Legal Definitions - non cepit

Non cepit is a historical legal defense used in a specific type of lawsuit known as a replevin action. A replevin action is brought by someone who claims their personal property was wrongfully taken and is being wrongfully held by another, and they want the property returned.

When a defendant raises the defense of non cepit, they are essentially stating, "I did not take the property as alleged by the plaintiff, or I did not take it from the specific location claimed." This defense challenges the very act of taking the property, and the place where it was supposedly taken, but it does not dispute whether the plaintiff has a general right to possess the property.

• Example 1: Denying the act of taking an item

  A farmer, Mr. Jones, sues his neighbor, Ms. Smith, claiming she wrongfully took his prize-winning show pig from his barn. Ms. Smith responds to the lawsuit by asserting non cepit, arguing that she never entered Mr. Jones's barn and never took his pig.

  This illustrates non cepit because Ms. Smith is directly denying the act of taking the pig, which is central to Mr. Jones's claim that his property was wrongfully taken.

• Example 2: Denying the specific place of taking

  A collector, Mr. Chen, sues an antique dealer, Ms. Davis, alleging she wrongfully took a rare porcelain vase from his display table at a public antique fair. Ms. Davis, while admitting she acquired the vase, asserts non cepit, claiming she purchased it from a different vendor at a separate private auction, not from Mr. Chen's table at the public fair.

  Here, Ms. Davis is using non cepit to deny the specific place of the alleged taking, even if she acknowledges possessing the item. She is challenging the plaintiff's account of how and where the taking occurred.

• Example 3: Denying any involvement in the taking

  A library sues a former employee, Mr. White, claiming he wrongfully took several valuable first edition books from their special collections vault. Mr. White responds with a non cepit defense, stating that he never had access to the special collections vault and therefore could not have taken the books as alleged. He denies ever possessing or taking the books.

  This demonstrates non cepit by denying the fundamental act of taking. If Mr. White never had access or possession, he could not have "taken" them from the library, directly challenging the plaintiff's assertion of a wrongful taking.