Legal Definitions - rescussu

Rescussu refers to the unlawful act of taking back property that has been lawfully seized or impounded. This typically occurs when goods or assets have been taken into legal custody by a landlord, a sheriff, or another authorized party, and the original owner or another individual then forcibly or surreptitiously reclaims them without legal right. It is an interference with the legal process of distress or seizure.

Here are some examples illustrating this concept:

• Example 1: Landlord-Tenant Dispute

  A landlord, having obtained a legal right to distrain (seize) a tenant's furniture due to unpaid rent, places a notice on the furniture and prepares to remove it. Before the furniture can be moved, the tenant secretly hires movers to take the furniture out of the apartment building and hide it, preventing the landlord from completing the lawful seizure.

  This illustrates rescissu because the tenant unlawfully reclaimed property that was under lawful seizure by the landlord for a legitimate debt, thereby obstructing the legal process.

• Example 2: Law Enforcement Seizure

  A sheriff's deputy lawfully seizes a vehicle from a debtor's driveway under a court order to satisfy an outstanding judgment. The vehicle is towed to an impound lot. Later that night, the debtor breaks into the impound lot and drives their vehicle away, without any legal authorization or payment.

  This is an instance of rescissu because the debtor unlawfully took back property that was in the lawful custody of law enforcement, directly interfering with a court-ordered seizure.

• Example 3: Customs Enforcement

  Customs officials at a port lawfully seize a shipment of goods suspected of intellectual property infringement, placing them in a secure warehouse pending investigation and potential forfeiture. An employee of the importing company, without authorization, attempts to bribe a warehouse guard to release the goods and then arranges for them to be transported out of the country.

  This demonstrates rescissu as the employee unlawfully attempted to reclaim goods that were under the lawful seizure and custody of a government authority, disrupting the legal process of customs enforcement.