Legal Definitions - privies

Definition: Privies (priv-eez) are people who have a legal interest in a matter or property. They are in privity with another person.

Traditionally, there were six types of privies:

1. Privies in blood, such as an heir and an ancestor.
2. Privies in representation, such as an executor and a testator or an administrator and an intestate person.
3. Privies in estate, such as grantor and grantee or lessor and lessee.
4. Privies in respect to a contract - the parties to a contract.
5. Privies in respect of estate and contract, such as a lessor and lessee where the lessee assigns an interest, but the contract between lessor and lessee continues because the lessor does not accept the assignee.
6. Privies in law, such as husband and wife.

The term also appears in the context of litigation. In this sense, it includes:

• Someone who controls a lawsuit though not a party to it.
• Someone whose interests are represented by a party to the lawsuit.
• A successor in interest to anyone having a derivative claim.

For example, if a person inherits property from their grandfather, they are a privy in blood. If a person is named as the executor of a will, they are a privy in representation. If a person leases a property from someone else, they are a privy in estate. If two people sign a contract together, they are privies in respect to a contract.

These examples illustrate how privies are people who have a legal interest in a matter or property. They may have a relationship with another person, such as an ancestor or a lessor, or they may be involved in a legal agreement, such as a contract or a will.