Legal Definitions - in placito

in placito is a historical legal Latin term that means "in a lawsuit" or "in a legal proceeding." It refers to actions, decisions, or events that take place within the context of an ongoing court case or legal dispute. While not commonly used in modern legal language, it might be encountered when reading older legal texts, historical court records, or scholarly discussions of past legal systems.

Here are some examples to illustrate its meaning:

• Imagine a legal historian examining 17th-century court documents. They might come across a record stating, "The plaintiff filed a motion for discovery in placito, seeking access to the defendant's financial ledgers."

  This example demonstrates that the motion for discovery was an action taken by the plaintiff specifically within the ongoing lawsuit, as opposed to an action outside of it.

• A legal scholar might be discussing a landmark property dispute from the 1800s. They could write, "The court's final judgment in placito significantly altered the interpretation of riparian rights in the region."

  Here, "in placito" clarifies that the court's judgment was rendered and applied within the specific legal case concerning the property dispute, establishing a precedent for future cases.

• Consider an old will that includes a clause stating, "All debts owed by the estate shall be settled according to the findings in placito regarding the outstanding commercial contracts."

  This illustrates that the settlement of the estate's debts is directly tied to and dependent upon the outcome or findings of a particular, ongoing legal dispute or lawsuit concerning the commercial contracts.