PAST Program
Terms
undefined, object
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- Abandoned
- finder has UNQUALIFED right to the property
- a fortitiori
- For a still stronger reason; all the more.
- accession
- the acquisition of title to personal property by bestowing labor on a raw material to convert it to another thing
- action in equity
- an action that seeks equitable relief, such as an injunction or specific performance, as opposed to damages
- Administrator
- A person appointed by the court to manage the assets and liabilities of an intestate deceased
- adverse possession
- An unconventional means of acquiring title to land which occurs when a person occupies and possesses another's land under claim of right or color of title for a period of time set by the applicable statutes
- affirmance
- a ratification, reacceptance, or confirmation; a formal approval by an appellate court of a lower court's judgement order, or decree.
- alighted
- come down, get off
- amended complaint
- a claim that modifies and replaces the original complaint by adding relevant matters that occurred before or after the time the action began
- animus possidendi
- the intent to control
- animus revertendi
- the intention of returning
- answer
- a defendants first pleading addressing the merits of the case
- appallant
- the party who appeals the lower court's decision
- appealable
- A decree or order that is sufficiently final to receive appellate review
- appelle
- a party against whom an appeal is taken and whose role is to respond to that appeal, usually seeking affirmance of the lower court's decision
- assignment
- the transfer of rights or property
- assignor
- one who transfers property rights or power of another
- assumpsit
- A form of action for the recovery of damages for the nonperformance of a contract
- aver
- allege: report or maintain
- bailee
- a person who receives personal property from another as a bailment
- bailment
- the rightful possession of goods by one who is not the owner; delivery of personal property by one person to another who holds the property for a certain purpose under an express or implied-in-fact contract (involuntary bailment when finder finds an item)
- bailor
- a person who delivers personal property to another as a bailment
- bearer bond
- A security, usually a bond, that does not have the owner's name registered on the books of the issuer or on the certificate. Interest and principal, when due, are payable to the person in possession of the bond. The holder sends in or presents a coupon for payment. Most securities issued today are in registered form
- beget
- bill in equity
- "A petition for relief addresed to a court of equity and filed therein by the party seeking relief and stating the facts on which the claim for relief is based. The ordinary bill is brought by a private party having a private interest to assert or protect. the first pleading in the action, the paper in which the plaintiff sets out his or her case and demands relief from the defendant.
- bill of exceptions
- a formal written statement - signed by the trial judge and presented to the appellate court - of a party's objections or exceptions taken during trial and the grounds on which they are founded
- bona fide
- Made in good faith, at fair market value, without deceit or fraud.
- boom
- floating logs tied together in rafts to be towed by boat to their destination.
- cardinal
- Cardinal refers to a basic or primary value
- carrier
- The company that transports goods from one point to another. May be a vessel, airline, trucking company, or railroad.
- case at bar
- a case presently before the court; a case under argument.
- certiorari
- a writ issued by an appellate court directing a lower court to deliver the record in the case for review
- chattel
- movable or transferable property, especially personal property
- chose
- a thing, whether tangible or intangible; a chattel
- chose in action
- personal property that one person owns but another person possesses, the owner being able to regain possession through a lawsuit
- chose in possession
- something that is in one's actual possession or can be possessed
- cistern
- civil law
- roman law; one of the2 prominent legal systems in the W.World, originally administered in the Roman Empire and still influential in many parts of the world; body of law imposed by the state as opposed to moral law
- claimant
- one who asserts a right or demand, formally
- close
- Signifies the interest in the soil, and not merely a close or enclosure in the common acceptation of the term
- cogent
- compelling or convincing
- common law
- the body of law derived from judicial decisions, rather than statutes or constitutions
- conclusions of law
- an infrence on a question of law, made as a result of a factual showing, no further evidence being required. A legal inference
- confound
- confuse: be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly
- confusion of goods
- The mixture of things of the same nature but belonging to different owners so that the identification of the things is no longer possible.
