Legal Definitions - remanent pro defectu emptorum

Remanent pro defectu emptorum is a Latin legal phrase that translates to "remains unsold for want of buyers." Historically, this term was used in legal documents, particularly in England and the United States, to describe a situation where property seized under a court order (such as a writ of execution) could not be sold by a sheriff or other official because there were no willing purchasers, or the bids received were insufficient.

While the specific Latin phrase is less commonly used in modern legal practice, the underlying concept remains highly relevant: assets or property that are offered for sale, often under legal compulsion or supervision, fail to find a buyer due to a lack of market interest or acceptable offers.

• Example 1: Foreclosure Auction

  A bank forecloses on a commercial property, and the court orders a public auction to sell it and recover the outstanding loan amount. Despite being widely advertised, the auction attracts very few attendees, and the highest bid received is significantly below the minimum acceptable price set by the court or the bank. As a result, the property is not sold.

  This illustrates "remanent pro defectu emptorum" because the commercial property remains unsold due to a lack of qualified buyers willing to meet the necessary price, preventing its liquidation.

• Example 2: Bankruptcy Asset Liquidation

  A manufacturing company files for bankruptcy, and a court-appointed trustee is tasked with selling off the company's assets to pay creditors. Among the assets are highly specialized, custom-built machines designed for a niche production process. Despite the trustee's efforts to market these machines to other manufacturers in the industry, there are no interested buyers due to their unique and limited application.

  Here, the specialized machinery "remains unsold for want of buyers" because its unique nature severely limits the market, making it impossible for the trustee to find a purchaser and convert the assets into funds for creditors.

• Example 3: Estate Sale of Unique Collectibles

  Following a death, an estate needs to liquidate a large collection of rare, antique scientific instruments to settle debts and distribute assets to heirs. The executor holds an auction, but the collection is so specialized that only a handful of experts worldwide are interested. The bids from these few potential buyers are far below the appraised value, and the executor decides not to sell, hoping for a better offer later.

  In this scenario, the antique scientific instruments "remain unsold for want of buyers" because the extremely narrow market for such specialized items means there aren't enough interested parties willing to pay a fair price, leaving the assets unliquidated.