FindLaw Legal Dictionary

Legal Term of the Day

• Jun 3, 2020 7:00 AM:  Trademark Trial And Appeal Board
  An administrative tribunal at the USPTO. It has jurisdiction over appeals from decisions of the Trademark Office, as well as opposition proceedings and cancellation proceedings.

• Jun 2, 2020 7:00 AM:  Occupation
  For an alien entering the United States or adjusting without a labor certification, occupation refers to the employment held in the country of last legal residence or in the United States. For an ...

• Jun 1, 2020 7:00 AM:  Jailer
  : a keeper of a jail

• May 31, 2020 7:00 AM:  Justice Court
  : justice of the peace court

• May 30, 2020 7:00 AM:  No-Duty Doctrine
  : a doctrine in tort law: a defendant cannot be held liable for an injury if no duty is owed to the plaintiff ;specif : a doctrine holding that a person in possession of property is under no duty to ...

• May 29, 2020 7:00 AM:  Terrorize
  -ized -iz·ing : to inflict terror upon ter·ror·i·za·tion [ter-ər-ə-zā-shən] n

• May 28, 2020 7:00 AM:  Ja
  judge advocate

• May 27, 2020 7:00 AM:  Nonconsumable
  : a thing (as land, furniture, or shares of stock) that may be enjoyed without altering its substance except for natural deterioration over time

• May 26, 2020 7:00 AM:  Notice Of Publication
  A written statement from the USPTO notifying an applicant that its mark will be published in the Official Gazette.

• May 25, 2020 7:00 AM:  Year-And-A-Day Rule
  : a common-law rule that relieves a defendant of responsibility for homicide if the victim lives for more than one year and one day after being injured NOTE: The year-and-a-day rule, which dates from ...

• May 24, 2020 7:00 AM:  Pal
  passive activity loss

• May 23, 2020 7:00 AM:  Adjusted Gross Income
  : an individual's gross income decreased by the amount of deductions allowed esp. for business expenses

• May 22, 2020 7:00 AM:  Collateral Order Doctrine
  : an exception to the final judgment rule that allows review of orders conclusively determining a disputed question when the question is independent and separable from the rest of the case for ...

• May 21, 2020 7:00 AM:  House Of Delegates
  :house ;esp : the lower house of the state legislature in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia

• May 20, 2020 7:00 AM:  State Law
  : the law of a state ;specif : a law or body of laws promulgated by a state legislature

• May 19, 2020 7:00 AM:  App
  appeals

• May 18, 2020 7:00 AM:  Equity Of Redemption
  1 : the right of a defaulting mortgagor to redeem the mortgaged property before an absolute foreclosure 2 : the interest or estate remaining to a mortgagor in mortgaged property ;also : the value ...

• May 17, 2020 7:00 AM:  Nonassignable
  : not assignable

• May 16, 2020 7:00 AM:  Warrant Of Attorney
  :a power of attorney authorizing another (as an attorney) to appear in court and confess judgment on the grantor's behalf

• May 15, 2020 7:00 AM:  Noncontrolling
  : not controlling

• May 14, 2020 7:00 AM:  Ex Relatione
  [Medieval Latin] : by or on the relation or information of NOTE: The abbreviation for ex relatione ex rel., is used in the title of informations and special proceedings to designate the interested ...

• May 13, 2020 7:00 AM:  Substantial Factor
  : an important or significant factor that is not necessarily the only factor leading to a plaintiff's injury but is sufficient to have caused the injury by itself compare but-for

• May 12, 2020 7:00 AM:  Loan Fraud
  purposely giving incorrect information on a loan application in order to better qualify for a loan; may result in civil liability or criminal penalties.

• May 11, 2020 7:00 AM:  Upgrade A Petition
  If you naturalize (become an American citizen) you may ask the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to change the petitions you filed for family members when you were a lawful permanent resident ...

• May 10, 2020 7:00 AM:  Cohabit
  : to live together as a married couple or in the manner of a married couple co·hab·i·ta·tion [kō-ha-bə-tā-shən] n

• May 9, 2020 7:00 AM:  Bailiff
  [Anglo-French, steward, king's official, from bail stewardship, custody, handing over see bail ] : an officer of some courts in the U.S. whose duties usually include keeping order in the courtroom ...

