fellow-servant rule. A common-law doctrine holding that an employer is not liable for an employee’s injuries caused by a negligent coworker. • This doctrine has generally been abrogated by workers’-compensation statutes. In some jurisdictions, employees were considered fellow servants when they were working with one aim or result in view. In others, the relation of […]
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A witness who is biased against the examining party, who is unwilling to testify, or who is identified with an adverse party. • A hostile witness may be asked leading questions on direct examination. Fed. R. Evid. 611(c). — Also termed adverse witness. See adverse party under PARTY(2). [Cases: Witnesses 244. C.J.S. Witnesses § 422.]
A procedural system, such as the Anglo-American legal system, involving active and unhin-dered parties contesting with each other to put forth a case before an independent decision-maker. — Also termed adversary procedure; (in criminal cases) accusatorial system, accusatory procedure. Cf. INQUISITORIAL SYSTEM.
Scots law. A court order that commands a third party in possession of a debtor’s property to deliver the property to the creditor for liquidation or satisfaction of a debt. — Also termed decree of furthcuming
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nolle prosequi (nahl-ee prahs-[schwa]-kwI), n. [Latin “not to wish to prosecute”] 1. A legal notice that a lawsuit or prosecution has been abandoned. [Cases: Pretrial Procedure 511. C.J.S. Dismissal and Nonsuit §§ 30–32, 34–35.] 2. A docket entry showing that the plaintiff or the prosecution has abandoned the action. — Often shortened to nolle. [Cases:
distributive deviation. A trustee’s authorized or unauthorized departure from the express distributional terms of a trust. • A trustee must apply to the court for authority to deviate from the terms of a trust. In American law, courts rarely authorize deviation unless all the beneficiaries consent and there is no material purpose of the settlor
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separate property. 1. Property that a spouse owned before marriage or acquired during marriage by inheritance or by gift from a third party, and in some states property acquired during marriage but after the spouses have entered into a separation agreement and have begun living apart or after one spouse has commenced a divorce action.
federal farm credit bank. One of a system of federally chartered institutions created to provide credit to farm-related enterprises. • The banks resulted from a merger of federal land banks and federal intermediate credit banks. They are supervised by the Farm Credit Administration. [Cases: United States 53(7). C.J.S. United States §§ 90, 92–93.]
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tortious interference with contractual relations. A third party’s intentional inducement of a contracting party to break a contract, causing damage to the relationship between the contracting parties. — Also termed unlawful interference with contractual relations; interference with a contractual relationship; interference with contract; inducement of breach of contract; procurement of breach of contract. [Cases: Master
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utrubi ([schwa]t-r[schwa]-bI), n. [Latin] Roman law. An interdict for maintaining the status quo of possession of movable property pending a ruling to determine its rightful owner. • In Roman law, this interdict gave possession of movable property to the party who had held it for the greater part of the previous year. Justinian applied the