Legal Definition and Related Resources of Bill to perpetuate testimony

In equity practice. One which is brought to secure the testimony of witnesses with reference to some matter which is not in litigation, but is liable to become so. It differs from a bill to take testimony de bene esse, inasmuch as the latter is sustainable only when there is a suit already depending. It is demurrable if it contain a prayer for relief. 1 Dickens, 98; 2 P. Wms. 162; 2 Ves. Jr. 497; 2 Madd. Ch. 37. And see 1 Schoales & L. 316.

What does Bill To Perpetuate Testimony mean in American Law?

The definition of Bill To Perpetuate Testimony in the law of the United States, as defined by the lexicographer Arthur Leff in his legal dictionary is:

A bill in equity brought to get on record the testimony of a party or witness who might not be available when the legal action finally comes to trial. It could be filed as an ancillary action in equity even when the action was to be tried in a court of law and the testimony there used. This procedure was also called a “bill to take testimony de bene esse,” though that may once have referred only to such a bill filed after the underlying lawsuit had been commenced, while the bill to perpetuate testimony might be brought before any action was commenced. Modern procedural devices, e.g., Fed. R. Civ. P. 27, cover both situations.

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This definition of Bill To Perpetuate Testimony Is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This definition needs to be proofread..

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