor se-zee l[schwa] veef). [French “the dead seizes the living”] The principle requiring that there be no gap in the possession of a freehold estate in land, so that legal title vests immediately in the heirs upon the death of the person through whom they claim title. •
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vacant succession
Civil law. 1. A succession that fails either because there are no known heirs or because the heirs have renounced the estate. 2. An estate that has suffered such a failure. See ESCHEAT.
battle of the forms
battle of the forms. The conflict between the terms of standard forms exchanged between a buyer and a seller during contract negotiations. • In its original version, UCC § 2-207 attempted to resolve battles of the forms by abandoning the common-law requirement of mirror-image acceptance and providing that a definite expression of acceptance may create
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three wicked sisters
three wicked sisters. Slang. The three doctrines — contributory negligence, the fellow-servant rule, and assumption of the risk — used by 19th-century courts to deny recovery to workers injured on the job. “These three common law defenses, contributory negligence, fellow servant rule, and assumption of the risk, became known as the ‘three wicked sisters,’ because
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ab irato
ab irato (ab I-ray-toh), adv. [Latin] By one who is angry. • This phrase usu. refers to a gift or devise made adversely to an heir’s interests, out of anger. An action to set aside this type of conveyance was known at common law as an action ab irato.
assize utrum
assize utrum (yoo-tr[schwa]m). [Latin] Hist. A writ to determine whether land claimed by a church was held by lay or spiritual tenure. • This writ is named after its emphatic word, which required the fact-finder to determine whether (utrum) the land belonged to the church. — Also termed (erroneously) assize of utrum; assize de utrum.
year books
Year Books. Hist. Books of cases anonymously and fairly regularly reported covering primarily the period from the reign of Edward I to the time of Henry VIII. • The title “Year Books” derives from their being grouped under the regnal years of the sovereigns in whose reigns the reported cases were cited. The reports were