Legal Definitions - valens agere

The Latin term valens agere describes a person who is considered "able to act" in a legal sense. This means an individual possesses the capacity, understanding, and opportunity to protect their own legal rights and interests.

The concept is crucial in law because it often determines when legal deadlines, such as statutes of limitations, begin to apply to an individual. If someone is valens agere, they are expected to take action to safeguard their rights, and the passage of time can therefore affect their legal claims or defenses. Conversely, if a person is "non valens agere" (not able to act, perhaps due to age, mental incapacity, or other legal disability), certain legal deadlines might be paused or not apply until they regain the ability to act.

Here are some examples illustrating valens agere:

• Statute of Limitations for a Contract Dispute:

  Imagine David, a competent adult, enters into a contract to purchase a custom-built boat. The boat builder fails to deliver the boat by the agreed-upon date, breaching the contract. David is aware of the breach and knows he has legal options to pursue compensation or specific performance.

  How this illustrates valens agere: David is valens agere because he is an adult of sound mind, understands his contractual rights, and has the capacity to seek legal advice and file a lawsuit. Because he is able to act, the statute of limitations (the legal deadline to file a lawsuit for breach of contract) begins to run from the date of the breach. If David waits too long without taking action, he may lose his legal right to sue the builder.

• Property Rights and Adverse Possession:

  Consider Maria, an adult homeowner who notices her neighbor has been regularly parking a vehicle on a small strip of her property for several years, openly and without her permission. Maria is aware of this encroachment but chooses not to confront her neighbor or take any legal steps to stop it.

  How this illustrates valens agere: Maria is valens agere because she is a competent adult who is aware of the unauthorized use of her land and has the legal capacity to object or initiate a lawsuit to protect her property rights. Since she is able to act but chooses not to, the time period required for adverse possession (where the neighbor could potentially claim legal ownership of that strip of land after a certain number of years) continues to run against her.

• Challenging a Will:

  Suppose Robert, a mentally competent adult, believes his deceased mother's will was created under undue influence from another family member, leading to his unfair disinheritance. Robert has access to legal counsel and understands the process of contesting a will.

  How this illustrates valens agere: Robert is valens agere because he possesses the mental capacity, legal standing, and access to resources to contest the will within the specified legal timeframe after the probate process begins. Because he is "able to act," the deadline for challenging the will applies to him, and if he fails to initiate proceedings within that period, he will likely lose his opportunity to do so.