Legal Definitions - recoveree

A recoveree was a term used in historical English law to refer to the individual against whom a judgment was formally entered in a legal process known as a common recovery. This process was a legal fiction, meaning it was a simulated lawsuit, primarily used to bypass restrictions on inherited land (known as "entails") and allow the land to be freely sold, mortgaged, or transferred. In this fictitious lawsuit, the recoveree was the party who "lost" the case, thereby enabling the desired transfer of property rights.

• Example 1: Selling Entailed Land

  Imagine a wealthy family in 18th-century England where the eldest son, Arthur, inherited a large estate under an entail, meaning he couldn't sell or mortgage it without his heirs' consent. Arthur, however, wished to sell a portion of the land to fund a new business venture.

  To achieve this, Arthur would participate in a common recovery. In this simulated legal action, Arthur would be designated as the recoveree. A fictitious lawsuit would be brought against him, and a judgment would be entered, effectively "recovering" the land from him. This legal maneuver would then "bar the entail," freeing the land from its inheritance restrictions and allowing Arthur to legally sell it.

• Example 2: Transferring Property to a Daughter

  Lady Eleanor, a widow in the 1700s, held a valuable piece of land that was entailed to her deceased husband's male heirs. She wanted to ensure her daughter, not a distant male cousin, could inherit or at least benefit from the land's value.

  Lady Eleanor would arrange for a common recovery to be initiated. In this process, she would be the recoveree, the party against whom the fictitious judgment was rendered. By "losing" this simulated case, the entail on the land would be broken, allowing her to then legally transfer the property to her daughter or sell it and provide for her daughter financially, circumventing the original inheritance restrictions.

• Example 3: Mortgaging Inherited Property

  A gentleman named Mr. Davies owned an estate that had been passed down through generations with strict entailment, preventing him from using the land as collateral for a significant loan he needed to expand his farming operations.

  To secure the loan, Mr. Davies would engage in a common recovery. He would be the recoveree, the individual against whom the fictitious claim was made and judgment entered. This legal fiction would "break" the entail, freeing the land from its inheritance restrictions and allowing him to mortgage it to obtain the necessary funds, even though in reality, he was orchestrating the entire process to achieve his financial goal.