A more thorough explanation:

Definition: The party against whom a judgment is obtained in a common recovery. Common recovery is a historical legal proceeding used to transfer land ownership by disentailing a fee-tail estate. The recoveree is the person who loses the land in the process.

Example: In a common recovery, the recoveree is the person who is sued by the potential transferee claiming ownership of the land. For instance, if A owns a land that he wants to transfer to B, but the law prohibits B from receiving the land, B can sue A in a common recovery. A will then claim that he acquired the land from C, who will admit that he warranted the title. B will take a default judgment against A for the recovery of the land, and A will obtain a default judgment against C for the recovery of land of equal value. The result is that B will have title to the land in fee simple, and A will have a judgment against C. The recoveree in this case is A, who loses the land.

Explanation: The example illustrates how a common recovery works and who the recoveree is. A is the recoveree because he loses the land in the process. The common recovery was a legal fiction used to avoid the restrictions imposed by mortmain acts, which prohibited the transfer of land to the church. The recoveree was often an accomplice of the person who wanted to transfer the land, and the court knew that the parties were colluding. However, the court allowed the transfer to take place because it was the only way to unshackle land from the chains of the fee tail.