The Law Dictionary for Everyone
A deed of trust is an agreement that is made between a lender and a borrower, to allow a neutral third party to act as a trustee over a piece of property. The trustee holds legal title to the property until the borrower can pay off his debt. As he repays the debt, the borrower keeps the actual title to […]
Read moreThe term “condemnation” is used to define the situation wherein a local, state, or federal government seizes a citizen’s property, then compensates the owner for what was seized. An example of condemnation is a piece of property being condemned by the government due to a carbon monoxide leak. The owners of the property will be forced to move out, and […]
Read moreConstructive notice is an idea in the legal world that a person may be notified by public posting of a pending legal action. This may be done in the event that the individual cannot be served personally or by mail. If the requirements for constructive notice have been met, the court deems the party to have been given notice, whether […]
Read moreCovenant marriage is a type of marriage that only exists in three U.S. states: Arizona, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Louisiana was the first state to pass such a law back in 1997. In a covenant marriage, the spouses agree to seek pre-marital counseling. They also agree to accept more restrictions insofar as the grounds on which they can file for divorce, […]
Read moreIn the law, the term forum non conveniens refers to the discretionary power of a court to not hear a case that may be more appropriately – or more conveniently – heard in another court. The exercise of forum non conveniens results in the dismissal of the case, but does not prevent the plaintiff from filing the case in a […]
Read moreThe term de minimis is a Latin expression that translates roughly to “pertaining to minimal things.” In the U.S. legal system, the term is used to refer to certain facts or issues that are so minor as to be undeserving of the court’s attention. In addition, de minimis is relevant to certain bond and securities income, as well as employee […]
Read moreConsequential damages are also known as “special damages,” and are damages that are not a direct result of an incident itself, but are instead consequences of that incident. An example of consequential damages would be a driver getting into a car accident because, instead of paying attention to the road, he was focused on another car accident that had just […]
Read moreThe term “bad faith” is used to describe a person’s intent to defraud or deceive. The person may be defrauding or deceiving himself or another person. The concept of bad faith is often associated with “double heartedness,” which essentially means that while a person is acting one way, his intentions are more sinister than they may appear on the surface. […]
Read moreThe phrase “breaking and entering” used to go hand in hand with burglary. If someone attempted to enter a building without permission, and with the intention of committing a crime, he could be charged with burglary, and breaking and entering was an element of the crime. Today, no “breaking” is required to charge someone with burglary. Any “entering” into a […]
Read moreThe term “at will employment” means that an employee can be fired at any time, and for any reason. There are, of course, exceptions to that rule, but generally, if the employer decides to terminate the employee’s employment, then the employee can do very little about it insofar as fighting the termination. Employers who hire employees “at will” do not […]
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