Legal Definitions - avowant

An avowant is a specific type of defendant in a legal action known as replevin. In a replevin action, a plaintiff seeks to recover personal property that they believe has been wrongfully taken or withheld by another party.

The avowant is the defendant in such a case who admits to having taken or detained the property but asserts a legal justification or right to do so. This legal justification is called an avowry. Essentially, the avowant claims they were legally entitled to possess the property, often because the plaintiff owed them a debt or failed to fulfill an obligation.

• Example 1: Landlord and Unpaid Rent

  Imagine a tenant, Mr. Jenkins, falls several months behind on his rent. His landlord, Ms. Peterson, seizes some of Mr. Jenkins's personal belongings, such as a television and a stereo system, citing a clause in the lease agreement that allows her to do so for unpaid rent. Mr. Jenkins then files a replevin action to get his property back, arguing that the seizure was unlawful.

  In this scenario, Ms. Peterson would be the avowant. She admits to taking the items but would present an avowry to the court, asserting her legal right under the lease agreement to seize the property as a remedy for the unpaid rent.

• Example 2: Defaulted Loan and Repossession

  Consider a small business owner, Maria, who took out a loan from a bank to purchase specialized machinery for her company. The loan agreement stipulated that the machinery would serve as collateral. When Maria's business experiences financial difficulties and she defaults on the loan payments, the bank repossesses the machinery. Maria believes the repossession was improper and files a replevin suit to recover her equipment.

  Here, the bank, as the defendant, would be the avowant. It would acknowledge taking the machinery but would file an avowry, asserting its legal right to repossess the equipment due to Maria's default on the loan, as outlined in their security agreement.