[1][2] The concept is feudal in origin, and common in countries which rely on the English legal system (including many former British colonies).
Mesne profits commonly occur where a landlord has obtained an order from a court to evict a tenant, or where an individual sues to eject a bona fide landowner to whom title to land was improperly conveyed.
the ejected tenant received from the property between the time the court ordered the eviction and the time when the tenant actually left the property.
[4] Calculating mesne profits is often regulated by statute, but may be litigated in a court of equity.
[5] In the United States, laws regulating mesne profits have been the subject of Supreme Court decisions, such as Green v. Biddle, 21 U.S. 1 (1823).