Simple English definitions for legal terms
Read a random definition: interpellatio
A common fine is an agreement or compromise made in a lawsuit to determine who owns a piece of land. It was often used to transfer land ownership and ensure security in conveyancing. The terms of the agreement were recorded in court records, providing permanent evidence of the transaction. The fine also set a short period of limitation after which all claims to the land were barred. A tenant may also pay a common fine to a lord to defray the cost of a court leet or to allow litigants to try the action closer to home.
A common fine is an agreement or compromise made in a fictitious or actual lawsuit to determine the true owner of land. It was used as a form of conveyance to disentail an estate. The terms of the compromise were entered upon a threefold indenture, and the parties obtained incontestable evidence and abundant security. The fine was a compromised fictitious personal action, originally designed as a method of ensuring security in conveyancing and only later being employed for the purpose of barring estates tail.
These examples illustrate the different types of fines that existed historically and their purposes. For instance, the executed fine was made on acknowledgment of the right of the grantee to land given to him as a gift from the grantor. The common fine was a sum of money due from a tenant to a lord to defray the cost of a court leet or to allow the litigants to try the action closer to home. The excessive fine was a fine that was unreasonably high and disproportionate to the offense committed.