A charge assessed against a borrower who elects to pay off a loan before it is due. [Cases: Bills and Notes 429; Usury 61. C.J.S. Bills and Notes; Letters of Credit §§ 100, 234–236, 238; Interest and Usury; Consumer Credit § 172.]
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Securities. The price for which a security will be bought or sold under an option contract if the option is exercised. — Also termed striking price; exercise price; call price; put price. See OPTION.
acte (akt), n. [French] French law. 1. An instrument; a proof in writing, such as a deed, bill of sale, or birth cer-tificate. acte authentique (akt oh-tawn-teek). A deed executed with certain prescribed formalities, in the presence of a notary or other official. acte de décès (akt d[schwa] day-say). A death certificate. acte de francisation
witword (wit-w[schwa]rd). Hist. 1. A legally allowed claim; esp., the right to vindicate ownership or possession by one’s affirmation under oath. 2. A will or testament.
malitia (m[schwa]-lish-ee-[schwa]). [Latin “malice”] Hist. An actual evil design; express malice. • Malitia originally signified general wrongdoing, and did not describe a wrongdoer’s state of mind; malitia praecogitata, for example, indicated only the seriousness of the offense, though it was eventually rendered malice aforethought. malitia capitalis (m[schwa]-lish-ee-[schwa] kap-i-tay-lis). [Latin] Hist. Deadly malice. malitia excogitata (eks-koj-[schwa]-tay-t[schwa]).
sex-offender registry. A publicly available list of the names and addresses of sex offenders who have been released from prison. • The registries were started by state statutes known as “Megan’s laws,” named after a New Jersey girl who was raped and killed in 1994 by a released sex offender who lived across the street
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best interests of the child. Family law. A standard by which a court determines what arrangements would be to a child’s greatest benefit, often used in deciding child-custody and visitation matters and in deciding whether to approve an adoption or a guardianship. • A court may use many factors, including the emotional tie between the
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by-bidding. The illegal practice of employing a person to bid at an auction for the sole purpose of stimulating bidding on the seller’s property. — Also termed puffing. Cf. BIDDING UP; SHILLING(1). [Cases: Auctions and Auctioneers 7. C.J.S. Auctions and Auctioneers §§ 2, 8–17.]
sales agreement. A contract in which ownership of property is presently transferred, or will be transferred in the future, from a seller to a buyer for a fixed sum. UCC § 2-106(1). [Cases: Sales 1(1), 3. 1. C.J.S. Sales §§ 2–4, 9, 29, 48.]
replication (rep-l[schwa]-kay-sh[schwa]n). A plaintiff’s or complainant’s reply to a defendant’s plea or answer; REPLY(2). [Cases: Pleading 162. C.J.S. Pleading §§ 209, 219.] anticipatory replication. Equity pleading. In an original bill, the denial of defensive matters that the defendant might assert. • A defendant who relies on the anticipated defense must traverse the anticipatory matter in