Glossary
Legal glossary
763 definitions · page 1 of 13.
- Equal Protection
- The constitutional guarantee that persons will be treated equally.
- Equitable Distribution
- A fair division of marital property in a divorce or dissolution of marriage case.
- Equitable Estoppel
- This is a bar precluding a person from taking advantage of, for example, not speaking when he should have because it was his duty to speak.
- Equity Financing
- Equity financing refers to the raising of money for a business by issuing stock or through a direct additional investment by the owners.
- Erie Doctrine
- The Erie case held that there was no Federal Common Law and that a federal court deciding a dispute should apply the state law in the area the federal court is situated, rather than any federal law.
- Escalator Clause
- In contract law, this is a clause that increases the price if market conditions change, such as inflation.
- Escape Clause
- In contract law, this is a clause that allows breach, or excuses nonperformance, if a market condition changes or in case of some other agreed event occurs.
- Escheat
- In property law, there are instances where an owner dies without an heir and title passes to the state (or back to the King), by escheat.
- Escrow Account
- In property and real estate finance law, an escrow account is a trust account where money is kept on deposit over a time period as a reserve intended to cover certain regularly expected expenses and conditions, such as annual homeowner's insurance premiums…
- Espionage
- Gaining private information by deceit. Espionage may occur in the workplace as well as international spying.
- Estate
- The type, or degree, or quality of ownership a person has in a particular property. The right or title. An estate is also the limit of a person's property, which after death is distributed to heirs by the "estate."
- Estate Planning
- The process of planning an orderly disposition of a person's assets after death, so as to limit or avoid legal and financial complications, excessive fees and expenses, but most often, taxes.
- Estate Taxes
- Taxes imposed by the government on property transferred after death
- Estoppel By Silence
- A bar to prevent persons from taking advantage of their own silence when they had a duty to speak.
- Euthanasia
- A killing done to prevent further injury. A mercy killing.
- Eviction
- An eviction is a civil action that will be brought by the landlord against his or her tenant in order to recover the property from the tenant's possession. It is very common for eviction to follow a period of non-payment of rent. As in all landlord/tenant…
- Evidence
- A wide area of law, but evidence is basically anything that tends to prove or disprove the matters in issue.
- Ex Parte
- On one's own part is the literal meaning. It is improper to contact the judge to discuss a case without the other side taking part. This is an ex parte communication and the practice should not be engaged in.
- Ex Post Facto
- After the fact is the literal meaning. The constitution prohibits being convicted of crimes where the offense is created after the act occurred.
- Exchange Rate
- The exchange rate refers to the rate at which one currency can be traded for another currency on the currency market.
- Excited Utterance
- This is an exception to the hearsay rule, wherein an out of court statement of another may come into evidence if a foundation is laid that the statement was made in response to a sudden and unexpected event, such that it has an certain indicia of reliability.
- Exclusionary Rule
- In criminal cases, evidence improperly obtained is sometimes not allowed in but is excluded.
- Exclusive License
- A right granted by the owner to only one person or entity to use a product or an image.
- Exculpatory Clause
- In contract law, this is a disclaimer of sorts, whereby one party purports to exclude liability for his own negligence.
- Executor
- A person appointed in a will to have control, or to administer an estate.
- Executrix
- A female person appointed in a will to have control, or to administer an estate.
- Exemplary Damages
- These types of damages are punitive in nature, and are meant to punish and to make an example of the defendant.
- Exempt Property
- In bankruptcy cases, this is the portion of a person's bankruptcy estate that is outside the reach of creditors, by statute.
- Exigent Circumstances
- Since some situations require immediate or unusual action, and otherwise improper entry or search is excused. For example, where a police officer breaks into a home without a search warrant because of hearing screams inside.
- Exonerate
- To be excused or freed from suspicion and responsibility.
- Expert Witness
- An expert witness is a person with particular expertise in a specialized or scientific field, gained by virtue of skill, training and experience, such that the Judge will allow the person to qualify as an expert who then will be allowed to testify in court…
- Express Warranty
- A specific statement of guarantee as to some product or thing, such that it is actionable if the item fails to conform to the expression. An express warranty is to be contrasted with the implied warranty.
- Expunge
- To erase, usually with respect to an arrest record or a record of conviction
- Extended Warranty
- A warranty is an express or implied promise that a product is in fact as it is represented to be. The warranty is part of the deal. An extended warranty is an additional warranty sometimes sold along with the original purchase of the product, such as an…
- External Auditors
- An external auditor is a professional financial auditor, usually a certified public accountant, that is hired by a company to give an independent opinion about the company's financial position and financial statement. The opinion is generally included and…
- Extradite
- In criminal law, this is the process for ordering a defendant caught in one jurisdiction to be delivered to another jurisdiction where a charge is pending. International extradition is governed by treaty.
