Legal Definitions - consimili casu

Definition: Consimili casu is a Latin term that means "in a like case." It refers to a writ of entry that allows a person with a reversionary interest in land to sue for the return of land that has been alienated by a life tenant or a tenant by the curtesy.

Example: Suppose that John owns a piece of land, but he has leased it to Mary for her lifetime. Mary then sells the land to Jane. If John wants to regain ownership of the land after Mary's death, he can use the consimili casu writ to sue Jane for the return of the land.

This writ was created by the second Statute of Westminster in 1285. The statute required the Chancery to issue a writ for any situation that called for a writ similar to one that had previously issued consimili casu. This means that if a writ had been issued in a similar case before, the Chancery had to issue a writ for the new case as well.