excommunication, n. Eccles. law. A sentence of censure pronounced by a spiritual court for an offense falling under ecclesiastical cognizance; expulsion from religious society or community. • In England, an excommunicated person was formerly subject to various civil disabilities, such as an inability to be a juror, to be a witness in any court, or […]
contingent fee. A fee charged for a lawyer’s services only if the lawsuit is successful or is favorably settled out of court. • Contingent fees are usu. calculated as a percentage of the client’s net recovery (such as 25% of the recovery if the case is settled, and 33% if the case is won at
breakage. 1. An allowance given by a manufacturer to a buyer for goods damaged during transit or storage. 2. Insignificant amounts of money retained by racetrack promoters from bets. • The retention of these small sums avoids the inconvenience of counting and paying out inconsequential winnings. [Cases: Gaming 9.]
traffic, n. 1. Commerce; trade; the sale or exchange of such things as merchandise, bills, and money. 2. The passing or exchange of goods or commodities from one person to another for an equivalent in goods or money. 3. People or things being transported along a route. 4. The passing to and fro of people,
teller. 1. A bank clerk who deals directly with customers by receiving and paying out money. 2. Parliamentary law. A member of a tellers committee; esp., a vote-counter at an election. See tellers committee under COMMITTEE. [Cases: Elections 126(3), 209. C.J.S. Elections §§ 116, 192.]
composition, n. 1. An agreement between a debtor and two or more creditors for the adjustment or discharge of an obligation for some lesser amount; an agreement among the debtor and two or more creditors that the debtor will pay the creditors less than their full claims in full satisfaction of their claims. • The
part-performance doctrine. The equitable principle by which a failure to comply with the statute of frauds is overcome by a party’s execution, in reliance on an opposing party’s oral promise, of an oral contract’s requirements. — Sometimes shortened to part performance. See part performance under PERFORMANCE. [Cases: Frauds, Statute of 129.] “Part performance is not
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Federal Reserve System. The central bank that sets credit and monetary policy by fixing the reserves to be maintained by depository institutions, determining the discount rate charged by Federal Reserve Banks, and regulating the amount of credit that may be extended on any security. • The Federal Reserve System was established by the Federal Reserve
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A warrant that is issued to raise public money and that is payable out of tax receipts when collected.
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copyhold. Hist. A base tenure requiring the tenant to provide the customary services of the manor, as reflected in the manor’s court rolls. • Copyhold tenure descended from pure villeinage; over time, the customs of the manor, as reflected on the manor’s rolls, dictated what services a lord could demand from a copyholder. This type