Civil law. An action brought to void a sale of a thing having a defect that renders it either useless or so flawed that the buyer would not have bought it in the first place. See REDHIBITION. [Cases: Sales 113; Vendor and Purchaser 123. C.J.S. Sales §§ 123, 128–129, 199; Vendor and Purchaser §§ 300–305.]
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esnecy (es-ni-see), n. Seniority; the condition, right, or privilege of the eldest-born. • The term esp. applied to the privilege of the eldest among coparceners to make a first choice of shares upon a voluntary partition. — Also termed aesnecia.
distribution right. Copyright. A copyright holder’s exclusive right to sell, lease, or otherwise transfer copies of the protected work to the public. Cf. FIRST-SALE DOCTRINE. [Cases: Copyrights and Intellectual Property 36. C.J.S. Copyrights and Intellectual Property §§ 10, 40–41, 97.]
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creationism. The teaching of the biblical version of the creation of the universe. • The United States Supreme Court held unconstitutional a Louisiana law that forbade the teaching of the theory of evolution unless biblical creation was also taught. The Court found that the law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because it
diversity of citizenship. A basis for federal-court jurisdiction that exists when (1) a case is between citizens of different states, or between a citizen of a state and an alien, and (2) the matter in controversy exceeds a specific value (now $75,000).28 USCA § 1332. • For purposes of diversity jurisdiction, a corporation is considered
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defendemus (di-fen-d[schwa]-m[schwa]s). [fr. Latin defendere] We will defend. • This term was used in conveyancing to require the donor and the donor’s heirs to defend the donee against any attempted encumbrance not specifically agreed to. Although defendeus was not a warranty, it became part of the warranty clause “shall and will warrant and forever defend.”
retroactive law. A legislative act that looks backward or contemplates the past, affecting acts or facts that existed before the act came into effect. • A retroactive law is not unconstitutional unless it (1) is in the nature of an ex post facto law or a bill of attainder, (2) impairs the obligation of contracts,
A bank or brokerage account opened by two or more people, by which each party has a present right to withdraw all funds in the account and, upon the death of one party, the survivors become the owners of the account, with no right of the deceased party’s heirs or devisees to share in it.
Hist. A property settlement in which the land is put into a trust for sale, the proceeds to be either paid out to beneficiaries over time or divided among the settlor’s heirs. Cf. strict settlement.
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expungement of record. The removal of a conviction (esp. for a first offense) from a person’s criminal record. — Also termed expunction of record; erasure of record. [Cases: Criminal Law 1226(3).]
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