Definition
In consideratione ejus is a Latin phrase used in pleading and legal instruments meaning "in consideration thereof" or "in consideration of which." It functions as a connective term linking a stated consideration to the obligation or promise that flows from it. The phrase appears most commonly in older common law pleadings and formal contracts where the consideration underpinning a legal obligation was required to be expressly stated on the face of the document.
Note: Bouvier's entry renders this as "In his sight or view" (citing 12 Mod. 95), which appears to conflate this phrase with in conspectu ejus. The better-established meaning of in consideratione ejus—grounded in the Latin consideratio (consideration, deliberation) and ejus (of that, thereof)—is "in consideration thereof." Researchers should treat Bouvier's gloss with caution and verify against the cited context.
Common Confusion
Bouvier's entry defines in consideratione ejus as "in his sight or view," citing 12 Mod. 95. This rendering is almost certainly a transcription error or misattribution, conflating this phrase with in conspectu ejus (in his sight or presence) or a similar locution. The phrase in consideratione ejus appears in pleading forms precisely as a consideration-linking clause, consistent with the broader family of Latin pleading formulae using consideratio. Researchers encountering the Bouvier entry should not rely on the "sight or view" gloss without independently consulting the cited report.
Why It Matters in Research
This term is a relic of formal common law pleading practice, most frequently encountered in writs, declarations, and contract instruments from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries. Its primary research significance is structural: identifying it in a historical document signals that the drafter was articulating a causal or consequential link between a recited consideration and a legal obligation, a requirement that reflected the common law's insistence on express consideration in assumpsit and related actions.
The critical trap for corpus researchers is the Bouvier's gloss. Any researcher relying solely on Bouvier's definition and accepting "in his sight or view" will fundamentally misread documents in which the phrase appears. The confusion likely originates from a copying or typesetting error in the Bouvier's edition, and no other major historical law dictionary reproduces the "sight or view" meaning for this specific phrase.
When searching historical pleading records, treatises on common law forms, or early contract instruments in the Law Mind corpus, in consideratione ejus will typically appear mid-sentence, following a recital of facts or a stated consideration, and preceding the statement of the consequent promise or duty. Its function is formulaic and structural, not substantive — it signals the architecture of the pleading rather than introducing independent legal content.
The cited authority in Bouvier's (12 Mod. 95) refers to Modern Cases, a series of English law reports covering the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Researchers who wish to resolve the definitional ambiguity should consult that report directly to determine what phrase and context the citation was actually intended to support.
Historical Dictionary Support
Bouvier's Law Dictionary provides the only entry among the standard historical legal dictionaries for this phrase, and its substance is anomalous. The "in his sight or view" definition is not consistent with the compositional meaning of the Latin, with the usage of the phrase in surviving legal documents, or with parallel entries for related Latin pleading terms. Bouvier is ordinarily a reliable source for Latin pleading phrases, which makes the deviation here more likely the product of editorial error than a genuine alternative legal meaning.
No entry appears in Black's Law Dictionary (early editions) or Burrill's Law Dictionary for this specific phrase, though both sources cover the surrounding conceptual vocabulary of consideration in pleading extensively.