Collusive Litigation in the Early Years of the English Common Law: The Use of Mort D’Ancestor for Conveyancing Purposes c. 1198–1230

Eves, William

Abstract

The extent to which real actions such as mort d’ancestor were used collusively for conveyancing purposes in the early years of the English common law is subject to debate. This article first discusses why parties to a transfer of land might engage in collusive litigation, before surveying the existing literature on the question of how collusive suits can be identified, and the suggestions which have been made as to the prevalence of collusive litigation in the late-twelfth and early-thirteenth centuries. It then discusses a method which may be used to provide a more precise answer to this question, and employs this method to uncover the extent to which mort d’ancestor could have been used collusively in the period c.1198–1230. It concludes with a suggestion that this method could be used in relation to other early common law actions to further our understanding of litigation and conveyancing in the period.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Nov 19, 2020
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jun 11, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 14, 2023
• Journal: The Journal of Legal History
• Print ISSN: 0144-0365
• Electronic ISSN: 1744-0564
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 41
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 227-256
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01440365.2020.1839692
• Keywords: Mort d'ancestor; conveyancing; collusive litigation; fines; final concords; common law
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/17386529
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01440365.2020.1839692
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=flgh20; Published: 2020-11-19