dignitary, adj. Of or relating to one’s interest in personal dignity, as contrasted with one’s interest in freedom from physical injury and property damage. • Tort actions that compensate a plaintiff for a dignitary insult rather than physical injury or property damage include false-light privacy and negligent infliction of emotional distress. dignitary, n. 1. A […]
money demand. A claim for a fixed, liquidated sum, as opposed to a damage claim that must be assessed by a jury. [Cases: Damages 200. C.J.S. Damages § 319.]
pignoratio (pig-n[schwa]-ray-shee-oh), n. [Latin] 1. Roman law. The real contract (pignus) under which a debtor handed something over to a creditor as security; the act of depositing as a pledge. — Also spelled pigneratio. 2. Civil law. The impounding of another’s cattle (or other animals) that have damaged property until the cattle’s owner pays for
protest certificate. A notarial certificate declaring (1) that a holder in due course has recruited the notary public to present a previously refused or dishonored negotiable instrument, (2) that the notary has presented the instrument to the person responsible for payment or acceptance (the drawee), (3) that the instrument was presented at a given time
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act of indemnity. 1. A statute that relieves specified persons, esp. government officials, from some penalty to which they might be subject as a result of having exceeded their powers or having otherwise acted illegally. 2. A statute that compensates persons for damage incurred as a result of some public measure or government service.
model act. A statute drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and proposed as guideline legislation for the states to borrow from or adapt to suit their individual needs. • Examples of model acts include the Model Employment Termination Act and the Model Punitive Damages Act. Cf. UNIFORM LAW.
Waste that abuses a privilege of nonimpeachability at common law, for which equity will restrain the commission of willful, destructive, malicious, or extravagant waste; esp., waste caused by a life tenant who, although ordinarily not responsible for permissive waste, flagrantly damages or destroys the property. [Cases: Waste 4. C.J.S. Waste § 6.]
lex Aquilia (leks [schwa]-kwil-ee-[schwa]). [Latin “Aquilian law”] Roman law. A Roman statute imposing liability for pecuniary loss tortiously caused and generally regulating loss caused by damage to property, including compensation to be paid for injury to another’s slave or livestock. • A loss had to be financially measurable and caused wrongfully. If the liable party
A royalty that a licensee would be willing to pay the holder of the thing’s intellectual-property rights while still making a reasonable profit from its use. • The reasonable-royalty standard often serves as the measure of damages in a claim of patent, copyright, or trademark infringement, or for misappropriation of trade secrets. In deciding what
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guest statute. A law that bars a nonpaying passenger in a noncommercial vehicle from suing the host-driver for damages resulting from the driver’s ordinary negligence. • Though once common, guest statutes remain in force in only a few states. — Also termed automobile-guest statute. Cf. FAMILY-PURPOSE RULE . [Cases: Automobiles 181. C.J.S. Motor Vehicles §