- constructive possession
- Constructive possession is a legal fiction to describe a situation where an individual has actual control over chattels or real property without actually having physical control of the same assets
- continuado
- The Dame of an averment sometimes contained in a declaration in trespass, that the injury or trespass has been continued
- controverted
- proven to be false or incorrect
- conversion
- the wrongful taking of another's property as if it were its own (a remedy for conversion would be repulvin or trover)
- cord
- A cord must equal 128 cubic feet (stacked of firewood);
- cord wood
- firewood cut and stacked in cords
- custodian
- a person or institution that has charge or custody of property, papers, or other valuables
- custody
- the care and control of a theing or person for inspection, preservation, or security
- damages
- money claimed by, or to be paid to, a person as compensation for loss
- de facto
- actual; existing in fact; having effect even though not formally or legally recognized
- decree
- judgment
- deed
- something that is done or carried out; an action; legal instrument used to grant a right
- default judgment
- judgment entered against a defendant who has failed to plead or otherwise defend himself against a plaintiff's claim
- defeasible
- capable of being annulled or avoided
- demise
- to lease
- detinue
- an action to recover personal property wrongfully taken by another (similar to replevin)
- directed verdict
- A procedural device whereby the decision in a case is taken out of the hands of the jury by the judge.
- dwelling house
- effectual
- ejectment
- the legal action by which a person wrongfully ejected from property seeks to recover possession and damages
- envisaged
- imagine: form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case
- equity
- the recourse to principles of justice to correct or supplement the law as applied to particular circumstances; the system of law or body of principles originating in the English Court of Chacnery and superseding the comon and statute law when the two conflict; body of law that seeks to acheive fairness on an individual basis
- exception
- a formal objection to a court's ruling by a party who wants to preserve the objection for appeal
- false imprisonment
- a restraint of a person in a bonded area without justification or consent
- fee simple
- an interest in land that endures until the current holder dies without heirs
- fee tail
- an interest in land inheritable only by specified descendants of the original grantee and that endures until its current holder dies without issue
- felony
- a serious crime usually punishable by imprisonment for more than one year or by death
- feoffments
- conveyancing. A gift of any corporeal hereditaments to another. It operates by transmutation of possession, and it is essential to its completion that the seisin be passed
- ferae naturae
- of wild nature, a "wild animal"
- fi. Fa.
- fieri facias - a writ of execution that directs a marshal or sheriff to seize and sell a defendant's property to satisfy a money judgment
- fidelity
- the quality of being faithful
- fiducial
- relating to or of the nature of a legal trust (i.e. the holding of something in trust for another);
- fodder
- any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed livestock, such as cattle, sheep, chickens and pigs
- forms of action
- different kinds of suit in common-law
- forthcoming bond
- A bond conditioned that a certain article of personal property shall be forthcoming at a certain time or when called for.
- freeholder
- One who holds property in fee-simple, fee-tail or for term of life
- gratiutious bailee
- acts without expectation of reward or compensation
- husbandry
- farming: the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock
- in extremis
- at the point of death
- in personam
- "directed toward a particular person." In a lawsuit in which the case is against a specific individual, that person must be served with a summons and complaint to give the court jurisdiction to try the case, and the judgment applies to that person and is called an "in personam judgment."
- in rem
- "against or about a thing," referring to a lawsuit or other legal action directed toward property, rather than toward a particular person. Thus, if title to property is the issue, the action is "in rem."
- indebitatus assumpsit
- sue in assumpsit if the defendant owed a debt and then violated a fresh promise to pay it. This action came to be known as indebitatus assumpsit, which means "being indebted, he promised."
