Simple English definitions for legal terms
Read a random definition: owned-property exclusion
Deforce means to use force to keep someone from owning their land or property, or to take someone's property away from them by force. It can also mean to hold onto someone's money unfairly and forcefully. For example, if someone refuses to pay back money they owe you, they are deforcing you of your money. The word "deforciant" refers to someone who is using force to keep someone else from their property or money.
Definition: To keep lands from the true owner by means of force, to oust another from possession by means of force, or to detain a creditor's money unjustly and forcibly.
Example: In the action of debt, the plaintiff complains that the defendant unjustly deforces him of the money owed.
Explanation: The term "deforce" is used to describe situations where someone is being kept from what rightfully belongs to them through the use of force. For example, if someone is being prevented from accessing their own land by someone else who is using force to keep them out, that person is being deforced. Similarly, if a creditor is owed money by someone who is refusing to pay, that creditor is being deforced of their money. The example given shows how the term "deforce" is used in the context of an action of debt, where the plaintiff is seeking to recover money that is rightfully theirs but is being withheld by the defendant through the use of force.