| A | B |
|---|
| Tort | A breach of some obligation, causing harm or injury to someone; a civil wrong, such as negligence or libel. |
| Plaintiff | In a civil case, the injured party who brings legal action against the allege wrongdoer. |
| Judgement | A court’s decision in a civil case. |
| Defendant | The person against whom a claim is made. In a civil suit, the defendant is the person being sued; in a criminal case, the defendant is the person charged with committing a crime. |
| Damages | Money asked for or paid by court order to a plaintiff for injuries or losses suffered. |
| Liable | Legally responsible. |
| Remedy | What is done to compensate for an injury or to enforce some right. |
| Liabillity | legal responsibility; the obligation to do or not do something. The defendant in a tort case incurs liability for failing to use reasonable care, resulting in harm to the plaintiff. |
| Settelement | A mutual agreement between two sides in a civil lawsuit made either before the case goes to trial or before a final judgment is entered, that settles or ends the dispute. |
| Common Law | A system in which court decisions establish legal principles and rules of law. |
| Statutes | Written laws enacted by legislatures. |
| Intentional Wrong | An action taken deliberately to harm another person and/or his or her property |
| Negligence | The failure to exercise a reasonable amount of care in either doing or not doing something, resulting in harm or injury to another person. |
| Strict liability | The legal responsibility for damage or injury even if you are not negligent. |
| Civil law | All law that does not involve criminal matters, such as tort and contract law. Civil law usually deals with private rights of individuals, groups, or businesses. |
| Standard of proof | The level of certainty and the degree of evidence necessary to establish proof in a criminal or civil proceeding. The standard of proof in a criminal trial is generally beyond a reasonable doubt, whereas a civil case generally requires the lesser standard of preponderance of the evidence. |
| Preponderence of the evidence | usually the standard of proof used in a civil suit; the burden of proof that a party must meet in order to win the lawsuit. To win, a party must provide evidence that is more convincing than the other side’s evidence. |
| Minor-A child | a person under the legal age of adulthood, usually 18 or 21. |
| Immune | Exempt from penalties, payments or legal requirements; free from prosecution. |
| Waive | To give up some right, privilege, or benefit voluntarily. |
| Class Action | A lawsuit brought by one or more persons on behalf of a larger group. |
| Contingency fee | The fee paid to an attorney based on a percentage of the sum the client is awarded or settles for in a lawsuit. |
| Liabililty Insurance | The type of coverage or insurance that pays for injuries to other people or damage to property if the individual insured is responsible for an accident during the term of the contract. |
| Contract | A legally enforceable agreement between two or more people to exchange something of value. |
| Premiums | Payments made for insurance coverage. |
| Malpractice | Failure to meet acceptable standards of practice in any professionals or official position; often the basis for lawsuits by clients or patients against their attorney or physician. |
| Medical coverage | insurance which covers an individual’s own medical expenses resulting from accidents. |
| Collision Coverage | Insurance that pays for damage to the insured’s own car caused by an automobile collision. |
| Deductible | the amount an insured person agrees to pay toward repairs before the insurance company pays anything. |
| Comprehensive coverage | The portion of an insurance policy that protects an individual against automobile damages or losses other than collisions. It includes damages and losses due to fire, vandalism, or theft. |
| Uninsured Motorists coverage | Insurance that protects drivers from those with no insurance or inadequate insurance. It compensates the insured for the personal injuries or damage the uninsured driver caused. |
| No-Fault insurance | A form of automobile or accident insurance (available in only a few states) in which each person’s insurance company pays up to a certain share of damages, regardless of fault. |
| Exclusive remedy | The only solution, or compensation, available to a plaintiff in a particular legal situation. |