• May 8, 2020 7:00 AM:  Opportunity Cost
  : the cost of making an investment that is the difference between the return on one investment and the return on an alternative

• May 7, 2020 7:00 AM:  Fed. Reg.
  Federal Register

• May 6, 2020 7:00 AM:  Expressly
  : in an express manner : in definite and distinct terms [acceptance is conditional]

• May 5, 2020 7:00 AM:  Principal Register
  Primary trademark register of the USPTO. When a mark has been registered on the Principal Register, the mark is entitled to all the rights provided by federal law.

• May 4, 2020 7:00 AM:  Small Business
  : an independently owned and operated business that is not dominant in its field of operation and conforms to standards set by the Small Business Administration or by state law regarding number of ...

• May 3, 2020 7:00 AM:  Prime Minister
  1 : the chief minister of a ruler or state 2 : the official head of a cabinet or ministry ;esp : the chief executive of a parliamentary government prime min·is·te·ri·al ...

• May 2, 2020 7:00 AM:  Joint Enterprise
  1 : joint venture 2 : an undertaking of two or more parties for a common purpose in which each shares a common interest and an equal right of control (as of a vehicle) NOTE: In regard to a tort ...

• May 1, 2020 7:00 AM:  Acquittance
  : acquittal

• Apr 30, 2020 7:00 AM:  In Utero
  [Latin] : in the uterus : before birth [an injury suffered in utero] [that her condition could possibly be linked to in utero exposure "Burgess v. Eli Lilly & Co., 995 F.2d 646 (1993)"]

• Apr 29, 2020 7:00 AM:  Patrimony
  pl: -nies [Middle French patrimonie, from Latin patrimonium, from patr- pater father] 1 : an estate inherited from one's father or ancestor [to deprive her and her coheirs of their "Wells Fargo Bank ...

• Apr 28, 2020 7:00 AM:  Littoral Right
  : the right of one owning littoral land to have access to and use of the shore and water

• Apr 27, 2020 7:00 AM:  Circumstantial
  : belonging to, consisting in, or dependent on circumstances cir·cum·stan·tial·ly adv

• Apr 26, 2020 7:00 AM:  Forcible
  : effected by force or threat of force used against opposition or resistance [a felony] for·ci·bly adv

• Apr 25, 2020 7:00 AM:  Average Weekly Wage (Aww)
  The AWW is another method which may be utilized in calculating entitlement to wage loss benefits. The average earnings, by week, for a fixed period of time are calculated and wage loss benefits are ...

• Apr 24, 2020 7:00 AM:  Reciprocal Exchange
  : an unincorporated association in which members (as individuals, partnerships, trustees, or corporations) exchange contracts and pay premiums through an attorney-in-fact for the insurance of each ...

• Apr 23, 2020 7:00 AM:  Apprehend
  [Latin apprehendere to seize, arrest, from ad to + prehendere to seize] : arrest

• Apr 22, 2020 7:00 AM:  Repealer
  : a legislative act or clause in an act that repeals an earlier act

• Apr 21, 2020 7:00 AM:  Co-
  1 : with : together : joint : jointly [codefendant] 2 a : associated in an action with another : fellow [co-conspirator] b : having a usually lesser share in duty or responsibility : alternate ...

• Apr 20, 2020 7:00 AM:  Examiner
  : a person who examines: as a : a court officer empowered to administer an oath and take testimony b : a person whose work is to inspect usually a specified thing or situation [a bank ]

• Apr 19, 2020 7:00 AM:  Collyer Doctrine
  [from Collyer Insulated Wire, 192 N.L.R.B. 837 (1971), the ruling that resulted in it] : a doctrine in labor law under which the National Labor Relations Board will defer an issue brought before it ...

• Apr 18, 2020 7:00 AM:  Presentence Investigation
  : an investigation made by a probation officer in preparing a presentence report

• Apr 17, 2020 7:00 AM:  Negligent Entrustment
  : the entrusting of a dangerous article (as a motor vehicle) to one who is reckless or too inexperienced or incompetent to use it safely ;also : a theory or doctrine making one liable for injury ...

• Apr 16, 2020 7:00 AM:  Repudiatee
  : a party to a contract that has been repudiated by another party to the contract

• Apr 15, 2020 7:00 AM:  Restriction
  1 : something that restricts: as a : a regulation that restricts or restrains b : a limitation on the use or enjoyment of property or a facility 2 a : an act of restricting b : the state of being ...

• Apr 14, 2020 7:00 AM:  Var
  Acronym for Value Added Reseller. A VAR is a business that adds its own "value," or application, to an existing product, and resells the resulting enhanced product as a package.

