Marilyn Symonds wrote: > Diana: > > I believe the Orange County Order Book notation > Charles & Peter > Copland, Plts. Agt Samuel Kercheville Deft. In Debt > is the "style" > or title of a lawsuit, which in modern usage would probably be styled: > > Charles Copland and Peter Copland, Plaintiffs > versus > Samuel Kercheville, Defendant > This is definitely what is meant here. Usage in this period tended to vary from county to county ahead of the more formalized notations of "versus" or "v." in later periods to indicate parties to litigation. Interestingly, once case reports began to be published (in Virginia and elsewhere), "against" came to be used when the defendants and plantiffs were reversed in case titles for indexing purposes (e.g., Mayo v. Valentine would be cross-referenced as Valentine against Mayo). > The notation "In Debt" signifies that the plaintiffs' allegation[s] > were based upon a debt owed to them by the defendant. "Debt" was a > theory of common law providing recovery for those who prevailed in the > lawsuit. > > Debt was a form of action used to try cases in which a fixed amount owed could be sued for in court. As you suggest, no damages, punitive or otherwise, were involved, and the plantiff was "simply" required to prove the indebtedness. Interest would be charged from the due date of the debt until payment in successful cases. Trespass on the case derived from the English common law trespass actions, but by the eighteenth century, when it had come to be known commonly as "case," it had evolved into a very handy and popular form of trying non-performance of contracts, "contracts" being construed in a very broad sense. By the time of the Revolution it had pretty much come to replace the much older form of action, covenant, for such purposes. ELS -- E. Lee Shepard Assistant Director for Manuscripts and Archives Virginia Historical Society P.O. Box 7311 Richmond, VA 23221-0311 (804) 342-9670 To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html