wantonness, n. Conduct indicating that the actor is aware of the risks but indifferent to the results. • Wantonness usu. suggests a greater degree of culpability than recklessness, and it often connotes malice in criminal-law con-texts. Cf. RECKLESSNESS. [Cases: Damages 91(1); Negligence 275; Sentencing and Punishment 1438. C.J.S. Criminal Law §§ 1593–1594, 1596; Damages §§ […]
particeps criminis (pahr-t[schwa]-seps krim-[schwa]-nis), n. [Latin “partner in crime”] 1. An accomplice or accessory. See ACCESSORY. Pl. participes criminis (pahr-tis-[schwa]-peez). [Cases: Criminal Law 59, 68. C.J.S. Criminal Law §§ 127, 137, 998.] “The courts of justice will allow the objection that the consideration of the contract was immoral or illegal to be made even by
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nongovernmental organization. Int’l law. Any scientific, professional, business, or public-interest organization that is neither affiliated with nor under the direction of a government; an international organization that is not the creation of an agreement among countries, but rather is composed of private individuals or organizations. • Examples of nongovernmental organizations, which are often granted consultative
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assumption clause. 1. A mortgage provision that prohibits another from assuming the mortgage without the permission of the mortgagee. [Cases: Mortgages 272. C.J.S. Mortgages §§ 382–383.] 2. A provision by which the transferee of an instrument agrees to assume an obligation of the transferor.
ecdicus (ek-d[schwa]-k[schwa]s), n. [Greek ekdikos “legal representative”] Hist. The attorney, proctor, or advocate of an organization. • A church’s attorney, for example, was known as an episcoporum ecdicus.
consortship (kon-sort-ship).Maritime law. An agreement by which salvors agree to work together to salvage wrecks, the recovery being apportioned among the salvors. • Consortships reduce interference among competing salvors and help prevent collisions at sea between operators attempting to salvage the same wreck.
underinsurance. An agreement to indemnify against property damage up to a certain amount but for less than the property’s full value.
self-help, n. An attempt to redress a perceived wrong by one’s own action rather than through the normal legal process. • The UCC and other statutes provide for particular self-help remedies (such as repossession) if the remedy can be executed without breaching the peace. UCC § 9-609. — Also termed self-redress; extrajudicial enforcement. [Cases: Secured
coronation case. Hist. Any of the many lawsuits for breach of contract resulting from the postponement of the coronation of Edward VII because of his illness. • In one case, for example, the defendant had agreed to hire a ship for watching the naval review by King Edward VII and for a day’s cruise around
objective theory of contract. The doctrine that a contract is not an agreement in the sense of a subjective meeting of the minds but is instead a series of external acts giving the objective semblance of agreement. — Often shortened to objective theory. Cf. SUBJECTIVE THEORY OF CONTRACT; MEETING OF THE MINDS . [Cases: Contracts
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