Definition
A Latin term meaning "hanging" or "pending." In legal usage, *pendentes* appears almost exclusively in two distinct contexts:
1. FRUCTUS PENDENTES (fruits hanging): In civil law property doctrine, *pendentes* describes the fruits of the earth not yet severed from the ground — crops still rooted, fruit still on the branch. These are treated as part of the land itself until separation, at which point they become movable property. The concept matters for questions of ownership at the moment of sale, inheritance, or seizure.
2. PENDENTE LITE (while the suit is pending): The more frequently encountered legal use. *Pendente lite* is a Latin phrase of which *pendente* (a variant form of *pendentes*) is the operative word. It signals that something occurs or exists during the course of ongoing litigation — before final judgment. Temporary orders, injunctions, spousal support, and custody arrangements issued *pendente lite* are effective only for the life of the lawsuit.
Common Confusion
PENDENTES, PENDENTE, and PENDENTE LITE are often run together or treated as interchangeable. They are not. *Pendentes* standing alone most precisely refers to the property law concept (fructus pendentes). *Pendente lite* is the procedural phrase governing temporary orders during litigation. Researchers finding *pendentes* in older civil law sources should not assume it refers to litigation status. Conversely, modern family law and civil procedure sources using *pendente lite* are not discussing property attached to the soil. The Rapalje & Lawrence entry hints at this dual existence by moving directly from the property definition into a discussion of "pending" legal proceedings — the two senses sit side by side in the historical literature but are analytically distinct.
Recognized Forms
/SUBTYPES
FRUCTUS PENDENTES — The specific property law doctrine: fruits of the earth unsevered from the ground, classified as immovable until severance. Distinguished from fructus separati (fruits already separated) and fructus percepti (gathered fruits).
PENDENTE LITE — The procedural doctrine: relief, orders, or rights operative only during the pendency of a lawsuit. Encompasses temporary alimony, temporary custody, temporary injunctions, and receiver appointments made before final judgment.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers face a significant indexing and navigation problem with this term. Historical sources — including both editions of Black's — define *pendentes* exclusively through the property law lens (fructus pendentes), while modern legal research almost always encounters the word as part of *pendente lite*, a procedural and family law concept. These are not the same doctrine, and a corpus search on *pendentes* alone will surface both without distinguishing them.
In historical property sources, especially those drawing on Scottish institutional writers (Erskine's Institutes, cited in both Black's editions), *pendentes* is a classification tool for determining whether growing crops pass with a conveyance of land. This question was live in 19th-century agricultural property disputes and appears in real property treatises of that era.
In modern practice and in the Law Mind corpus, the term's practical significance has migrated almost entirely into *pendente lite* relief — the body of temporary orders that govern parties' rights between filing and final judgment. Family law researchers will encounter this constantly: temporary support, temporary custody, injunctions against dissipating marital assets, and appointment of guardians ad litem are all standard *pendente lite* mechanisms.
The Rapalje & Lawrence entry is notable for its hybrid structure: it begins with the civil law property meaning, then pivots mid-entry to "PENDING" as a procedural concept, citing New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and federal cases. This editorial choice reflects the practical reality that lawyers of that era needed both senses, but the entry's fragmented structure can mislead a researcher into thinking the property and procedural senses are more closely related than they are doctrinally.
Trap for historical researchers: Do not assume that a 19th-century case discussing *pendentes* is about litigation status. Verify whether the source is treating agricultural produce or procedural posture.
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's Law Dictionary (both the first and second editions) present identical, compressed definitions: *pendentes* means fruits of the earth not yet separated from the ground, citing Erskine's Institutes 2, 2, 4. This consistent citation to Erskine signals that both editions drew from Scottish civil law tradition rather than common law sources — appropriate, since the fructus pendentes concept is civilian in origin.
Rapalje & Lawrence is the most revealing of the three sources, not for what it says but for how it is organized. The entry conflates or adjacently treats the property meaning and the procedural "pending" concept, suggesting that 19th-century American practitioners experienced these as overlapping concerns. The reference to "unspiritual court for a pension originally granted" — appearing garbled in the source material — likely relates to ecclesiastical pension doctrine, illustrating how the term's reach extended beyond either of its modern primary meanings.
None of the three sources provides doctrinal depth on *pendente lite* as a procedural mechanism. That body of law developed substantially through equity practice and is better addressed in treatises on equity jurisdiction and, later, in procedural codes. Researchers seeking authority on *pendente lite* orders should not rely on dictionary sources alone.
Jurisdictional Note
The fructus pendentes doctrine as applied to conveyances and crop ownership varies among common law jurisdictions and has been substantially modified by statute in many U.S. states, particularly through the Uniform Commercial Code's treatment of growing crops as potentially covered goods. The *pendente lite* procedural doctrine is universal in American courts but the scope of available relief — particularly in family law — varies significantly by state statute and rule.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
See: Divorce — Temporary Orders and Pendente Lite Relief (The Law Mind Family Law Encyclopedia)