Legal Definitions - per insidias et industriam

Per insidias et industriam is a historical legal phrase originating from Latin. It describes an action that was carried out with deliberate planning, often involving cunning or trickery, and with a clear intention to achieve a specific outcome. Essentially, it means an act was done "by stratagem and on purpose," emphasizing that it was a calculated and purposeful maneuver rather than an accidental or spontaneous event.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Business Deception: Imagine a competitor who, wanting to undermine a rival's new product launch, intentionally spreads false rumors about the product's safety to key distributors just before its release. They carefully craft these rumors and disseminate them through various channels, knowing this will cause significant damage to the launch.

  This situation demonstrates per insidias et industriam because the competitor acted with a clear "stratagem" (spreading false rumors) and "on purpose" (to sabotage the product launch), rather than the rumors being accidental or unintended.

• Contractual Misrepresentation: Consider a seller of a vintage car who knows the vehicle has a critical, hidden structural defect that is very expensive to repair. To ensure the sale, the seller meticulously covers up the defect, uses misleading language in the car's description, and distracts potential buyers from inspecting that specific area during test drives, all with the intent to conceal the flaw and secure a higher price.

  This exemplifies per insidias et industriam because the seller employed a "stratagem" (covering up the defect, misleading descriptions, distractions) and acted "on purpose" (to deceive the buyer into purchasing a faulty vehicle at an inflated price), showing a deliberate and intentional plan to defraud.