Pro-Tanto

The Lone Ranger splits with his sidekick. The breakup gets ugly, and you have to choos between them. You side with the sidekick. You're pro-tanto (actually spelled "pro-Tonto," but whatever).

Pro-tanto comes from Latin, which means it's either used by very old, non-pedophile Catholic priests, or by lawyers. In this case, we're dealing with lawyers.

The phrase itself means "only to that extent." It applies in situations where a party only makes partial payment of an obligation, or of a claim made as part of a lawsuit.

It comes up a lot in eminent domain cases, where a government forces someone to sell their property so that something of purported public value can get built. The government pays what it deems to be market value for the property. But it's done pro-tanto, meaning that, if you want to pursue a higher price with a lawsuit, you might end up getting more. The payment you receive would just count against any higher amount you might receive (if you get a higher amount).

The government claims your house so it can build a new highway. They pay you $200,000 for the house. You think it should be worth $250,000. You pursue a counter claim. The court rules you should have received $225,000. Since the $200,000 was paid pro-tanto, it counts as partial payment. The government just needs to cut you a check for the additional $25,000.