Legal Definitions - redisseisin

Redisseisin refers to the act of wrongfully dispossessing someone of their property or land, specifically when the same person has already dispossessed the same individual of the same estate before.

In simpler terms, it's a repeat offense of unlawfully taking back property from someone after they had already regained possession following an initial wrongful dispossession by the same party.

• Example 1: Residential Property Dispute

  Imagine a landlord, Mr. Henderson, legally evicts a tenant, Ms. Davies, from an apartment due to unpaid rent. Ms. Davies moves out, and Mr. Henderson regains full possession. However, a month later, Ms. Davies breaks back into the apartment, changes the locks, and attempts to re-establish residence, effectively dispossessing Mr. Henderson of the same apartment for a second time after he had already regained legal possession from her.

  This illustrates redisseisin because Ms. Davies, who previously dispossessed Mr. Henderson (through the initial eviction process, though legally, the landlord regained possession), is now attempting to dispossess him again of the exact same property.

• Example 2: Commercial Land Dispute

  A small business owner, Sarah, has a dispute with a neighboring business, owned by Mark, over a shared access road on her property. Mark initially erects a fence blocking Sarah's access, wrongfully dispossessing her of her right to use that part of her land. Sarah obtains a court order forcing Mark to remove the fence and restore her access. A few months later, Mark, ignoring the court order, rebuilds the fence in the exact same spot, once again preventing Sarah from using the same access road on her property.

  This is an instance of redisseisin because Mark, after having previously dispossessed Sarah of her access rights to that specific piece of land and having been compelled to restore it, repeats the act of dispossession against Sarah for the identical property.

• Example 3: Agricultural Land Encroachment

  A farmer, Mr. Chen, owns a field adjacent to his neighbor, Ms. Rodriguez. Ms. Rodriguez mistakenly extends her crops onto a portion of Mr. Chen's field, effectively dispossessing him of that strip of land. Mr. Chen points out the error, and Ms. Rodriguez agrees to move her crops back to her boundary. However, the following planting season, Ms. Rodriguez again plants her crops beyond her boundary, encroaching on the exact same strip of Mr. Chen's field that she had previously occupied and then vacated.

  This demonstrates redisseisin because Ms. Rodriguez, having once wrongfully occupied and then relinquished a specific part of Mr. Chen's land, commits the act of dispossession again by encroaching on that identical portion of his property.