summons, n. 1. Formerly, a writ directing a sheriff to summon a defendant to appear in court. 2. A writ or process commencing the plaintiff’s action and requiring the defendant to appear and answer. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure 401; Process 7. C.J.S. Process §§ 2, 12.] 3. A notice requiring a person to appear in […]
insubordination. 1. A willful disregard of an employer’s instructions, esp. behavior that gives the employer cause to terminate a worker’s employment. [Cases: Master and Servant 30(5). C.J.S. Employer–Employee Relationship §§ 65, 71.] 2. An act of disobedience to proper authority; esp., a refusal to obey an order that a superior officer is authorized to give.
premium rate. Insurance. The price per unit of life insurance. • It is usu. expressed as a cost per thousands of dollars of coverage. Life insurers use three factors — the interest factor, the mortality factor, and the risk factor — to calculate premium rates. — Sometimes shortened to rate. See INTEREST FACTOR; MORTALITY FACTOR;
nonadmission. 1. The failure to acknowledge something. 2. The refusal to allow something, such as evidence in a legal proceeding.
accomplice ([schwa]-kom-plis). 1. A person who is in any way involved with another in the commission of a crime, whether as a principal in the first or second degree or as an accessory. • Although the definition includes an accessory before the fact, not all authorities treat this term as including an accessory after the
consummation of marriage. Family law. The first postmarital act of sexual intercourse between a husband and wife. • Under canon law, a refusal to consummate the marriage may be grounds for an annulment or for divorce. But this is not so at common law or under modern state law.
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United States Attorney. A lawyer appointed by the President to represent, under the direction of the Attorney General, the federal government in civil and criminal cases in a federal judicial district. — Abbr. USA. — Also termed United States District Attorney. Cf. DISTRICT ATTORNEY. [Cases: District and Prosecuting Attorneys 6. C.J.S. District and Prosecuting Attorneys
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A restructuring that reduces the principal amount of indebtedness owed to creditors. • The more common usage is simply haircut [we took a haircut on that deal].
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custom n. (1)习惯；习俗；惯例 (2)习惯法 指经过长期实践和使用所形成的为历代民众所肯定认可的惯常做法，它在人们的日常生活中一直保持效力，并以不成文的形式对人们产生拘束力。在许多发达地区，这种长期形成的习惯已经成为法律的重要渊源，而且通过司法适用、立法承认等方式，许多习惯已被确认为正式的法律。英国的普通法正是建立在习惯基础上形成的法律体系。习惯法实质上就是一个地区的共同法，但这并不排除它与国家法律相冲突的可能性。习惯成就的条件包括：形成时间长且人们理解一致；连续而自然和平地发生效力；合乎情理并且确定；有强制性和拘束力、并不是任由选择或抛弃；与其它习惯法相协调。在英格兰，习惯分为两类，一类成为了英格兰法律的一部分，另一类则通过影响私人间契约之内容而起作用。前者又分为三种：１普遍的习惯，指通行于整个王国具有普遍效力的规则，从更严格和通常的意义上来说，它们构成了普通法，比如地产继承规则等。２地方性习惯，指仅在某些特定地区有效的习惯，如肯特郡的地产平均继承习惯〔gavelkind〕、庄园内部的公簿地产保有习惯等，都只具有地域性，当然它们已为司法实践所认可。３特定身份者之间的习惯的一个典型例子就是商人间的习惯法，又称商人法〔law merchant; lex mercatoria〕，它区别于贸易惯例〔usages or customs of trade〕，却类似于普通法的遵循先例，因为它一旦为法庭判决所确定即成为王国一般法的一部分，而不再留给陪审团去决定，不过有疑问的地方仍可由商人陪审团确定。而后者一般是指那些长期稳定通行于某一行业的规则，当这一行业内的两方达成与该行业有关的契约时，若其中未包括与业内习惯相冲突的内容，则被推定为遵循了这一业内的习惯，或者说该习惯已构成了契约内容的一部分。