The action of forcible entry and detainer is a summary proceeding to recover possession of premises forcibly or unlawfully detained. The inquiry in such cases does not involve title, but is confined to the actual and peace-able possession of the plaintiff and the un-lawful or forcible ouster or detention hy de-fendant; the object of the law being to pre-vent the disturbance of the public peace by the forcible assertion of a private right. Gore v. Altice, 33 wash. 335, 74 Pac. 556; Eveleth v. Gill, 97 Me. 315, 54 Atl. 757.
Source: Black’s Law Dictionary 2nd Ed (1910)
