Abandonment. Abandoning an action, in Scottish legal procedure, signifies the act by which a pursuer, at any time before final judgment, abandons or withdraws from his action on the payment of the costs incurred; the effect being that, although his action is dismissed, he is at liberty to bring another action on the same grounds. The same purpose is effected in England by the plaintiff, in the High Court of Justice, giving a notice called discontinuance. In England, however, this is in the power of the plaintiff only before any step has been taken subsequent to the statement of defence.
Afterwards, the authority of the judge is required; one reason for this distinction being that in England a defendant may obtain decree against the plaintiff on his counter-claim, a convenient practice not yet introduced to Scotland. As regards criminal proceedings, these may in England be stopped by a warrant of the Attorney-General, called Nolle prosequi (q.v.), granted where justice requires; in Scotland, where criminal proceedings are always in the hands of the public prosecutor, the technical expression is 'deserting the diet,' which can be done before a jury is sworn, and does not exclude a new prosecution.
Abandonment, in Marine Insurance, signifies the relinquishment to the underwriter of all interest in the subject of insurance, and is implied in every settlement for a total loss. Notice of abandonment is given by the insured, where he has reasonable ground for thinking there is a total loss, but it may not be accepted by the underwriter. See INSURANCE.
Under the Abandonment of Railways Acts of 1850, 1867, and 1869, the Board of Trade may, on good cause shown, sanction the abandonment of railways, even though partly made, if three-fifths in value of the shareholders consent. The effect is to relieve the company from liability to carry on the undertaking. Compensation is made to land-owners and contractors, and usually the deposit-money is applied as assets.
Abandonment is often applied to the act of master and crew leaving a ship after collision. This they should not do if by ordinary care and skill they will not be exposed to extraordinary risk of life.
Abandonment or exposure of children under the age of two, so as to endanger life or permanently injure health, is an offence punishable in England by penal servitude, under the Offences against the Person Act, 1861. In Scotland, the exposure or desertion of children is a crime at common law.
In the United States, non-user does not generally constitute abandonment, but where an abandonment is acted upon in good faith, it destroys the original owner's rights. Legal rights once vested, must be divested according to law, while equitable rights may be abandoned at pleasure. There may be an abandonment of an easement, an improvement, an invention or discovery, of a trust fund, a mining claim, a right under a charter or land warrant.