variance. 1. A difference or disparity between two statements or documents that ought to agree; esp., in criminal procedure, a difference between the allegations in a charging instrument and the proof actually introduced at trial. — Also termed variation. [Cases: Indictment and Information 171. C.J.S. Indictments and Informations §§ 206, 211.] fatal variance. A variance […]
unavoidable-accident doctrine. Torts. The rule holding no party liable for an accident that was not foreseeable and that could not have been prevented by the exercise of reasonable care. • The modern trend is for courts to ignore this doctrine, relying instead on the basic concepts of duty, negligence, and proximate cause. — Also termed
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customary law. Law consisting of customs that are accepted as legal requirements or obligatory rules of conduct; practices and beliefs that are so vital and intrinsic a part of a social and economic system that they are treated as if they were laws. — Also termed consuetudinary law. “In contrast with the statute, customary law
Quayle action. Patents. An office action telling the patent applicant that the claims are allowable on the merits but that the form of the application still needs to be amended. Ex parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 1935 C.D. 11, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm’r Pat. 1935). • The applicant generally has two months to respond. A
sublease, n. A lease by a lessee to a third party, conveying some or all of the leased property for a shorter term than that of the lessee, who retains a reversion in the lease. — Also termed subtenancy; derivative lease; and (esp. in England) underlease. [Cases: Landlord and Tenant 80. C.J.S. Landlord and Tenant
A promise, usu. in a sale-of-business, partnership, or employment contract, not to engage in the same type of business for a stated time in the same market as the buyer, partner, or employer. • Noncompetition covenants are valid to protect business goodwill in the sale of a company. In other contexts, they are generally disfavored
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essentialia (e-sen-shee-ay-lee-[schwa]). [Law Latin “essentials”] Scots law. Terms or qualities essential to the existence of a particular right or contract. Cf. ACCIDENTALIA. “Essentialia. This term, applied to a contract, or right, or other subject of law, signifies those things which are essential to the very being of the contract or right, as such, and any
inchoate (in-koh-it), adj. Partially completed or imperfectly formed; just begun. Cf. CHOATE. — inchoateness, n. “The word ‘inchoate,’ not much used in ordinary discourse, means ‘just begun,’ ‘undeveloped.’ The common law has given birth to three general offences which are usually termed ‘inchoate’ or ‘preliminary’ crimes — attempt, conspiracy, and incitement. A principal feature of
court reporter. 1. A person who records testimony, stenographically or by electronic or other means, and, when requested, prepares a transcript (the deposition could not start until the court reporter arrived). — Also termed (in BrE) official shorthand writer. Cf. court recorder under RECORDER. [Cases: Courts 57; Trial 23. C.J.S. Stenographers §§ 2–21; Trial§ 96.]
amnesty, n. A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of persons, usu. for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of persons who are subject to trial but have not yet been convicted (the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act provided amnesty for undocumented aliens