At common law, this was the name of a mixed action (springing from the earlier personal action of ejectione flrmw) which lay for the recovery of the possession of land, and for damages for the unlawful detention of its possession. The action was highly fictitious, being in theory only for the recovery of a term for years, and brought by a purely fictitious person, as lessee in a supposed lease from the real party in interest. The latter’s title, however,, must be established in order to warrant a recovery, and the establishment of such title, though nominally a mere Incident, is in reality the object of the action. Hence this convenient form of suit came to be adopted as the usual method of trying titles to land.
It was the only mixed action at common law, the whole method of proceeding in which was anomalous, and depended on fictions invented and upheld by the court for the convenience of justice, in order to escape from the inconveniences which were found to attend the ancient forms of real and mixed actions.
It is also a form of action by which possessory titles to corporeal hereditaments may be tried and possession obtained. Ejectment bill. A bill in equity brought merely for the recovery of real property, together with an account of the rents and profits, without setting out any distinct ground of equity jurisdiction; hence demurrable. Crane v. Conklin, 1 N. J. Eq. 353, 22 Am. Dec. 519. Equitable ejectment. A proceeding in use in Pennsylvania, brought to enforce specific performance of a contract for the sale of land, and for some other purposes, which is in form an action of ejectment, but is in reality a substitute for a bill in equity. Riel v. Gannon, 161 Pa. 289, 29 Atl. 55; McKendry v. McKendry, 131 Pa. 24, 18 Ati. 1078, 6 L. R. A. 506. Justice ejectment. A statutory proceeding in Vermont, for the eviction of a tenant holding over after termination of the lease or breach of its conditions. Foss v. Stanton, 76 Vt 365, 57 Ati. 942.