Freedom — as guaranteed by the First Amendment — to express, without external control other than one’s own conscience, any or no system of religious opinion and to engage in or refrain from any form of religious observance or public or private religious worship, as long as it is consistent with the peace and order […]
Treasury Bench. In the British House of Commons, the first row of seats on the right hand of the speaker. • The Treasury Bench is occupied by the First Lord of the Treasury or principal minister of the Crown.
An improvement-patent claim characterized by a preamble setting forth the current state of the art, followed by the phrase “the improvement comprising” and a description of the claimed patentable improvement. • The name comes from Ex parte Jepson, 1917 C.D. 62, 243 O.G. 526 (Ass’t Comm’r Pat. 1917) in which this type of claim was
Hist. A plaintiff’s restatement of a claim because the first complaint did not contain sufficient details. • The purpose was to allow a plaintiff to reply to a defendant’s responsive plea that did not address the plaintiff’s specific claim because the complaint was too general. New assignment has been replaced by amended pleadings. — Also
employ, vb. 1. To make use of. 2. To hire. 3. To use as an agent or substitute in transacting business. 4. To commission and entrust with the performance of certain acts or functions or with the management of one’s affairs.
Harter Act. Maritime law. An 1893 federal statute regulating a carrier’s liability for the loss or damage of ocean cargo shipped under bills of lading. 46 USCA app. §§ 190–196. • The Act was the primary model for the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, which has largely superseded it in practice. See CARRIAGE OF
lex Baiuvariorum (leks bay-[schwa]-vair-ee-or-[schwa]m). [Latin] Hist. The law of Bavaria, a barbarian nation in the Early Middle Ages, first collected (together with the law of the Franks and Alemanni) by Theodoric (ca. 454–526), and finally completed and promulgated by Dagobert (ca. 612–639). — Also termed lex Baioriorum; lex Boiorum.
A stock or bond sold by a corporation for the first time, often to raise working capital. See BLUE-SKY LAW.
jumping a claim. Hist. The act of taking possession of public land to which another has previously acquired a claim. • The first occupant has the right to the land both under squatter law and custom and under preemption laws of the United States.
excess clause. An insurance-policy provision — usu. contained in the “other insurance” section of the policy — that limits the insurer’s liability to the amount exceeding other available coverage. • This clause essentially requires other insurers to pay first. Cf. ESCAPE CLAUSE; PRO RATA CLAUSE. [Cases: Insurance 2111(2).]