De bene esse is a Latin phrase meaning "of well being." In an American legal context, it means "conditionally," "provisionally," or "in anticipation of future need." It can also mean "A phrase applied to proceedings which are taken ex parte or provisionally and are allowed to stand as well done for the present." [1] It is also used to indicate that a deposition may be used in place of a witness' live testimony in court, rather than merely to discover what the witness has to say.
An appearance de bene esse is designed to permit a party to a proceeding to refuse to submit his person to the jurisdiction of the court unless it is finally determined that he has forever waived that right.[2] Such an appearance is therefore a special appearance designed to allow the accused to meet and discharge the contractual requirement of making an appearance, and at the same time, to refuse to submit to the jurisdiction of any alleged plaintiff (and therefore of the applicable court), unless and until some judicial department prosecutor makes all disclosures, specifically by producing a complaint of damage or injury, signed and verified by the injured party.