qui tam action (kwI tam). [Latin qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur “who as well for the king as for himself sues in this matter”] An action brought under a statute that allows a private person to sue for a penalty, part of which the government or some […]
One of a party’s limited number of challenges that do not need to be supported by a reason unless the opposing party makes a prima facie showing that the challenge was used to discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sex. • At one time, a peremptory challenge could not be attacked and did
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A statutory lien that secures payment for labor or materials supplied in improving, repairing, or maintaining real or personal property, such as a building, an automobile, or the like. — Also termed artisan’s lien; chattel lien (for personal property); construction lien (for labor); garageman’s lien (for repaired vehicles); laborer’s lien (for labor); materialman’s lien (for
A distribution of trade or business assets by a dissolving corporation or partnership. — Also termed distribution in liquidation. [Cases: Corporations 629. C.J.S. Corporations §§ 875–878.]
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civil code. 1. A comprehensive and systematic legislative pronouncement of the whole private, noncommercial law in a legal system of the continental civil-law tradition. 2. (cap.) The code that embodies the law of France, from which a great part of the Louisiana civil code is derived. — Abbr. CC. — Also termed Code Civil. See
drama, n. 1. A presentation of a story portrayed by words and actions or actions alone; a play. Cf. DRAMATIC COMPOSITION. “The term [drama] is applied to compositions which imitate action by representing the personages introduced in them as real and as employed in the action itself. The varieties of the drama differ more or
homage (hom-ij). In feudal times, a ceremony that a new tenant performed for the lord to acknowledge the tenure. • This was the most honorable service that a free tenant might do for a lord. In the ceremony, kneeling before the lord, the tenant placed his hands between the lord’s hands while saying, “I become
VARA.abbr. VISUAL ARTISTS RIGHTS ACT. vara (vah-rah).Spanish-Am. law. A measure of length equal to about 33 inches. • Local usage varies, so that it may sometimes be more and sometimes less than 33 inches. In Mexican land grants, the measure is equal to 32.9927 inches. The term is often found in old land grants in
feigned issue. Hist. A proceeding in which the parties, by consent, have an issue tried by a jury without actually bringing a formal action. • The proceeding was done when a court either lacked jurisdiction or was unwilling to decide the issue. — Also termed fictitious issue. “The chancellor’s decree is either interlocutory or final.
layman. 1. A person who is not a member of the clergy. [Cases: Religious Societies 7. C.J.S. Religious Societies §§ 14–18.] 2. A person who is not a member of a profession or an expert on a particular subject. — Also termed layperson. [Cases: Evidence 470. C.J.S. Evidence §§ 509, 511–512, 517.]