FINE

fine,n.1. An amicable final agreement or compromise of a fictitious or actual suit to

determine the true possessor of land. • The fine was formerly used as a form of conveyance to

disentail an estate. — Also termed final concord; finalis concordia. See FOOT OF THE FINE.

“A peculiar and persistent use of the writ [of covenant] was in levying a fine. A fine — finalis

concordia — was the compromise of a suit, settled upon terms approved by the court. The dispute,

while it might be a reality, was more often fictitious, and was chiefly used as a means of

conveying land…. Soon after [Glanvill’s] book was written, an innovation was made in the

procedure which endured until 1833. The terms of the compromise, agreed by the parties and

approved by the judges, were entered upon a threefold indenture, one of the parts being given to

each of the litigants and the third — the ‘foot’ or bottom of the document — being kept among the

records of the court. The parties thus obtained incontestable evidence and abundant security, and

either could sue the other if the agreement were not implemented.” C.H.S. Fifoot, History and

Sources of the Common Law: Tort and Contract 256 (1949).

“Unlike the recovery, which was a real action, the fine was a compromised fictitious personal

action, originally designed as a method of ensuring security in conveyancing and only later being

employed for the purpose of barring estates tail. In outline, it operated in the following manner.

The intending purchaser brought an action, begun by writ of covenant, against the intending

vendor. The parties then applied to the court to compromise the action; by the terms of the

compromise (finis) the intending vendor admitted that the land belonged to the intending

purchaser because he had given it to him, and the terms of the compromise were recorded in the

court records. The fine owed its popularity as a means of conveyancing to two factors, neither of

which was present in the standard method of conveyance by means of feoffment. First, the

enrolling in the court records provided evidence of the transaction which was both permanent and

free from the danger of forgery. Secondly, the effect of the fine was to set running a short period of

limitation at the expiration of which all claims to the land were barred. It was this second aspect

which made the device attractive as a means of ‘barring’ fees tail.” Peter Butt, Land Law 102–03

(2d ed. 1988).

executed fine.Hist. A fine made on acknowledgment of the right of the grantee to land given

to him as a gift from the grantor. • This was abolished in England in 1833. 3 & 4 Will. 4, ch. 74.

2.FINE FOR ALIENATION. 3. A fee paid by a tenant to the landlord at the commencement

of the tenancy to reduce the rent payments. 4.Hist. A money payment from a tenant to the tenant’s

lord.

common fine.A sum of money due from a tenant to a lord to defray the cost of a court leet or

to allow the litigants to try the action closer to home. — Also termed head-silver.

5. A pecuniary criminal punishment or civil penalty payable to the public treasury. [Cases:

Fines 1.5.] — fine,vb.

day fine.A fine payable over time, usu. as a percentage of the defendant’s earnings on a

weekly or monthly basis. excessive fine. 1.Criminal law. A fine that is unreasonably high and disproportionate to the

offense committed. • The Eighth Amendment proscribes excessive fines. An example of an

excessive fine is a civil forfeiture in which the property was not an instrumentality of the crime

and the worth of the property was not proportional to the owner’s culpability. [Cases: Fines 1.3.]

2. A fine or penalty that seriously impairs one’s earning capacity, esp. from a business.

fresh fine.Hist. A fine levied within the past year.[Blacks Law 8th]