plain-meaning rule. 1. The rule that if a writing, or a provision in a writing, appears to be unambiguous on its face, its meaning must be determined from the writing itself without resort to any extrinsic evidence. • Though often applied, this rule is often condemned as simplistic because the meaning of words varies with […]
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A witness’s earlier statement that conflicts with the witness’s testimony at trial. • In federal practice, extrinsic evidence of an unsworn prior inconsistent statement is admissible — if the witness is given an opportunity to explain or deny the statement — for impeachment purposes only. Fed. R. Evid. 613(b). Sworn statements may be admitted for
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Contracts. The common-law principle that a writing intended by the parties to be a final embodiment of their agreement cannot be modified by evidence of earlier or contemporaneous agreements that might add to, vary, or contradict the writing. • This rule usu. operates to prevent a party from introducing extrinsic evidence of negotiations that occurred
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inducement, n. 1. The act or process of enticing or persuading another person to take a certain course of action. See fraud in the inducement under FRAUD. active inducement. The act of intentionally causing a third party to infringe a valid patent. • Active inducement requires proof of (1) an actual intent to cause the
perinde est ac si scriptum non esset (p[schwa]r-in-dee est ak sIskrip-t[ schwa]m non es-et). [Latin] Scots law. It is the same as if it had not been written. • A deed that failed to convey the grantor’s meaning adequately could not be supplemented by extrinsic evidence and would be void for uncertainty.
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The meaning attributed to a document (usu. by a court) by giving the words their ordinary sense, without referring to extrinsic indications of the author’s intent. — Also termed ordinary meaning. See PLAIN-MEANING RULEE. [Cases: Contracts 152. C.J.S. Contracts §§ 307, 318–322, 327, 331.]
extraneous evidence 外部证据；旁证 在涉及合同、契约、遗嘱或其他书面文件时，旁证指并非由这些文件本身作为证据，而是从其他来源取得的证据 。(→extrinsic evidence)
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