Letter Missive

English Law: Letter Missive in the Past

After a bill has been filed against a peer or peeress or lord of parliament, a petition is presented to the lord chancellor for his letter, called a letter missive, which asks the defendant to appear and answer to the bill. A neglect to attend to this, places the defendant, about such suit, on the same ground as other defendants, who are not peers and a subpoena may then issue. Newl. Pr. 9; 2 Madd. Ch. Pr. 196; Coop. Eq. Pl. 16. [1][rtbs name=”history-of-english-law”]

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Notes and References

1. Partialy, this information about letter missive is based on the Bouvier´s Law Dictionary, 1848 edition. There is a list of terms of the Bouvier´s Law Dictionary, including letter missive.

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