An act done or a promise given by a promisee before making a promise sought to be enforced. • Past consideration is not consideration for the new promise because it has not been given in exchange for this promise (although exceptions exist for new promises to pay debts barred by limitations or debts discharged in […]
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commercial-activity exception. An exemption from the rule of sovereign immunity, permitting a claim against a foreign state to be adjudicated in the courts of another state if the claim arises from private acts undertaken by the foreign state, as opposed to the state’s public acts. See RESTRICTIVE PRINCIPLE OF SOVEREIGN IM-MUNITY ; JURE GESTIONIS; JURE
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ABC test. The rule that an employee is not entitled to unemployment insurance benefits if the employee (A) is free from the control of the employer, (B) works away from the employer’s place of business, and (C) is engaged in an established trade. • The name derives from the A, B, and C commonly used
discovery abuse. 1. The misuse of the discovery process, esp. by making overbroad requests for information that is unnecessary or beyond the scope of permissible disclosure or by conducting discovery for an improper purpose. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure 1261, 1278; Pretrial Procedure 28. C.J.S. Discovery §§ 2, 6–7, 21.] “The term ‘discovery abuse’ has been
A person’s state-of-mind statement that operates as an exception to the hearsay rule. Fed. R. Evid. 803(3). [Cases: Criminal Law 419(2.20); Evidence 268. C.J.S. Criminal Law § 862; Evidence §§ 314–318, 325, 327–328, 330.]
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prudent investment theory 谨慎投资理论 在早期的公用事业收费管理法规中，指允许公用事业公司获取的回报必须以其实际损失，即其谨慎地投入企业的资本为基础。在关于死者未来期待收益的现值核算中，指以一个通常谨慎之人所进行的安全投资所带来的收益率为基础。 (→safe investment rule)
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doctrine of precedent. 1. The rule that precedents not only have persuasive authority but also must be followed when similar circumstances arise. • This rule developed in the 19th century and prevails today. See STARE DECISIS. [Cases: Courts 88. C.J.S. Courts § 139; Trade-Marks, Trade-Names, and Unfair Competition§ 187.] 2. A rule that precedents are
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parliamentarian. Parliamentary law. A consultant trained in parliamentary law who advises the chair and others on matters of parliamentary law and procedure. • The parliamentarian, who is often a professional, only advises and never “rules” on procedural issues. See PARLIAMENTARY LAW; PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE . “The parliamentarian is a consultant, commonly a professional, who advises the
An election in which the majority (or sometimes the plurality) elects all the representatives. Cf. UNIT RULE(2); PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION; proportional voting under VOTING.
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Statute of Uses. Hist. An English statute of 1535 that converted the equitable title held by a cestui que use (i.e., a beneficiary) to a legal one in order to make the cestui que use liable for feudal dues, as only a legal owner (the feoffee to uses) could be. • This statute was the