Legal Definitions - mutuant

A mutuant is the party who provides fungible property to another party in a specific type of lending agreement known as a mutuum. In a mutuum, the borrower receives ownership of the property and is obligated to return an equivalent amount of the same kind and quality, rather than the exact items originally borrowed. The mutuant is essentially the lender in such an arrangement, providing items that are interchangeable and not unique.

• Example 1: Lending Money
  Sarah lends $500 to her friend Tom, who needs to cover an unexpected expense. Tom agrees to repay Sarah $500 next month. In this scenario, Sarah is the mutuant because she provided a fungible asset (money), and she expects an equivalent amount of money back, not the specific $500 bills she originally lent.

• Example 2: Providing Agricultural Goods
  A large agricultural cooperative, "Harvest Hub," provides 1,000 bushels of wheat to a smaller, struggling farm, "Green Acres," whose recent crop failed. Green Acres promises to return 1,000 bushels of wheat from its next successful harvest. Harvest Hub acts as the mutuant, as it supplied a fungible commodity (wheat) with the understanding that an equivalent quantity of wheat, not the exact same grains, would be returned.

• Example 3: Supplying Raw Materials
  A manufacturing company, "SteelWorks Inc.," temporarily supplies 10 tons of steel rebar to a construction firm, "Urban Builders," to help them meet a tight project deadline. Urban Builders agrees to replace the 10 tons of rebar from its next material delivery. SteelWorks Inc. is the mutuant because it provided a fungible raw material (steel rebar), expecting an identical quantity and quality of the material to be returned, rather than the specific bars it initially supplied.