Legal Definitions - ne unques

ne unques

The legal phrase ne unques comes from Law French and simply means "never." In legal contexts, it is used to assert a complete denial that a particular event, fact, or relationship ever occurred or ever existed. It's a strong declaration that something foundational to a claim was, in fact, entirely absent.

• Example 1: Contract Dispute

  Imagine a small business, "InnovateTech," is sued by a larger corporation, "GlobalCorp," for breach of a supposed software development contract. InnovateTech's legal team might plead ne unques, asserting that InnovateTech never entered into any such contract with GlobalCorp. They are not arguing about the terms of the contract or whether they fulfilled them; they are denying the very existence of the agreement itself.

  How it illustrates the term: InnovateTech uses ne unques to state that the foundational event—the formation of a contract—never happened, thereby challenging the basis of GlobalCorp's lawsuit.

• Example 2: Paternity Challenge

  Consider a scenario where a woman files a paternity suit against a man, Mr. Henderson, claiming he is the father of her child. Mr. Henderson's defense could involve asserting ne unques, meaning he claims he never had a relationship with the woman that could have resulted in the child's conception, or that he never was the biological father.

  How it illustrates the term: Here, ne unques is used to deny a factual relationship or a biological link, asserting that the alleged paternity never existed.

• Example 3: Property Ownership Dispute

  Suppose Ms. Chen claims ownership of a vacant lot, presenting a deed she believes is valid. However, a neighboring landowner, Mr. Davies, disputes her claim, arguing that the previous transfer of the property to Ms. Chen's seller was fraudulent. Mr. Davies might assert ne unques, stating that Ms. Chen's seller never legally owned the property to begin with, and therefore Ms. Chen could never have acquired valid title from them.

  How it illustrates the term: In this context, ne unques is used to deny the validity of a past event (the seller's acquisition of title) and, by extension, the current legal status (Ms. Chen's ownership), claiming it never truly existed.