square, n. 1. A certain portion of land within a city limit. — Also termed block. [Cases: Municipal Corporations 721(1). C.J.S. Municipal Corporations §§ 1557–1559.] 2. A space set apart for public use. 3. In a government survey, an area measuring 24 by 24 miles.
information-disclosure statement. Patents. A document submitted in the patent-application process in which the inventor reveals all relevant prior art during the patentability search. • The statement must disclose all known patents, publications, and other references of prior art. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office provides a form, “Information Disclosure Citation,” for this purpose. — Abbr.
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in adversum (in ad-v[schwa]r-s[schwa]m). [Law Latin] Against an adverse party. “Where a decree is obtained against one who resists, it is termed ‘a decree not by consent but in adversum.’ ” 1 John Bouvier, Bouvier’s Law Dictionary 1518 (8th ed. 1914).
modification order. Family law. A post-divorce order that changes the terms of child support, custody, visitation, or alimony. • A modification order may be agreed to by the parties or may be ordered by the court. The party wishing to modify an existing order must show a material change in circumstances from the time when
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A bill brought when a decree could not be enforced without further court order because of the parties’ neglect or for some other reason. — Also termed bill to enforce a decree. [Cases: Equity 438.]
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minutes. 1. Memoranda or notes of a transaction or proceeding. 2. Parliamentary law. The formal record of a deliberative assembly’s proceedings, approved (as corrected, if necessary) by the assembly. — Also termed journal; record; report. See DISPENSE WITH THE READING OF THE MINUTES; SPREAD UPON THE MINUTES . “The minutes of an organization include a
nominatio auctoris (nah-mi-nay-shee-oh awk-tor-is). [Latin “naming of the originator (or seller)”] 1. In an action for the recovery of something, such as real estate, the defendant’s plea that the property is actually owned by another party. • The true owner is then required to defend the action. 2. Roman law. In an action alleging ownership
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Hist. The right to dig and take away earth from another’s land. — Also termed common of digging.
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interest-analysis technique. Conflict of laws. A method of resolving choice-of-law questions by reviewing a state’s laws and the state’s interests in enforcing those laws to determine whether that state’s laws or those of another state should apply. — Also termed governmental-interest-analysis technique. [Cases: Action 17. C.J.S. Actions §§ 18–20; Conflict of Laws §§ 2–3, 12,
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pact. An agreement between two or more parties; esp., an agreement (such as a treaty) between two or more nations or governmental entities. “Popular understanding notwithstanding, there is no legal difference between various kinds of international instruments because of the name they are given. In other words, ‘treaties,’ ‘pacts,’ ‘protocols,’ ‘conventions,’ ‘covenants,’ and ‘declarations’ are