- injunction
- court order commanding or preventing an action
- inter vivos
- of or relating to property conveyed not by will or in contemplation of an imminent death, but during the conveyor's lifetime
- interpleader
- a suit to determine a right to property held by a disinterested third party who is in doubt of ownership and deposits property with the court to permit parties to litigate ownership
- intestate
- of or relating to a person who has died without a valid will
- issue of fact
- J.P. Court
- Justice of the Peace Court
- judgement creditor
- The person having legal right to enforce execution of a judgement for a specific sum of money
- judgment on the verdict
- judgment for the party receiving a favorable jury verdict
- juniper knees
- juniper wood that grew naturally at a right angle
- jus postliminii
- The right to claim property after re-capture
- jus tertii
- The right of a third party. A tenant or bailee or another in possession of property, who pleads that the title is in some person other than that person's landlord or bailor, is said to set up a jus tertii.
- larceny
- the unlawful taking and carrying away of someone else's personal property with the intent to deprive the possessor of it permanently
- law of abandonment
- intent to abandon and the actual act of abandonment
- legal theory
- the principle under which a litigant proceeds, or on which a litigant bases its claims or defenses in a case
- levy
- the legally sanctioned seizure and sale of property; the money obtained from such a sale
- libellant
- lien
- a legal right or interest that a creditor has in another's property lasting usually until a debt or duty that it secures is satisfied
- life estate
- an estate held only for the duration of a specified persons life, usually the possessors
- livery stable
- A stable that boards horses and keeps horses and carriages for hire.
- locus in quo
- place where chattels are found
- lode
- Deposits in which ores have been emplaced into rock formations where they occur in veins.
- Lost
- unintentional. The FINDER has better titile to anyone but the true owner
- male fide
- With or in bad faith.
- malicious prosecution
- the institution of a criminal or civil proceeding for an inproper purpose and without probable cause
- manifest intent
- intent that is apparent or obvious based on the available circumstantial, even if direct evidence of intent is not available.
- manure
- Material, especially barnyard or stable dung, often with discarded animal bedding, used to fertilize soil
- mesne
- occupying a middle position; intermediate or intervening
- metes and bounds
- territorial limits of real property as measured by distances and angles from designated landmarks in relationshop to other property
- ministerial
- of or relating to an act that involves obedience to instructions, instead of judgment
- Mislaid
- intended to pick it up, but forgot. The OWNER OF PROPERTY has better title to anyone but the true owner
- moeity
- a half of something (such as an estate)
- moral turpitude
- Conduct contrary to honesty or good morals
- motion to vacate
- motion for a judge to set aside or annul an order or judgment which he/she finds was improper
- naked
- incomplete
- natural law
- loaw of God or nature
- nonsuit
- a court's dismissal of a case or of a defendant because the plaintiff failed to make out a legal case or bring sufficient evidence
- paroll
- on oral statement or declaration
- partition
- the act of dividing, esp. real property held jointly or in common, into 2 individual interests
- pecuniary
- of or relating to money; monetary
- peradventure
- doubt or uncertainty as to whether something is the case; "this proves beyond peradventure that he is innocent"
- petit larceny
- larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale
- positive law
- law of man, or courts, enacted by court
- preponderance of evidence
- the greater weight of the evidence; superior evidentary weight that, though not sufficient to free the mind wholly from all reasonable doubt, is still sufficient to include a fair and impartial mind to one side of the issue rather than the other.
- prima facie evidence
- evidence that will establish a fact or sustain a judgement unless contradictory evidence is produced
- pro tanto
- for as much, as it goes.
- punitory
- involving punishment
- quantum
- the required, desired, or allowed amount
- quasi-contract
- An obligation arising not from an agreement between the parties but from the voluntary act of one of them or some relation between them which will be enforced by a court.
- question of fact
- an issue capable of being answered by way of demonstration as opposed to a qestion of unverifiable opinion
- question of law
- an issue to be decided by a judge concerning the application or interpretation of the law
- quod fruit concessum
- railroad sleepers
- "Thick, square lengths of timber which are set into the bed of a railroad track and to which the tracks are attached.
- ratio decidendi
- the principle or rule of law on which the court's decision is founded.
- redress
- relief or remedy
- remanded
- To send back to the court from which it came for some further action
- remuneration
- payment, consideration
- replevin
- an action to recover the possession of a personal property taken or witheld from the owner unlawfully. Used when the think the object hey seek is more important the compensation.
