“If therefore the distreinor claims any such property, the party replevying must sue out a writ de proprietate probanda, in which the sheriff is to try, by an inquest, in whom the property previous to the distress subsisted. And if it be found to be in the distreinor, the sheriff can proceed no farther; but must return the claim of property to the court of king’s bench or common pleas, to be there farther prosecuted, if thought advisable, and there finally determined.” 3 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 148 (1768).
de proprietate probanda
de proprietate probanda (dee pr[schwa]-prI-[schwa]-tay-tee pr[schwa]-ban-d[schwa]), n. [Law Latin “for proving property”] Hist. A writ ordering a sheriff to investigate the ownership of distrained goods claimed by a defendant in a replevin action.
