Blacks Law Dict. 1st ed

CONTINGENCY, ETC,

264

CONTENTMENT

of the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts which is exercised upon adversary or conten tious proceedings. See CONTENTIOUS. CONTENTMENT, CONTENEMENT. A man's countenance or credit, which he has together with, and by reason of, his freehold; or that which is necessary for the support and maintenance of men, agreeably to their several qualities or states of life. Wharton; Cowell. CONTENTS AND NOT-CONTENTS. En parliamentary law. The "contents" are those who, in the house of lords, express as sent to a bill; the "not" or "non contents" dissent. May, Parl. Law, cc. 12, 357. "CONTENTS UNKNOWN." Words sometimes annexed to a bill of lading of goods in cases. Their meaning is that the master only means to acknowledge the ship ment, in good order, of the cases, as to their external condition. 12 How. 273. CONTERMINOUS. Adjacent; adjoin ing; having a common boundary; cotermi nous. CONTEST. To make defense to an ad verse claim in a court of law; to oppose, re sist, or dispute the case made by a plaintiff. CONTESTATIO LITIS. In Roman law. Contestation of suit; the framing an issue; joinder in issue. The formal act of both the parties with which the proceedings in jure were closed when they led to a ju dicial investigation, and by which the neigh bors whom the parties brought with them were called to testify. Mackeld. Rom. Law, §219. In old English law. Coming to an issue; the issue so produced. Crabb, Eng. Law, 216. Contestatio litis eget terminos contra dictarios. An issue requires terms of con tiadiction. Jenk. Cent. 117. To constitute an issue, there must be an affirmative on one side and a negative on the other CONTESTATION OF SUIT. In an ecclesiastical cause, that stage of the suit which is reached when the defendant has an swered the libel by giving in an allegation. CONTESTED ELECTION. This phrase has no technical or legally defined meaning. An election may be said to be contested whenever an objection is form ally urged against it which, if found to be true in fact, would invalidate it. This is true both as to objections founded upon

some constitutional provision and to such as are based on statutes. 109 Ind. 116, 10 HI. E. Rep. 600. CONTEXT. The context of a particular sentence or clause in a statute, contract, will, etc., comprises those parts of the text which immediately precede and follow it. The context may sometimes be scrutinized, to ai-i in the interpretation of an obscure passage. CONTIGUOUS. In close proximity; in actual close contact. 69 N. Y. 191. Touch ing; bounded or traversed by. The term is not synonymous with "vicinal." 32 La. Ann. 435. CONTINENCIA. In Spanish law. Con tinency or unity of the pi oceedings in a cause. White, New Recop. b. 3, tit. 6, c. 1. CONTINENS. In the Roman law. Continuing; holding together. Adjoining buildings were said to be continentia. CONTINENTIA. In old English prac tice. Continuance or connection. Applied to the proceedings in a cause. Bract, fol. 3626. CONTINGENCY. An event that may or may not happen, a doubtful or unceitain future event. The quality of being contin gent. Afoitmtous event, which comes without design, foresight, or expectation. A con tingent expense must be deemed to be an ex pense depending upon some future uncertain event. 39 Barb. 272. CONTINGENCY OP A PROCESS. In Scotch law. Where two or more pro cesses aie so connected that the circumstances of the one are likely to throw light on the others, the process first enrolled is considered as the leading process, and those subsequent ly brought into court, if not brought in the same division, may be iemitted to it, ob con tingentiam, on account of their nearness or proximity in character to it. The effect of remitting processes in this manner is merely to bring them before the same division of the couit or same lord ordinary. In other respects they remain distinct. Bell. CONTINGENCY WITH DOUBLE ASPECT. A remainder is said to be "in a contingency with double aspect," when there is another remainder limited on the same estate, not in derogation of the first, but as a substitute for it in case it should fail. Fearne, Rem. 373.

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