Unlawful detainer
Black's Law Dictionary · Henry Campbell Black, M.A. · 1910
Black's Law Dictionary
The unjustifiable retention of the possession of lands by one whose original entry was lawful and of right, but whose right to the possession has terminated and who refuses to quit, as in the case of a tenant holding over after the termination of the lease and in spite of a demand for possession by the landlord.
McDevitt v. Lambert, 80 Ala. 536, 2 South. 438; Silva v. Campbell, 84 Cal. 420. 24 Pac. 316; Code Tenn. 1896, § 5093.
Where an entry upon lands is unlawful, whether forcible or not, and the subsequent conduct is forcible and tortious, the offense committed is a "forcible entry and detainer;" but where the original entry is lawful, and the subsequent holding forcible and tortious, the offense is an "unlawful detainer" only.
Pullen v. Boney, 4 N. J. Law, 129.