## Facts

- A (defendant) possessed a book, a cup, a horse, and two lambs that belonged to B (plaintiff).
- The items were valued together at 100 shillings.
- B initiated an action in detinue seeking recovery of the chattels, or alternatively recovery of their value (100 shillings).
- Process issued in the form of a writ from the king directed to the sheriff to be served on A.
- The writ ordered A to either pay 100 shillings (stated as a “debt” in the form) or return the specified property.
- The writ further provided that, if A did not pay or return the property, A was to be summoned to appear before the court to explain the failure.

## Issues

1. Whether the writ form authorizes process requiring a defendant in possession of another’s chattels to return the items or, in the alternative, to pay their stated value.
2. Whether the writ properly directs the sheriff to compel performance first and, upon nonperformance, to summon the defendant to appear before the king’s court to answer for the detention.

## Decision

- The court issued a royal writ to the sheriff concerning A’s detention of B’s chattels valued at 100 shillings.
- The writ commanded A to return the specified chattels or pay 100 shillings.
- If A failed to return the property or pay the amount, the writ directed that A be summoned to appear before the court to explain why A did not comply.

## Legal Principles

- Detinue is a form of action used to recover specific personal property wrongfully detained from the person with the better right to possession.
- In the writ form, relief is framed in the alternative: return of the identified chattels or payment of their assessed value.
- The “writ of debt or detinue” reflects the historical overlap in pleading between claims for a fixed sum and claims for detained goods, including debt-like wording even when the object sought is specific property.
- The writ uses a command-and-summons structure typical of original writ practice: the sheriff is instructed to require performance, and the defendant is brought to court to answer only if performance is not made.

## Conclusion

Writ of Debt or Detinue, L, I (9th ed., London, J. Butterworth 1794)] presents a standardized royal writ used to commence detinue (with debt-like phrasing) where a defendant holds identified chattels belonging to the plaintiff. Using the example of a book, cup, horse, and two lambs worth 100 shillings, the writ directs the sheriff to require the defendant to return the goods or pay their value, and it provides for a summons to the king’s court if the defendant does neither.
