compromise, n. 1. An agreement between two or more persons to settle matters in dispute between them; an agreement for the settlement of a real or supposed claim in which each party surrenders something in concession to the other. — Also termed compromise and settlement; (erroneously) compromise settlement. [Cases: Com-promise and Settlement 1. C.J.S. Compromise […]
malpractice (mal-prak-tis). An instance of negligence or incompetence on the part of a professional. • To succeed in a malpractice claim, a plaintiff must also prove proximate cause and damages. — Also termed professional negligence. [Cases: Negligence 321. C.J.S. Negligence § 162.] legal malpractice. A lawyer’s failure to render professional services with the skill, prudence,
Maritime law. An amount paid by a shipowner to a vessel’s charterer if the vessel’s cargo is unloaded at the port sooner than provided for in the agreement between the charterer and the shipowner. — Also termed dispatch. Cf. contract demurrage under DEMURRAGE. [Cases: Shipping 49(6). C.J.S. Shipping § 108.]
risk-utility test. A method of imposing product liability on a manufacturer if the evidence shows that a reasonable person would conclude that the benefits of a product’s particular design versus the feasibility of an alternative safer design did not outweigh the dangers inherent in the original design. — Also termed danger-utility test; risk-benefit test. Cf.
baby-selling. The exchange of money or something else of value for a child. • All states have prohibitions against baby-selling. It is not considered baby-selling for prospective adoptive parents to pay money to a birth mother for pregnancy-related expenses. — Also termed baby-brokering; baby-bartering.
malice aforethought. The requisite mental state for common-law murder, encompassing any one of the following: (1) the intent to kill, (2) the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, (3) extremely reckless indifference to the value of human life (the so-called abandoned and malignant heart), or (4) the intent to commit a dangerous felony (which leads
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Concordia discordantium canonum (kon-kor-dee-[schwa] dis-kor-dan-shee-[ schwa]m k[schwa]-nohn-[schwa]m). [Latin “the harmony of the discordant canons”] Hist. A collection of eccle-siastical authorities compiled by Gratian, an Italian monk, ca. 1140. • Gratian analyzed questions of law by drawing conclusions from side-by-side comparisons of a variety of texts. Later canonist scholarship usu. pro-ceeded from Gratian’s work. — Also
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reversion, n. 1. The interest that is left after subtracting what the transferor has parted with from what the transferor originally had; specif., a future interest in land arising by operation of law whenever an estate owner grants to another a particular estate, such as a life estate or a term of years, but does
inquest. 1. An inquiry by a coroner or medical examiner, sometimes with the aid of a jury, into the manner of death of a person who has died under suspicious circumstances, or who has died in prison. — Also termed coroner’s inquest; inquisition after death. [Cases: Coroners 9; Homicide 1110. C.J.S. Coroners and Medical Examiners
General Welfare Clause. U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 1, which empowers Congress to levy taxes and pay debts in order to provide for the country’s general welfare. • The Supreme Court has broadly interpreted this clause to allow Congress to create, for example, the social-security system. — Also termed Welfare Clause. [Cases: United
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