Definition
Bona peritura (Latin: "perishable goods") is a legal term for property that is susceptible to decay, spoilage, or rapid loss of value. In practice, the term identifies a category of goods requiring expedited handling when they come under legal custody — whether held by an executor administering an estate, a trustee managing assets, a carrier transporting cargo, or a court officer holding property pending litigation. Because bona peritura cannot be preserved indefinitely without loss, the law imposes a duty of diligence on whoever has lawful control: act promptly to sell or otherwise convert the goods, then hold the proceeds in their place. The substituted proceeds stand in for the original property for all further legal purposes.
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): perishable goods.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): Perishable goods. Bouvier.
The common and legal meanings are nearly identical in substance, but the legal term carries operational weight that ordinary usage does not. Calling something "perishable" in everyday language is a description. Classifying property as bona peritura in a legal proceeding triggers affirmative duties of care, authorizes early sale without the usual procedural delays, and governs how proceeds are treated as a substitute res. The ordinary word describes; the legal term commands.
Why It Matters in Research
The practical significance of bona peritura appears in three distinct legal contexts, and researchers who treat it as a single-context term will miss relevant material in the corpus.
First, in estate administration, the term signals the executor's duty to liquidate perishable assets quickly. Delays that would be acceptable for durable property become breaches of duty when the property is bona peritura. Research into fiduciary liability and surcharge proceedings should account for this standard.
Second, in bailment and carrier law, bona peritura shapes the measure of a carrier's diligence. A carrier handling perishable freight is held to a heightened standard of expedition. Historical sources treating general carrier liability may understate this distinction; look for sections specifically addressing perishable cargo.
Third, in in rem proceedings and attachment, courts may authorize an early or interim sale of bona peritura to prevent loss to the fund, with proceeds substituted for the original goods. This practice intersects with equitable receivership, admiralty prize proceedings, and execution sales. Researchers tracing the procedural history of a disputed asset should check whether an early sale was authorized on bona peritura grounds, as this may explain why the original property no longer appears in later records.
A chronological trap: older reports and digests may catalog bona peritura cases under headings like "waste," "devastavit," or "carrier's liability" without using the Latin phrase. The concept travels under multiple headings depending on the era and jurisdiction.
Historical Dictionary Support
The three shelf sources agree on the core definition — perishable goods — but each illuminates a different corner of the term's application.
Burrill is the most economical: "Lat. Perishable goods." Nothing more.
Black's Law Dictionary adds the fiduciary dimension, specifying that an executor or trustee must use diligence in disposing of bona peritura and converting them into money. This is the estate administration framing.
Rapalje and Lawrence contribute the carrier law framing, noting that a carrier is bound to use due diligence in transporting such goods, and that when in legal custody bona peritura may be sold with proceeds held in their stead. Rapalje's entry is immediately followed by the separate term bona utlagatorum (goods of outlaws), which is unrelated but sometimes appears in close proximity in older indexes — a minor source of indexing confusion.
None of the historical sources address the procedural mechanism for court-ordered interim sale in litigation, which developed more fully in equity and admiralty practice. Researchers relying solely on these dictionary entries will have the concept but not the full procedural picture.
Jurisdictional Note
The duty of diligence and the authority to sell bona peritura and substitute proceeds are broadly recognized across common law jurisdictions, but the procedural mechanics vary. In admiralty and prize proceedings, federal courts have long exercised this authority. In state court proceedings, the specific statutory authorization for early sale of perishable property in estates or attachment proceedings differs by jurisdiction and should be verified locally.