Legal Definitions - feasant

Feasant is an archaic legal term meaning "doing" or "causing." While it is rarely encountered in modern legal language, its primary relevance today is within the historical phrase "damage feasant." This phrase refers to an act that causes harm or injury, particularly to property, and often implies that the offending item or animal itself is "doing the damage."

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of "feasant" in its historical context:

• Example 1 (Livestock Trespass): Imagine a scenario in the past where a farmer's cattle strayed from their pasture onto a neighboring field and consumed a significant portion of the ripe wheat crop. In this situation, the cattle would have been described as "damage feasant."

  Explanation: The term "feasant" here refers to the cattle *doing* or *causing* the damage to the wheat crop. The cattle themselves were the active agents inflicting the harm, making them "damage feasant" in the eyes of the law at the time.

• Example 2 (Overhanging Structure): Consider a large, decaying sign attached to the side of a building that extends over an adjacent property. If a strong windstorm causes the sign to detach and fall, damaging the roof of the neighboring building.

  Explanation: The falling sign would be considered "damage feasant" because it was *doing* or *causing* the damage to the neighbor's property. The "feasant" aspect highlights the sign's direct role in inflicting the harm, even though it was inanimate.

• Example 3 (Obstruction of Easement): Suppose a landowner historically placed a large, immovable boulder directly in the middle of a pathway that a neighbor had a legal right (an easement) to use to access their own land. This boulder effectively blocked the neighbor's passage.

  Explanation: The boulder, by obstructing the pathway, would be considered "damage feasant" because it was *doing* or *causing* an infringement on the neighbor's legal right of way. The "feasant" element points to the boulder's active role in creating the obstruction and the resulting interference with the easement.