Legal Definitions - cassetur breve

Cassetur breve is a Latin term that means "that the writ be quashed." In legal history, it refers to a judgment that terminates an action that was initiated by a writ.

For example, if a plaintiff filed a writ against a defendant, but the defendant successfully argued that the writ was invalid or defective, the court might issue a cassetur breve judgment to quash the writ and end the case.

This type of judgment was commonly used in English common law, particularly in the medieval period when writs were the primary means of initiating legal actions.

• A plaintiff filed a writ of trespass against a neighbor, claiming that the neighbor had unlawfully entered the plaintiff's property. However, the neighbor argued that the writ was defective because it did not specify the exact date of the alleged trespass. The court agreed and issued a cassetur breve judgment to quash the writ.
• In another case, a plaintiff filed a writ of debt against a debtor, but the debtor argued that the writ was invalid because it did not include a specific amount of money owed. The court agreed and issued a cassetur breve judgment to end the case.

These examples illustrate how a cassetur breve judgment could be used to terminate a legal action that was initiated by a defective or invalid writ. The judgment effectively quashes the writ and prevents the case from proceeding any further.