Legal Definitions - et de hoc ponit se super patriam

Et de hoc ponit se super patriam is a historical Latin phrase that translates to "And of this he puts himself upon the country." In the context of ancient common law, this phrase was a formal declaration made by a defendant who denied a crucial factual allegation made by the plaintiff.

By using this phrase, the defendant was essentially stating, "I deny this fact, and I ask a jury (representing 'the country' or community) to decide whether it is true." This declaration was typically the concluding statement of a "plea in bar by way of traverse."

• A plea in bar was a type of defense that, if successful, would completely defeat the plaintiff's lawsuit.
• A traverse was a formal denial of a specific factual claim made by the opposing party.

Therefore, when a defendant used "et de hoc ponit se super patriam," they were formally denying a key fact that was essential to the plaintiff's case and requesting that a jury resolve the dispute over that fact.

Here are some examples illustrating this concept:

• Property Ownership Dispute: Imagine a historical case where a plaintiff claimed ownership of a piece of land, asserting that the defendant had illegally trespassed on their property. The defendant, however, denied that the land belonged to the plaintiff at all, claiming it was his own or public land.

  This illustrates the term because the defendant would formally deny the plaintiff's assertion of ownership (the traverse) and then conclude his defense with "et de hoc ponit se super patriam," asking a jury of local citizens to determine the true ownership of the land based on the evidence presented.

• Unpaid Debt Claim: Consider a situation where a merchant sued a customer for an unpaid debt, claiming the customer had received goods on credit. The customer, in their defense, might deny ever receiving the goods or deny that the specific debt was owed as alleged.

  Here, the customer's formal denial of receiving the goods or owing the debt would be the traverse. By adding "et de hoc ponit se super patriam," the customer would be requesting that a jury hear the evidence from both sides and decide whether the goods were indeed delivered or the debt was legitimately incurred.

• Breach of Contract Allegation: In a historical contract dispute, a plaintiff might claim that a defendant failed to perform a specific service as agreed in a verbal contract. The defendant might respond by denying that such a contract ever existed, or denying that the specific terms alleged by the plaintiff were ever agreed upon.

  This demonstrates the term as the defendant's denial of the contract's existence or its specific terms constitutes the traverse. Concluding with "et de hoc ponit se super patriam" signifies the defendant's request for a jury to weigh the evidence and determine whether a binding agreement, as described by the plaintiff, was ever formed between the parties.