 As it became increasingly acknowledged by the legal establishment during the 15th and 16th centuries that custom had "a secure place in law", plaintiffs were able to resort to the common law courts to resolve their differences over tenure rather than the court baron.The court customary, or halmote court, was the equivalent of the court baron for the lord's unfree tenants.As the use of the court baron declined, the court customary became the predominant type of manorial court, and gradually the court's distinction between free and unfree tenants disappeared.