Legal Definitions - currit quattuor pedibus

The Latin phrase currit quattuor pedibus translates to "it runs on four feet" or "it runs on all fours." In legal contexts, this idiom is used to describe a situation where a new case or set of facts is so remarkably similar to a previously decided case or an established legal principle that the prior ruling or principle applies directly and without significant modification. It signifies a perfect fit or an exact parallel, suggesting that the outcome should be the same as in the precedent because the material facts and legal issues are virtually identical.

• Example 1: Contractual Dispute

  Imagine a software development company suing a client for breach of contract due to non-payment. The contract includes a specific clause detailing "liquidated damages" – a pre-agreed amount to be paid if a party defaults. A court in the same jurisdiction had previously ruled on an identical liquidated damages clause in a software contract between different parties, upholding its enforceability and the method for calculating the damages. In this scenario, the new case currit quattuor pedibus with the previous one because the contractual language, the type of agreement, and the core legal issue (the enforceability of the liquidated damages clause) are essentially the same. The prior ruling would therefore be directly applicable and highly persuasive.

• Example 2: Property Zoning Application

  Consider a homeowner applying to the local zoning board for a variance to build a garage that slightly exceeds the maximum allowable height for accessory structures. Just six months prior, the same zoning board denied an identical variance request from a neighbor for a similar garage, citing the same specific zoning ordinance and finding no unique hardship that would justify an exception. Here, the current variance request currit quattuor pedibus with the neighbor's denied request. The facts (type of structure, height violation, lack of unique hardship, specific ordinance) are so similar that the previous decision serves as a direct and compelling precedent for the current application, making a similar outcome highly probable.

• Example 3: Intellectual Property Infringement

  A small business launches a new product with packaging that closely resembles a competitor's well-known trade dress (the visual appearance and overall look of a product or its packaging). The competitor files a lawsuit for trade dress infringement. A higher court in the same jurisdiction recently ruled in a separate case that a different company's product packaging, which featured an *identical* combination of colors, fonts, and layout, constituted infringement of the same competitor's trade dress. The current infringement claim currit quattuor pedibus with the higher court's recent ruling because the specific elements of the alleged infringement and the legal standard for trade dress protection are so similar, making the precedent directly applicable to the new case.