noun

estoppel

e-STOP-uhl/ɛˈstɑpəl/

A legal rule preventing someone from contradicting an earlier position or representation.

Estoppel can prevent a landlord from contradicting an earlier assurance.

A two-part sequence shows a property owner visibly approving a neighbor's fence placement, then being stopped by a judge when he tries to claim the same fence crosses onto his land.

Etymology

Estoppel may derive from a word for a bung or cork, making legal restraint a kind of stopping up. Alternatively, it comes from estop, already meaning to bar someone through that person's own prior act or declaration.

In context

The Real News Network23:22

lost my part of that lawsuit under collateral estoppel. Uh it was barred because I had been found guilty

After 5 years behind bars, cop watcher Eric Brandt breaks his silence.

More examples

The tenant raises estoppel as a defense against eviction.
The court applies estoppel to prevent the company from reversing its position.
Her lawyer argues that estoppel bars him from denying his earlier statement.

Forms

estoppel · estoppels

estop verb — Legally prevent someone from contradicting an earlier position.

Similar words

bar: Bar covers any legal obstacle, not just prior contradictions.
preclusion: Preclusion often blocks issues already settled in earlier litigation.