No man can forfeit another's right.

Explanation

(English-origin maxim.) No person can, by his own act or default, forfeit or destroy a right belonging to another — cite this to protect a third party's vested right from being extinguished by someone else's misconduct.

Where this applies

• A father commits a crime and is convicted, but the court refuses to strip his minor children of their inheritance because no man's wrongdoing can forfeit another person's vested right.
• A business partner embezzles funds and flees, but the court protects the innocent partner's share of the partnership assets because one man cannot forfeit what belongs to another.
• A tenant violates the lease, but the court holds that the subtenant's rights under a separate agreement cannot be destroyed by the tenant's default — no person can forfeit another's right.