Legal Definitions - damnum facientes

Definition: Damnum facientes (dam-nəm fay-shee-en-teez) is a legal term that refers to doing damage. It is often used to describe the situation where an animal trespasses on someone's land and causes damage to their crops or grass.

Example: If a neighbor's cow wanders onto your property and eats all of your corn, they are considered damnum facientes.

This term comes from the French phrase "faisant dommage" and was introduced during the reign of Edward III. By law, the owner of the damaged property could impound the animals until compensated by the animals' owner. However, the impounder had to feed the animals and could not sell or harm them.

The example illustrates how damnum facientes is used to describe the situation where an animal causes damage to someone's property. In this case, the neighbor's cow is considered damnum facientes because it caused damage to the corn on the other person's land.