• Apr 13, 2020 7:00 AM:  Sci. Fa.
  scire facias

• Apr 12, 2020 7:00 AM:  Reclaim
  1 : to make fit or available for human use [ing land that had been strip-mined] 2 a : to demand the return of by right b : to regain possession of

• Apr 11, 2020 7:00 AM:  Certification Mark
  Any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce by someone other than its owner, to certify regional or other origin, material, mode of manufacture, ...

• Apr 10, 2020 7:00 AM:  Op.
  opinion

• Apr 9, 2020 7:00 AM:  Plain View
  1 : a location or field of perception in which something is plainly apparent 2 : a doctrine that permits the search, seizure, and use of evidence obtained without a search warrant when such evidence ...

• Apr 8, 2020 7:00 AM:  Property Right
  1 : a right or interest in or involving property (as real property) [a conflict between environmental regulations and property rights] 2 : property interest at interest

• Apr 7, 2020 7:00 AM:  Post-Conviction
  : relating to or occurring in the period following conviction [ review]

• Apr 6, 2020 7:00 AM:  Rico
  Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (Act) see also the Important Laws section

• Apr 5, 2020 7:00 AM:  Descriptive Mark
  : a trademark or service mark that conveys the idea of the qualities, characteristics, or effects of a product or service and that is protectable when it creates an association in the mind of the ...

• Apr 4, 2020 7:00 AM:  Pleadings
  in a civil case, the written statements of the parties stating their positions about the case.

• Apr 3, 2020 7:00 AM:  Misprision
  [Anglo-French, error, wrongdoing, from Old French, from mesprendre to make a mistake, from mes- wrongly + prendre to take, from Latin prehendere to seize] 1 : neglectful or wrongful performance of an ...

• Apr 2, 2020 7:00 AM:  Writ
  [Old English, something written] 1 : a letter that was issued in the name of the English monarch from Anglo-Saxon times to declare his grants, wishes, and commands 2 : an order or mandatory process ...

• Apr 1, 2020 7:00 AM:  Finder
  1 : one that finds [the of lost property has a right to it as against the world, except against the true owner "McDonald v. Railway Express Agency, 81 S.E.2d 525 (1954)"] 2 : one that for a fee ...

• Mar 31, 2020 7:00 AM:  Mark
  1 : a character usually in the form of a cross or X that is made as a substitute for a signature by a person who cannot or is unwilling to write 2 : a character, device, label, brand, seal, or other ...

• Mar 30, 2020 7:00 AM:  Secured Debt
  Debt backed by a mortgage, pledge of collateral, or other lien; debt for which the creditor has the right to pursue specific pledged property upon default. Examples include home mortgages, auto loans ...

• Mar 29, 2020 7:00 AM:  Clean
  : free of amendments or annotations

• Mar 28, 2020 7:00 AM:  Uphold
  -held -hold·ing : to judge valid : let stand [ an award] ;specif : to hold constitutional [ the practice of having religious invocations and benedictions at high school graduation ceremonies ...

• Mar 27, 2020 7:00 AM:  Walk Through
  the final inspection of a property being sold by the buyer to confirm that any contingencies specified in the purchase agreement such as repairs have been completed, fixture and non-fixture property ...

• Mar 26, 2020 7:00 AM:  Mortgage-Backed Security (Mbs)
  a Fannie Mae security that represents an undivided interest in a group of mortgages. Principal and interest payments from the individual mortgage loans are grouped and paid out to the MBS holders.

• Mar 25, 2020 7:00 AM:  Patent Medicine
  : a packaged nonprescription drug which is protected by a trademark and whose contents are incompletely disclosed ;also : any drug that is a proprietary

• Mar 24, 2020 7:00 AM:  Game
  gamed gam·ing : to play for a stake : gamble

• Mar 23, 2020 7:00 AM:  Prior Art
  : the processes, devices, and modes of achieving the end of an alleged invention that were known or knowable by due diligence before and at the date of the invention ;also : the knowledge or ...

• Mar 22, 2020 7:00 AM:  Corespondent
  1 : a joint respondent 2 : a person named as guilty of adultery with the defendant in a divorce suit

• Mar 21, 2020 7:00 AM:  Due Process Clause
  : a clause in a constitution prohibiting the government from depriving a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law ;specif often cap D&P&C : such a clause found in the ...

