REBUT

In pleading and evidence. To rebut is tJo defeat or take away the effect of something. Thus, when a plaintiff in an action produces evidence which raises a presumption ot the defendant's liability, and the defendant adduces evidence which shows that. the presumption is 111-founded, he 1s said to "rebut it." Sweet. In, the old law of real property, to rebut was to repel or bar a claim. Thus, when a person was sued for land which had· been warranted to him by the plaintiff or his ancestor, and he pleaded the warranty as ·a defense to thPaction, this was called a "rebntter." Co. Litt. 865a; Termes de la Ley. -Rebut an equity. To defeat an ap1;1arent equitable right or claim, by the introdu,cbon ot evidence showing that, in the particular circtim· stances, there is no ground for such equity to attach, or that it is overridden by a superior or countervailing equity. See 2 Whart. Ev. § 978. [s. 1000]