Legal Definitions - et non

The phrase et non is Latin for "and not." It is an archaic legal term, meaning it is no longer used in modern legal practice.

Historically, et non was employed in a specific type of legal pleading known as a "special traverse." In this context, it was used to introduce a negative averment—a formal denial—of a particular fact or part of a claim made by the opposing party. Essentially, it allowed a party to deny one specific aspect of a compound statement while potentially admitting another part or offering an alternative explanation.

Here are a few examples illustrating how et non would have been used:

• Property Dispute: Imagine a plaintiff claimed, "The defendant unlawfully entered my property and cut down my trees." The defendant, in their formal response, might have used et non to state: "The defendant admits entering the property, et non cut down the plaintiff's trees, but rather, merely surveyed the boundary line as per an existing easement."

  This example demonstrates et non being used to deny the specific act of "cutting down trees" while acknowledging the "entering the property" part, thereby clarifying the defendant's actions and intent.

• Contractual Obligation: Consider a scenario where a plaintiff asserted, "The defendant agreed to purchase the goods and make immediate payment upon delivery." The defendant's pleading might have read: "The defendant agreed to purchase the goods, et non make immediate payment upon delivery, but rather, agreed to pay within thirty days of receipt."

  Here, et non serves to deny the "immediate payment" clause of the plaintiff's claim, while confirming the agreement to "purchase the goods," thereby distinguishing between the admitted and denied terms of the contract.

• Debt Collection: In a case where a plaintiff alleged, "The defendant borrowed the sum of money and subsequently refused to repay it." The defendant's formal response could have been: "The defendant borrowed the sum of money, et non refused to repay it, but rather, offered repayment which the plaintiff declined to accept."

  This illustrates et non being used to deny the "refused to repay" aspect of the plaintiff's accusation, while admitting the "borrowed the sum of money" part, and providing an alternative account of events.