Although the general English usage of the adjective constructive is "helping to develop or improve something; helpful to someone, instead of upsetting and negative," as in the phrase "constructive criticism," in legal writing ''constructive'' has a different meaning.
Description
In its usage in law, ''constructive'' means what the law considers something to be, irrespective of the intentions of the relevant actor and irrespective of actual facts. It has also been defined in these terms: "That which exists, not in fact, but as a result of the operation of law. That which takes on a character as a consequence of the way it is treated by a rule or policy of law, as opposed to its actual character."
For example:
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Constructive notice Constructive notice is the legal fictionThe phrase "legal fiction" should not be construed to mean that the concept of constructive notice is legally invalid. that signifies that a person or entity should have known, as a reasonable person would hav ...
" refers to a judicial presumption that a person knows of some fact, because certain acts such as registration with a public agency have occurred, even though the person is actually ignorant of the fact.
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"Constructive knowledge" is knowledge that courts impute to a person because such knowledge is obtainable by the exercise of reasonable care.
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Constructive eviction
Constructive eviction is a term used in the law of real property to describe when a landlord sidesteps the formal, legal eviction process, and instead attempts to force the eviction of the tenant by rendering the property uninhabitable (e.g. cha ...
" occurs when a landlord does not actually evict but does something that renders the premises unlivable. This might occur, for example, where a tenant vacates an apartment because a landlord turns off the heat or water. The tenant, however, must abandon possession in order to claim that there was a constructive eviction.
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Constructive fraud Constructive fraud is a legal fiction describing a situation where a person or entity gained an unfair advantage over another by deceitful or unfair methods. Intent does not need to be shown as in the case of actual fraud. Some unfair methods may ...
," unlike actual fraud which requires an intentional false statement, requires only a negligent false statement that causes damage to the plaintiff (or in some states an innocent but injurious false statement).
[See ''Moore v. Gregory'', 146 Va. 504, 523, 131 S.E. 692 (1925): "Constructive fraud is a breach of legal or equitable duty which, irrespective of the moral guilt of the fraud feasor, the law declares fraudulent because of its tendency to deceive others, to violate public or private confidence, or to injure public interests. Neither actual dishonesty of purpose nor intent to deceive is an essential element of constructive fraud. An intent to deceive is an essential element of actual fraud. The presence or absence of such an intent distinguishes actual fraud from constructive fraud."]
References
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American legal terminology