Legal Definitions - de superoneratione pasturae

De Superoneratione Pasturae

De superoneratione pasturae is a legal term that means "of surcharge of pasture." It refers to a judicial writ that was used against a person who was brought into county court for putting too many cattle on pasture. If the person was later impleaded in the same court on the same charge, the cause was removed to the superior court at Westminster.

For example, if a farmer was accused of putting too many cows on a piece of land and was brought to court, but then was accused of the same thing again and the case was moved to a higher court, they could be subject to a de superoneratione pasturae writ.

Another example could be if a landowner was accused of allowing too many animals to graze on their land, and the case was moved to a higher court due to the severity of the charge.

These examples illustrate how the de superoneratione pasturae writ was used to address cases of overgrazing and the potential harm it could cause to the land and other animals.