Replevin: an action brought for the owner of items to recover possession of those items when those items were wrongfully taken or are being wrongfully kept.
Replevin is an Anglo-French law term. It is the noun form of the verb “replevy” (from Old French “replevir,” derived from “plevir,” to pledge). It signifies the recovery by a person of goods unlawfully taken out of his or her possession, by means of a special form of legal process. This falls into two stages:
- the replevy, the steps that the owner takes to secure the physical possession of the goods, by giving security for prosecuting the action and for the return of the goods if the case goes against him and
- the action of replevin itself (at common law, the ordinary action for the recovery of goods wrongfully taken would be one of detinue; but no means of immediate recovery liable to be seized).
Replevin is used when the party having the right of property cannot simply invoke self-help and take the property back. Where the party has the ability to do this directly, it is referred to as repossession. For example, in the U.S. States of Wisconsin and Louisiana, if one finances an automobile, becomes a registered owner of that vehicle, and fails to make payments as agreed, the lienholder cannot simply repossess the vehicle. The lienholder must go to court and obtain an order of replevin.