- requisition
- the act of requiring; an authoritative request or demand, especially by a military or public authority that takes something over (usually temporarily) for military or public use
- residuary legatee
- a person designated to receive the residue of a descendants estate
- residue
- something that is left over after a part has been removed or disposed of; a remainder
- respondent
- the person that responds to the petitioners request for the court to hear a case. The person who was in the original case against the petioner.
- reversion
- a future interest in land arising by operation of law whenever an estate owner grants to another a particular estate, such a s a life estate or a term of years, but does not dispose of the enterire interest -> occurs automatically upon termination of the prior estate when a life owner dies
- right of action
- right to bring a specific case to court
- right of dower
- life estate that every married woman is entitled to on the death of her husband (1/3 of the interest in the estate)
- rule nisi
- A “rule†is an order from one of the superior courts, and a “rule nisi†is such an order “to show cause.†That is, the rule is to be held absolute unless the party to whom it applies can “show cause†why it should not be so.
- salutary
- Effecting or designed to effect an improvement; remedial
- sealed instrument
- contract that is signed and has the (wax) seal of the signer attached; recognized as providing indisputable evidence of the validity of the underlying obligations
- seisin
- possession of a freehold estate in land; ownership
- skids
- "A plank, log, or timber, usually one of a pair, used as a support or as a track for sliding or rolling heavy objects.
- substantive law
- the part of law that creates, defines, and regulates the powers of parties
- super-sedeas
- A writ or bond that suspends a judgement creditor's power to levy exeuction, usually pending appeal
- sustain
- to uphold or rule in favor of
- tanner
- "person who treat skins and hides with tannic acid so as to convert them into leather
- tenants in common
- owners who each own half of an undivided estate. If one owner dies, the other does not automatically take the entire estate. Whoever is designated in decendants will inherits his share.
- testator
- a person who has made a will; especially someone who died
- tortious
- wrongful, consisting of a tort
- treasure trove
- Valuables found hidden in the ground or other private place, the owner of which is unknown
- treble damages
- Damages that, by statute, are three times the amount that the fact-finder determines is owed
- trespass
- an action for injuries resulting from an unlawful act committed against person or property of another
- trespass de bonis asportatis
- " an action brought to recover damages from a person who has taken goods or property from its rightful owner
- trespass on the case
- An action to recover damages that are not the immediate result of a wrongful act, but a consequence.
- trespass quare clausum fregit
- an action to recover damages resulting from another's unlawful entry on one's land that is visibly enclosed
- trover
- a common law action for the recovery of damages for the conversion of personal property, the damages usually being measured by the value of the property
- trust receipt
- "Release of merchandise by a bank to a buyer in which the bank retains title to the merchandise. The buyer, who obtains the goods for manufacturing or sales purposes, is obligated to maintain the goods (or the proceeds from their sale) distinct from the remainder of his or her assets and to hold them ready for repossession by the bank, if necessary
- undue influence
- Coercian that destroys a testators free wil l and substitutes another's objectives in its place; the improper use of power or trust in a way that deprives a person of free will and substitutes another's objectives in its place
- venerie de novo
- a writ for summoning a jury panel aner b/cof some impropriety or irregularity in the original jury's verdict so that no judgment can begiven on in it -> result=new trial
- verba de futuro
- future word
- verba de praesentia
- present word
- vindictive damages
- punitive damages
- warranty deed
- a convenant by which the grantor in a deed promises to secure to the grantee estate conveyed in the deed, and pledges to compensate the grantee with other land if the grantee is evicted by someone having better title
- dicta
- statements in a judges opinion that are enot necessary to the decision of the particular case before them
- occupancy
- the act of taking something that has no owner so as to acquire leagl ownership
- reductio ad adsurdum
- "reduction to the absurd" -> in logic, disproof of an argument by showing that it leads to a ridiculous conclusion
- ratione soli
- landowner has prior possession until animal leaves; landowner has constructive possession of the wild animals while they are on his land