“If non est inventus was returned to the bill, and the plaintiff had reason to think that the defendant was still in the same county, he might have another bill, and after that a third, and so on till the defendant was caught ….” 1 George Crompton, Practice Common-Placed: Rules and Cases of Practice in the Courts of King’s Bench and Common Pleas xxxv (3d ed. 1787).
non est inventus
non est inventus (non est in-ven-t[schwa]s). [Latin “he is not found”] Hist. A statement in a sheriff’s return indicating that the person ordered arrested could not be found in the sheriff’s jurisdiction. — Sometimes shorted to non est. — Abbr. n.e.i.