• Mar 20, 2020 7:00 AM:  Amenity
  a feature of the home or property that serves as a benefit to the buyer but that is not necessary to its use; may be natural (like location, woods, water) or man-made (like a swimming pool or garden).

• Mar 19, 2020 7:00 AM:  Collective
  : involving all members of a group as distinct from individual members col·lec·tive·ly adv

• Mar 18, 2020 7:00 AM:  Cross-Site_scripting
  Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) refers to a kind of computer security vulnerability, most often found in web applications, whereby malicious web programmers are able to inject code into websites viewed by ...

• Mar 17, 2020 7:00 AM:  Transfer Taxes
  State and local taxes charged for the transfer of real estate. Usually equal to a percentage of the sales price.

• Mar 16, 2020 7:00 AM:  Interdict
  1 : something that prohibits 2 : one that has been interdicted compare ward

• Mar 15, 2020 7:00 AM:  Projet
  [French, literally, plan] in the civil law of Louisiana : a draft of a proposed code or constitution

• Mar 14, 2020 7:00 AM:  Mandatory Delivery Commitment
  an agreement that a lender will deliver loans or securities by a certain date at agreed-upon terms.

• Mar 13, 2020 7:00 AM:  Delist
  : to remove from a list ;esp : to remove (a security) from the list of securities that may be traded on a particular exchange

• Mar 12, 2020 7:00 AM:  Prosecution
  1 : the act or process of prosecuting ;esp : the institution and carrying on of a criminal action involving the process of seeking formal charges against a person and pursuing those charges to final ...

• Mar 11, 2020 7:00 AM:  Presumption
  : an inference as to the existence of a fact not certainly known that the law requires to be drawn from the known or proven existence of some other fact conclusive presumption : a presumption that ...

• Mar 10, 2020 7:00 AM:  Par
  [Latin, one that is equal, from par equal] : the face amount of an instrument of value (as a check or note): as a : the monetary value assigned to each share of stock in the charter of a corporation ...

• Mar 9, 2020 7:00 AM:  Encumber
  also in·cum·ber [in-kəm-bər] vt -bered -ber·ing : to burden with a claim (as a mortgage or lien) [ed the land with a mineral lease]

• Mar 8, 2020 7:00 AM:  Vagueness Doctrine
  : void-for-vagueness doctrine

• Mar 7, 2020 7:00 AM:  Bodily Injury Liability
  Insurance coverage that applies when you are legally liable for injuring other people in an auto accident. Bodily injury liability provides payments to those injured individuals and pays your legal ...

• Mar 6, 2020 7:00 AM:  Log
  : register

• Mar 5, 2020 7:00 AM:  Collective Bargaining Unit
  : bargaining unit

• Mar 4, 2020 7:00 AM:  American Society Of Home Inspectors
  the American Society of Home Inspectors is a professional association of independent home inspectors. Phone: (800) 743-2744

• Mar 3, 2020 7:00 AM:  Credit History
  a record of an individual that lists all debts and the payment history for each. The report that is generated from the history is called a credit report. Lenders use this information to gauge a ...

• Mar 2, 2020 7:00 AM:  Regulation Z
  : a regulation of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System that implements the federal Truth in Lending Act as to member banks

• Mar 1, 2020 7:00 AM:  Principal
  1 : being the main or most important, consequential, or influential [their place of business] [the obligor] 2 : of, relating to, or constituting principal or a principal [the amount of the loan]

• Feb 29, 2020 7:00 AM:  Pro Rata Clause
  : a clause in an insurance policy limiting an insurer's liability for a loss to a proportionate share in relation to coverage collectible from other insurers for the same loss called also pro rata ...

• Feb 28, 2020 7:00 AM:  Death
  : a permanent cessation of all vital bodily functions : the end of life see also brain death, civil death NOTE: Death is usually defined by statute and for purposes of criminal homicide has been ...

• Feb 27, 2020 7:00 AM:  Undue
  1 : not due : not yet payable [an bill] 2 : exceeding or violating propriety or fitness [would impose hardship on the debtors] [such a requirement would place an burden on employers]

• Feb 26, 2020 7:00 AM:  Accede
  ac·ced·ed ac·ced·ing 1 a : to become a party (as to an agreement) by associating oneself with others [they were invited to to the covenant] b : to express approval or give ...

• Feb 25, 2020 7:00 AM:  Hostile Work Environment
  The basis for a sexual harassment claim, a "hostile work environment" is created where the presence of demeaning or sexual photographs, jokes, threats, or overall atmosphere is so pervasive as to ...