estoppel
- Noun:
- A legal principle that prevents a person from asserting a fact or claim that is contrary to a position they have previously taken, either by words or conduct, especially when another person has relied on that position to their detriment. It is a rule of evidence and equity used to preclude inconsistency and unfairness.
- General Legal Context: Used primarily in legal proceedings and documents to describe a bar or impediment raised by a party's own previous actions or statements.
- The company was prevented from denying the validity of the contract due to the doctrine of estoppel.
- His earlier sworn testimony created an estoppel, so he could not later change his story.
Collateral Estoppel (Issue Preclusion): Prevents a party from re-litigating an issue that has already been conclusively determined in a prior case involving the same parties.
- The court applied collateral estoppel, barring the plaintiff from raising the same argument that had failed in the previous lawsuit.
Promissory Estoppel: A doctrine in contract law where a promise made without consideration can be enforced if the promisee has reasonably relied on it to their detriment.
- Although there was no formal contract, the court enforced the promise under the principle of promissory estoppel.
Estoppel by Deed: Prevents a party to a deed from denying the truth of any material fact stated within it.
- The grantor was bound by estoppel by deed and could not challenge the property description.
Estoppel by Silence (or Acquiescence): Arises when a person is under a duty to speak but remains silent, leading another to believe in a certain state of affairs.
- His failure to object to the boundary line for years resulted in an estoppel by acquiescence.
Estop (verb): To bar or prevent by estoppel.
- The defendant was estopped from presenting the new evidence.
Estoppel Certificate (noun): A document in which a tenant certifies certain facts for a landlord, often used in real estate to prevent future contradictory claims.
- The lender required an estoppel certificate from the commercial tenant before approving the loan.
- Preclusion: The act of preventing something by prior action or legal bar.
- Bar: A legal impediment or obstacle.
- Forfeiture: The loss of a right, privilege, or property due to a breach of legal condition (related in the sense of losing the right to assert a claim).
Judicial Estoppel: Prevents a party from taking a position in a legal proceeding that is contrary to a position they successfully took in a previous proceeding.
- He was subject to judicial estoppel after arguing opposite facts in two different cases.
Equitable Estoppel: A broader concept preventing a party from taking an unfair position that contradicts their prior conduct, often overlapping with promissory estoppel.
- The court invoked equitable estoppel to prevent a manifest injustice.
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a rule of evidence whereby a person is barred from denying the truth of a fact that has already been settled
