Also known as: adnihilat · adnihilatio · adnihilated · annihilate · annul · void
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A Law Latin verb denoting the act of annulling or rendering legally ineffective an instrument, obligation, or proceeding. The term applies when a transaction or document lacks a required element such as a valid underlying debt or statutory authorization, resulting in no legal effect from the outset.
Anthony Arnold signed a mortgage on his land to Alpine Mining in exchange for a promised loan that was never funded. When Alpine attempted foreclosure after default on a nonexistent debt, the court applied adnihilare to the mortgage because no valid obligation existed to support the security device.
Angela Acosta leased space to Argonaut Shipping and included a clause allowing the landlord to use self-help eviction upon holdover. Because the controlling law provided a speedy judicial remedy, the court applied adnihilare to the self-help provision as contrary to public policy.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Antonio Alvarado contracted with Arcadia Retail for goods and agreed to a liquidated damages clause set at ten times the anticipated loss. Upon breach the court applied adnihilare to the clause because the amount was unreasonable in light of the harm and proof difficulties, treating it as a penalty.
Abigail Alvarez and Alfred Ashford tried to effect an adoption through a private agreement without statutory compliance. The court applied adnihilare to the arrangement because adoption exists only by statute and was never recognized at common law.
Alice Atkins executed a trust naming Astra Aerospace as beneficiary after her nephew applied pressure that amounted to undue influence. The court applied adnihilare to the trust to the extent its creation was induced by that conduct.
An attorney made out-of-court statements to the press about a pending case under a rule containing a vague safe-harbor provision. The court applied adnihilare principles to the disciplinary application because the rule failed to give fair notice and risked discriminatory enforcement.
It means to annul or make void a legal instrument or obligation. The term appears in historical sources to describe rendering something without legal effect when a required element such as a valid debt or statutory authority is missing.
Supporting sources
A mortgage is subject to adnihilare when no valid underlying obligation exists. Security devices require an existing or future debt. If the obligation is void or discharged the mortgage itself becomes unenforceable.
A clause fixing damages is subject to adnihilare when the amount is unreasonably large relative to anticipated harm or proof difficulties. Such a term is treated as a penalty and therefore void.
Adoption was never recognized at common law and exists only by statute. Any private arrangement attempting to create an adoption without statutory compliance is therefore void.
…be mockery. The particular phraseology of the Constitution confirms the principle that a law repugnant to the Constitution is void and that courts as well as other departments are bound by that instrument. Therefore the Judiciary Act insofar as it purports to extend the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction beyond that…