KFLCC Kingdom Law 2nd Ed.

373

DISCHARGE

DISCONTINUANCE

conveyed to him. Thus, a trustee is said to disclaim who releases to his fellow-trustees his estate, and relieves himself of the trust. Watson v. Watson, 13 Conn. 85; Kentucky Union Co. v. Cornett, 112 Ky. 677, 66 S. W. 728. A renunciation or a denial by a tenant of his landlord's title, either by refusing to pay rent, denying any obligation to pay, or by setting up a title in himself or a third per son, and this is a distinct ground of forfeit ure of the lease or other tenancy, whether of land or tithe. See 16 Ch. Div. 730. In pleading. A renunciation by the de fendant of all claim to the subject of the de mand made by the plaintiff's bill. Coop. Eq. PI. 309; Mitf. Eq. PI. 318. In patent law. When the title and spe cifications of a patent do not agree, or when part of that which it covers is not strictly patentable, because neither new nor useful, the patentee is empowered, with leave of the court, to enter a disclaimer of any part of either the title or the specification, and the disclaimer is then deemed to be part of the letters patent or specification, so as to render them valid for the future. Johns. Pat. 151. DISCLAMATION. In Scotch law. Dis avowal of tenure; denial that one holds lands of another. Bell. DISCOMMON. To deprive commonable lands of their commonable quality, by in closing and appropriating or improving them. DISCONTINUANCE. In practice. The termination of an action, in consequence of the plaintiffs omitting to continue the pro cess or proceedings by proper entries on the record. 3 Bl. Comm. 296; 1 Tidd, Pr. 678; 2 Arch. Pr. K. B. 233. Hadwin v. Railway Co., 67 S. C. 463, 45 S. E. 1019; Gillespie v. Bailey, 12 W. Va. 70, 29 Am. Rep. 455; Kennedy v. McNickle, 7 Phila. (Pa.) 217; Insurance Co. v. Francis, 52 Miss. 467, 24 Am. Rep. 674. In practice, a discontinuance is a chasm or gap left by neglecting to enter a continuance. By our practice, a neglect, to enter a continu ance, even in a defaulted action, by no means puts an end to it, and such actions may always be brought forward. Taft v. Northern Transp. Co., 56 N. H. 416. The cessation of the proceedings In an action where the plaintiff voluntarily puts an end -to it, either by giving notice in writ ing to the defendant before any step has been taken in the action subsequent to the answer, or at any other time by order of the court or a judge. In practice, discontinuance and dismissal im port the same thing, viz., that the cause is sent out of court. Thurman v. James, 48 Mo. 235. In pleading. That technical interruption of the proceedings in an action which follows where a defendant does not answer the whole

counter-claims brought in and filed, by way of set-off, by the accounting defendant; which follows the charge in order. In criminal praotioe. The act by which a person in confinement, held on an accusa tion of some crime or misdemeanor, is set at liberty. The writing containing the order for his being so set at liberty is also called a "discharge." Morgan v. Hughes, 2 Term, 231; State v. Garthwaite, 23 N. J. Law, 143; Ex parte Paris, 18 Fed. Cas. 1104. In bankruptcy practice. The discharge of the bankrupt is the step which regularly follows the adjudication of bankruptcy and the administration of his estate. By it he is released from the obligation of all his debts which were or might be proved in the pro ceedings, so that they are no longer a charge upon him, and so that he may thereafter en gage in business and acquire property with out its being liable for the satisfaction of such former debts. Southern L. & T. Co. v. Benbow (D. C.) 96 Fed. 528; In re Adler, 103 Fed. 444; Colton v. Depew, 59 N. J. Eq. 126, 44 Atl. 662. In maritime law. The unlading or un livery of a cargo from a vessel. The Bird of Paradise v. Heyneman, 5 Wall. 557, 18 L. Ed. 662; Kimball v. Kimball, 14 Fed. Cas. 486; Certain Logs of Mahogany, 5 Fed. Cas. 374. In military law. The release or dis missal of a soldier, sailor, or marine, from further military service, either at the expira tion of his term of enlistment, or previous thereto on special application therefor, or as a punishment. An "honorable" discharge Is one granted at the end of an enlistment and accompanied by an official certificate of good conduct during the service. A "dishonorable" discharge is a dismissal from the service for bad conduct or as a punishment imposed by sentence of a court-martial for offenses against the military law. There is also in occasional use a form of "discharge without honor," which implies censure, but is not in itself a punishment. See Rev. St. U. S. §§ 1284, 1342, 1426 (U. S. Comp. St. 1901, pp. 913, 944, 1010); Williams v. U. S., 137 U. S. 113, 11 Sup. Ct. 43, 34 L. Ed. 590; U. S. v. Sweet, 189 U. S. 471, 23 Sup. Ct 638, 47 L. Ed. 907. The repudiation or re nunciation of a right or claim vested in a person or which he had formerly alleged to be his. The refusal, waiver, or denial of an estate or right offered to a person. The dis avowal, denial, or renunciation of an in terest, right, or property imputed to a per son or alleged to be his. Also the declara tion, or the Instrument, by which such dis claimer is published. Moores v. Clackamas County, 40 Or. 536, 67 Pac. 662. Of estates. The act by which a party refuses to accept an estate which has been DISCLAIMER.