- Face Amount
- Also known as face value, this refers to the cited value or amount stated on the instrument, by the mere language employed, such as the face amount of an insurance policy. Face amount is always exclusive of interest.
- Face Value
- Also known as face amount, this refers to the cited value or amount stated on the instrument, by the mere language employed, such as the face amount of an insurance policy. Face value is always exclusive of interest.
- Failure of Consideration
- Where performance of a contract becomes impossible because the consideration for entering into the contract no longer exists or it has lost all value. Failure of consideration will excuse nonperformance by the other party.
- Failure of Issue
- Dying without leaving heirs of children.
- Fair Credit Act
- This law mandates procedures, in protection of consumers, for the prompt correction of billing mistakes, refusals to make credit card payments on goods that are defective, and the prompt crediting of payments.
- Fair Credit Reporting Act
- This is the FCRA and is intended to require accuracy in credit reporting by providing a means for inspection and correction of reports.
- Fair Housing Act
- This is the FHA which makes it illegal to discriminate in housing sales or rentals, or in housing lending and insurance, on the basis of race, color, national origin, familial status, disability, sex, and religion.
- Fair Use
- Under the copyright law, fair use is that degree of otherwise protected copyright material that may be used by non owners without the owner's consent.
- False Arrest
- An arrest made without legal authority. False arrest may be actionable civilly. False arrest occurs where, for example, a privately employed security officer takes custody of a person for an extended period of time without a legitimate reason or without…
- False Imprisonment
- This is an actual confinement to a bounded area, or a confinement that results from threats, that is caused without legal authority. This is actionable civilly and is often the basis of claims filed by suspected shoplifters confined by store security.
- False Light
- A form of slander, false light is a claim that publicity has invaded a person's privacy by some false statement or representation that places the person in a false light that would clearly be highly offensive to a reasonable person.
- Family Allowance
- In law related to decedent's estates, in some jurisdictions certain family members may take against the will, regardless of what contrary provisions appear in the will itself.
- Family Law
- Family Law is the broad field of legal practice in which relations between people are defined. Predominantly, the field is limited to relations between spouses and children. Family Law is divorce, or dissolution, including adoption, paternity, child custody…
- Family Medical Leave Act
- A federal law passed in 1993 that entitles a covered employee to take up to twelve weeks of leave, in any twelve month period, to care for the birthing or adoption of a child, or to care for the serious health condition of the employee or the employee's…
- Federal Benefits
- Any of several economic advantages and privileges given by the Federal Government, such as food stamps, Medicaid, Social Security disability payments, veterans, etc., to which certain persons may be eligible or entitled by virtue of their economic status or…
- Federal Communications Commission
- A federal agency charged with authority over the means of electronic and other mechanical communication, such as radio, television, cable, etc., and the agency that sets standards for broadcasting.
- Federal Court
- Courts at the federal level are established by the constitution and ordinarily hear cases where federal questions are involved or where disputes are of persons from different states. Of course, a federal appeals court is also a federal court.
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- The FDIC is an agency set up by the federal government that insures certain bank accounts for up to $100,000.00. The FDIC was created back in 1933 during the Great Depression in order to restore confidence in the banking concept and in the banking system.
- Federal Grant
- An award, or transfer of money from an agency of the Federal Government to a business or to an individual, given without compensation, for a specific purpose. Federal grants may be for anything from business startup grants to educational opportunities and…
- Federal Tax Identification Number
- The Federal Income Tax Identification Number is a number used by the internal revenue service and which is necessary to identify persons, or taxpayers, or separate business entities, for federal income tax tracking purposes.
- Federal Tax Lien
- An unpaid tax liability owed to the Federal Government may be filed as a lien on the real property owned by the delinquent taxpayer. The effect of the Federal Tax Lien is to encumber the property and make it impossible to sell the real estate without first…
- Federal Trade Commission
- The FTC is an agency of the federal government that oversees and regulates trade and trade practices, and enforces the anti trust laws as well as false and deceptive advertising.
- FELA:Federal Employers Liability Act
- This act provides the exclusive remedy for injured railroad workers for injuries that arise out of their employment. The act does not preclude the filing of a FELA case in state court. The basis of the FELA claim is founded on the employer's negligence, even…
- Felony
- Felony information: Most jurisdictions term a felony any crime for which more that one year in prison stands as a possible punishment. Lower term offenses are called misdemeanors. A felony is a serious offense for which the status of a person will change, if…