Legal Definitions - ac etiam

Ac etiam is a Latin phrase meaning "and also." Historically, in English common-law courts, this phrase was a procedural device used in legal documents called pleadings.

Its purpose was to allow a court to hear a case that it might not ordinarily have jurisdiction over. At the time, certain courts had very specific and limited powers to hear particular types of cases. If a plaintiff wanted to bring a significant claim (like a large debt or a complex contract dispute) before a court that only had jurisdiction over minor matters (like a small trespass), lawyers would employ a legal fiction. They would first allege a minor, often fictitious, claim that *did* fall within the court's jurisdiction. Once this initial, jurisdictional hurdle was cleared, the phrase "ac etiam" would be used to introduce the *actual* and more substantial claim the plaintiff truly wished to pursue. In essence, it directed the court's attention from the placeholder claim to the real reason for the lawsuit.

Here are some examples illustrating the historical use of "ac etiam":

• Debt Collection: Imagine a merchant in 17th-century England trying to recover a substantial sum of money owed by a customer. The specific court that could best handle such a large debt claim might traditionally only have jurisdiction over minor physical trespasses. To get the debt case heard in that court, the merchant's lawyer might first allege that the customer had committed a trivial, perhaps even imaginary, trespass against the merchant. Following this initial allegation, the pleading would then state, "ac etiam, the defendant owes the plaintiff a sum of one hundred pounds for goods sold and delivered." This allowed the court to proceed with the actual debt recovery, using the fictitious trespass as a gateway to jurisdiction.

• Breach of Contract: Consider a dispute over a complex agreement for the construction of a building. The most effective court for resolving such a contract dispute might have its primary jurisdiction limited to cases involving direct damage to property. To bring the contract case before this court, a lawyer might include a preliminary, minor claim alleging that the defendant had caused some insignificant, perhaps even symbolic, damage to the plaintiff's land. The pleading would then continue, "ac etiam, the defendant has failed to uphold the terms of the building contract dated [specific date], causing significant financial loss." This mechanism enabled the court to address the substantive contract breach, even though its initial jurisdiction was for property damage.

• Defamation: Suppose a person wished to sue another for severe reputational harm caused by false statements. If the court best suited to hear such a case primarily handled matters of physical assault, a lawyer might first allege a minor, technical assault—perhaps a slight touch that caused no real harm. The legal document would then state, "ac etiam, the defendant maliciously published defamatory statements about the plaintiff on [specific date], damaging their good name and business." This procedural step allowed the court to take cognizance of the case based on the minor assault and then focus on the true defamation claim.