Mesne
Encyclopedia
Mesne middle or intermediate, an adjective used in several legal phrases.
See also Demesne
- A mesne lordMesne lordA mesne lord was a lord in the feudal system who had vassals who held land from him, but who was himself the vassal of a higher lord. A mesne lord did not hold land directly of the king, that is to say he was not a tenant-in-chief. His subinfeudated estate was called a "mesne estate"...
is a landlordLandlordA landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
who has tenantsTenement (law)A tenement , in law, is anything that is held, rather than owned. This usage is a holdover from feudalism, which still forms the basis of all real-estate law in the English-speaking world, in which the monarch alone owned the allodial title to all the land within his kingdom.Under feudalism, land...
holding under him, while himself holding of a superior lord. Similar ideas are subinfeudationSubinfeudationIn English law, subinfeudation is the practice by which tenants, holding land under the king or other superior lord, carved out new and distinct tenures in their turn by sub-letting or alienating a part of their lands....
and subcontractSubcontractorA subcontractor is an individual or in many cases a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract....
. - Mesne process was such process as intervened between the beginning and end of a suit.
- Mesne profitsMesne profitsMesne profits are sums of money paid for the occupation of land to a person with right of immediate occupation, where no permission has been given for that occupation. The concept is feudal in origin, and common in countries which rely on the English legal system...
are profits derived from land while in wrongful possession, and may be claimed in damages for trespassTrespassTrespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels and trespass to land.Trespass to the person, historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem, and maiming...
, either in a separate action or joined with an action for the recovery of the land. The plaintiffPlaintiffA plaintiff , also known as a claimant or complainant, is the term used in some jurisdictions for the party who initiates a lawsuit before a court...
must prove that he has re-entered into possession, his title during the period for which he claims, the fact that the defendantDefendantA defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
has been in possession during that period, and the amount of the mesne profits. The amount recovered as mesne profits need not be limited to the rental value of the land, but may include a sum to cover such items as deterioration or reasonable costs of getting possession.
See also Demesne
Demesne
In the feudal system the demesne was all the land, not necessarily all contiguous to the manor house, which was retained by a lord of the manor for his own use and support, under his own management, as distinguished from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants...