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Ejusdem generis is a legal principle that applies when a generic description follows specific items in a law. It ensures that the general term only applies to things belonging to the same group or class as the specific items. The rule is used with caution and only when certain conditions are met. It does not apply if the words listed do not constitute a distinct group or class of things. The rule can be applied to advances in technology, but a thing could be so new and different as to be sui generis, “of its kind”.
Ejusdem generis is a Latin phrase meaning “of the same kind”. As a legal term it refers to a principle for interpreting the language of a law. The rule of ejusdem generis says that when a generic description follows specific items, the more generic description applies only to things belonging to the same group or class as the specific items. For example, the application of ejusdem generis to a law on “gin, bourbon, vodka, rum and other drinks” would exclude “milk” from the general term “other drinks”. This is true even if milk is a drink.
The ejusdem generis rule is a tool that the common law courts of the United States and other countries can use to determine the meaning to be given to language that lists specific elements within a statute. Such construction rules help ensure that courts interpret statutes consistent with the intent of the legislature that enacted it. Ejusdem generis is, therefore, generally used with caution. This is because its use is governed by a fundamental rule that the statutory language must be read so as to accomplish the intent of the legislator. When the language of a statute may not be clear in its scope, ejusdem generis in effect presupposes what the legislator intended by a general word from his use of more specific words.
Before the rule can be applied, certain conditions must be met. The statute must contain a list of items suggesting that the items belong to a type or class of things. The list cannot exhaust all possible elements of the class or type. A general term describing the class or type must follow the listing of specific items. There should be no clear evidence of the legislative intent that the general term should have a broader meaning than that which would apply to the specific items.
If the words listed in a statute do not constitute a distinct group or class of things, the ejusdem generis rule does not apply. Similarly, the rule does not apply to a single term that does not itself constitute a class. Also, if the specific elements listed include all possible elements in a class, any general descriptors following the list are read as applying to a larger class of elements.
Interesting cases of application of the ejusdem generis consistent with the legislative intent can arise with the advances in technology. Historical examples include deciding whether an automobile was a “carriage” for the purposes of negligence rules, or whether the newly invented bicycle was a “car.” As advances in modern technology continue, incorporating new technology into a classroom can become more difficult. A thing could be so new and different as to be sui generis, “of its kind”.
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