Replevin

Replevin (/rɪˈplɛvən/) or claim and delivery (sometimes called revendication) is a lawsuit that enables a person to get back personal property taken wrongfully or unlawfully, pending a final determination by a court of law, and get compensation for resulting losses.

The word "replevin" is of Anglo-Norman origin and is the noun form of the verb "replevy". This comes from the Old French replevir, derived from plevir ("to pledge"), which is derived from the Latin replegiare ("to redeem a thing taken by another").

In The Law of Torts, John Fleming has written:

From medieval times, there has also come down to us a summary process, known as replevin, by which a man out of whose possession goods have been taken may obtain their return until the right to the goods can be determined by a court of law. Replevin arose out of the need of a turbulent society to discourage resort to self help and although for a long time primarily used in disputes about distress between landlord and tenant, it was gradually expanded to cover all cases of allegedly wrongful dispossession. If the plaintiff wanted return of his chattel in specie, replevin was a more appropriate remedy than either trespass or trover in which only damages could be recovered. Restoration of the property is, of course, only provisional, pending determination of title.

In common law, several types of action existed with respect to deprivation of possession (being subdivided into the wrongful taking of chattels and the unjust detention of them, even where the original taking was lawful):

At common law, the ordinary action for the recovery of goods wrongfully taken was originally one of detinue, but no means of immediate recovery was possible until the action was tried. Replevin arose to deal with the matter of the illegal distress of goods for rent or damage feasant, in order to procure their restoration to the owner. Illegal distress has been held to occur where:

Replevin will not lie where if any part of the rent claimed was due, but this defence is not effective where the only rent claimed by the landlord is not recoverable by distress.

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Wikipedia