Nonsense

Nonsense

In the Past

That which in a written agreement or will is unintelligible.

Developments

It is a rule of law that an instrument must be so construed that the whole, if possible, must stand. When a matter is written grammatically right, but it is unintelligible and the whole makes nonsense, some words cannot be rejected to make sense of the rest; 1 Salk. 324; but when matter is nonsense by being contrary and repugnant to, some precedent sensible latter, such repugnant matter is rejected. Ib.; 15 Vin. Ab. 560; 14 Vin. Ab. 142. The maxim of the civil law on this subject agrees with this rule: Quae in testamento ita sunt scripta, ut intelligi non possent: perinde sunt, ac si scripta non essent. Dig. 50,17,73,3. Vide articles dmbiguity; Construction; Interpretation.

Details

In pleading (i.e. the formal allegations by the parties of their respective claims and defenses), when matter is nonsense by being contradictory and repugnant to something precedent, the precedent matter, which is sense, must not be defeated by the repugnancy which follows, but that which is contradictory must be rejected; as in ejectment where the declaration is of a demise on the second day of January and that the defendant postea scilicet, on the first of January, ejected him; here the scilicet may be rejected as being expressly contrary to the postea and the precedent matter. 5 East, 255; 1 Salk. 324. [1]

Resources

Notes and References

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

See Also