Legal Definitions - extinct

The term "extinct" in a legal context refers to something that has ceased to exist, is no longer valid, or can no longer be legally enforced. This can apply to rights, claims, legal entities, or specific legal provisions that have lost their force or validity due to various circumstances, such as the passage of time, new legislation, or the disappearance of a party with a legal interest.

• Example 1: Extinct Legal Power

  Imagine a city council that, in the 1950s, had a specific legal power to issue permits for the operation of horse-drawn carriages within the city limits. Decades later, as the city modernized and horse-drawn carriages were no longer a mode of transport, the council passed an ordinance explicitly revoking that specific permitting authority, transferring any remaining relevant oversight to the Department of Transportation for historical preservation purposes.

  In this scenario, the city council's power to issue permits for horse-drawn carriages became extinct. The legal authority no longer exists, and the council cannot exercise that particular function.

• Example 2: Extinct Debt or Claim

  Consider a situation where a freelance graphic designer completed a project for a client but was never paid for the final invoice. Several years later, the graphic designer decided to retire, closed their business, and formally dissolved their company, without transferring the right to collect outstanding debts to anyone else. The client, who still owed the money, now has no one to pay.

  Here, the debt owed by the client has become extinct because there is no longer a legal entity or individual (a claimant) with the right or ability to pursue its collection. The claim for payment has vanished.

• Example 3: Extinct Legal Right

  Suppose a particular state had a law that granted landowners the right to claim any mineral deposits found beneath their property, even if those minerals extended under a neighbor's land. Over time, environmental concerns and new property rights theories led the state legislature to repeal this law, replacing it with legislation that clearly defines mineral rights as belonging only to the owner of the surface land directly above the deposit.

  The original broad right for landowners to claim minerals extending beyond their surface boundaries became extinct once the new legislation took effect. That specific legal right no longer exists under state law.