A
Adjudicate: To decide or settle something in a legal setting.
Affidavit: A voluntary statement or declaration of facts that
has been written down and confirmed under oath.
Allegation: An assertion, declaration or statement that is
made in a pleading by one of the parties to the action and tells what that party
intends to prove.
Answer: Written response in a civil case; in it, the defendant
admits or denies the allegations contained in the plaintiff's complaint
Arbitration: A process for deciding a legal dispute out of
court; a substitute for an ordinary trial.
Assumption of risk: In the law of negligence, as a defense,
a defendant's allegation that the injured plaintiff recognized the danger of
the plaintiff's course of action but, nonetheless, willingly chose to risk such
danger.
C
Case law: Law based on previous decisions of appellate courts.
Civil: Generally pertains to disputes, not involving crimes,
including family matters, contracts, collection of debts, and compensation for
personal injury or property loss.
Collateral source rule: Under this rule, compensation awarded
to an injured party shall not be reduced by the amount of compensation available
to him from his insurance company or other independent sources.
Common law: Law that derives its authority solely from usages
and customs of the past, or from the judgments and decrees of courts (the latter
known as "case law").
Comparative negligence: The doctrine of comparing degrees of
fault among the responsible parties.
Complainant: See "plaintiff."
Complaint, civil: The first pleading in a civil case filed
by the plaintiff. It alleges the material facts and legal theories to support
the plaintiff's claim against the defendant.
Contingency fee: A fee arrangement in which the plaintiff and
his or her attorney agree that the fees due to the attorney will be determined
by the amount of the judgment granted in the plaintiff's favor.
Continuance: The adjournment or delay of a scheduled session
of a court.
Cross-examination: The questioning of a witness of one party
by the opposing party during a trial, hearing or deposition.
D
Damages: Monetary compensation claimed by a person who has
suffered a loss or injury to his person, property or rights as a result of the
negligence or unlawful conduct of another.
Decedent: A dead person.
Decree: An order of the court. A final decree is one that fully
disposes of the litigation; an interlocutory decree is a preliminary order that
often disposes of only part of a lawsuit.
Default: Failure of either party to file required documents
or appear in a civil case within a certain period of time.
Defendant: The person or party sued in a civil case or accused
in a criminal case.
Deposition: The testimony of a witness, taken out of court
and usually prior to trial.
Direct examination: Questioning of a witness by the party who
calls the witness.
Directed verdict: In a trial, a judgment entered by the judge
without allowing the jury to participate.
Discovery: The pre-trial process, such as a deposition, by
which one party discovers the evidence that will be relied upon at trial by
the opposing party.
Dismissal with prejudice: An order to dismiss a case in which
the court bars the plaintiff from suing again on the same cause of action.
Dismissal without prejudice: An order to dismiss a case in
which the court preserves the plaintiff's right to sue again on the same cause
of action.
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E
Evidence: A fact presented in court through the testimony
of a witness, an object or written documents.
exhibit A document or object that is offered into evidence during a trial or
hearing.
I
Indemnity: An agreement wherein one party financially protects
another against an anticipated loss.
Interrogatories: A form of discovery in which one party submits
a series of written questions to the other party, and to which the latter is
bound to answer under oath.
J
Judgment: The official decision by a court regarding the rights
and claims of the parties to a civil or criminal lawsuit.
Judgment notwithstanding the verdict: A judgment entered by
order of the court for one party, although there has been a jury verdict for
the other party.
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L
Liability: A legal responsibility or obligation.
Lien: An encumbrance, upon real or personal property, that
secures the payment of a debt or the performance of a duty.
Litigant: One of the parties involved in a legal action.
Litigation: The process of settling a dispute through the court
system.
M
Medical lien: The right of a hospital, doctor or health care
provider to assert an interest in personal injury recoveries to the extent of
the cost of the treatment or service provided.
Medical negligence: Failure of a physician or other medical
personnel to meet the standards of conduct for duties relating to the medical
profession. Those standards are based on what a reasonable person with the requisite
knowledge and skills would or would not do.
Mistrial: An erroneous invalid trial that cannot stand in law.
motion An application for a rule or order, made to a court or judge.
N
Negligence: Failure to exercise that degree of care that a
reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances. When that failure
causes another person to suffer an injury or financial loss, that person may
be entitled to just compensation through our civil justice system.
P
Plaintiff: The party who initiates a legal action; in a personal
injury lawsuit, the person who alleges that he or she has suffered monetary
damages due the negligence of another party.
Pleadings: Written documents stating the allegations and claims
of the opposing parties in a legal dispute.
Preponderance of evidence: The relative weight, credit and
value of the evidence presented by adversaries in a trial. In a civil trial,
the jury is charged with reaching a verdict based on this standard, as opposed
to the "reasonable doubt" standard in a criminal trial.
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R
Rebuttal: Evidence that attempts to explain, counteract or
disprove facts given in evidence by the other party.
Re-direct examination: Opportunity to present rebuttal evidence
after one's evidence has been subject to cross-examination.
Retainer: Advance payment of fees, or fees and costs, made
by a client to an attorney when the client retains the attorney to act for him
or her.
S
Stipulation: An agreement, admission or concession made in
a judicial proceeding by the parties or their attorneys, thus relieving a party
of its obligation to produce evidence in support of an argument or allegation.
Subpoena: A legal document issued by the court ordering a
person to appear as specified and give testimony and/or produce evidence.
Subrogation: A process by which a third party is put in the
place of a creditor so that the rights and securities of the creditor pass to
that third person. For example, in a personal injury matter, an insurance company
may exercise its right of subrogation to place a lien on a plaintiff's award
or settlement in order to achieve full or partial reimbursement for insurance
benefits advanced to the plaintiff.
T
Tort: A civil wrong, giving rise to a cause of action, independent
of contract.
Transcript: The official verbatim record of court proceedings.
Trial: A formal presentation of facts to a court or jury in
order to reach a legal resolution.
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