cognovit clause. A contractual provision by which a debtor agrees to jurisdiction in certain courts, waives notice requirements, and authorizes the entry of an adverse judgment in the event of a default or breach. • Cognovit clauses are outlawed or restricted in most states. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure 2396; Judgment 54. C.J.S. Judgments §§ 140, […]
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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binding, adj. 1. (Of an agreement) that binds (a binding contract). 2. (Of an order) that requires obedience (the temporary injunction was binding on the parties).
metalaw (met-[schwa]-law). A hypothetical set of legal principles based on the rules of existing legal systems and designed to provide a framework of agreement for these different systems. “[T]he Constitution controls the deployment of governmental power and defines the rules for how such power may be structured and applied. The Constitution, therefore, is not a
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
basilica (b[schwa]-sil-i-k[schwa]). [Greek] Hist. 1. (cap.) A 60-book Greek summary of Justinian’s Corpus Juris Civilis, with comments (scholia). • The Basilica (“royal law”) was begun by the Byzantine emperor Basil I, and it served as a major source of the law of the Eastern Empire from the early 10th century until Constantinople’s fall in 1453.
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
Patents. An agreement to allow a patent’s use in exchange for a flat percentage of sales, regardless of how much the patent is actually used. • The Supreme Court rejected a nonmetered license as patent misuse, saying the buyer has a right to insist on paying only for actual use. Zenith Radio Co. v. Hazeltine
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eviction. The act or process of legally dispossessing a person of land or rental property. See FORCIBLE ENTRY AND DETAINER. Cf. EJECTMENT. [Cases: Forcible Entry and Detainer 6; Landlord and Tenant 287.] actual eviction. A physical expulsion of a person from land or rental property. [Cases: Landlord and Tenant 171(1). C.J.S. Landlord and Tenant §