Severance
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence · Benjamin Vaughan Abbott · 1879
Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence
Singling; dividing; disjoining.
1.
In pleading at law, when there are several defendants in an action, they may either all plead jointly one and the same defence, or each defendant may plead a separate defence for himself, if he thinks such a course preferable; in which latter case he is said to sever, and his doing so is termed severance in pleading.
2.
The word severance is also used to signify the cutting of the crops, such as corn, grass, &c., or the separating of any thing from the realty.