Legal Definitions - quod ei deforceat

quod ei deforceat

Quod ei deforceat is a legal term that means "that he deforces him." It was a writ that allowed owners of a specific type of estate, such as a life estate or fee tail, to recover land that they had lost unknowingly due to a possessory action. Before this writ was allowed, only owners in fee simple could recover their property after such a default.

An example of quod ei deforceat would be if someone had a life estate in a piece of land, but they lost it due to a legal action that they were not aware of. They could then use the quod ei deforceat writ to recover their land.

Another example would be if someone had a fee tail estate, but they lost their land due to a possessory action. They could then use the quod ei deforceat writ to recover their land.

These examples illustrate how the quod ei deforceat writ was used to help owners of specific types of estates recover their land after losing it due to legal actions they were not aware of.