CASUAL EJECTOR
A fictitious and nominal defendant in an action of
EJECTMENT.
Ejectment was one of the old common-law
FORMS OF ACTION. It could be used to oust an
intruder on the plaintiff ’s land, such as a
holdover tenant. It could also be used when
there was no intruder, but the owner wished to
remove any doubt about his or her right to the
land without waiting for someone to sue him or
her. In such a case, the strict form of procedure
required that the plaintiff name a defendant even when none actually existed. The action was
brought against a fictitious person called the
casual ejector. The name JOHN DOE was used
often for this nonexistent defendant.
