| A | B |
|---|
| appeal | A proceeding brought to a higher court to review a lower court’s decision. |
| appellate court | A court hearing jurisdiction of appeal and review. |
| appellate jurisdiction | Authority of a court to review cases tried in lower courts. |
| appropriation | The use by one person of anotehr person's name, likeness, or other identifying characteristic without permission and for the benefit of the user. |
| assault | An act that creates in the plaintiff immediate fear of an attempted battery. |
| assumption of risk | The legal rule under which a person may not recover for an injury received when voluntarily exposed to a known danger. |
| battery | A harmful, offensive touching of another’s person. |
| breach of duty | Any violation or omission of a legal or moral duty. |
| comparative negligence | The rule by which negligence is measured by a percentage, and damages are diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to the person seeking recovery. |
| compensatory damages | Compensation to the injured party for the injury sustained. |
| concurrent jurisdiction | Jurisdiction granted in different courts at the same time over the same matters. |
| contributory negligence | An affirmative defense which means that the injuries and damages complained of by the plaintiff were caused in whole or in part, or were contributed to as a result of the plaintiff’s own negligence. |
| conversion | Taking property that belongs to another and using it as one’s own. |
| cyber tort | A tort committed in cyberspace. |
| damages | Pecuniary compensation which may be recovered in the courts by any person who has suffered loss, detriment, or injury, whether to his person, property or rights through the unlawful act or omission or negligence of another. |
| defamation | An intentional false communication, either published or publicly spoken, that injuries another’s reputation or good name. |
| default | Failure of the defendant to appear and answer the summons and complaint. |
| defense | That which a defendant offers and alleges as a reason why the plaintiff should not recover what he or she seeks in a lawsuit.d |
| diversity of citizenship | A term used to mean that the party on one side of a lawsuit is a citizen of one state and the other party is a citizen of another state. |
| Dram Shop Act | Relates to liability on owners of taverns/bars and servers of alcoholic beverages for injuries resulting from accidented caused by intoxicated persons when the sellers/servers contributed to the intoxication. |
| due care | That care which a reasonable, prudent person would exercise in a particular situation. |
| duty | Legal or moral obligation. |
| exclusive jurisdiction | The authority granted to a court to hear certain matters to the exclusion of all other courts. |
| foreseeability | In tort law, the foreseeability element of proximate cause is established by proof that an actor, person of ordinary intelligence should have anticipated danger to others created by his negligent act. |
| fraud | A false statement of a material fact with the intent to deceive, which statement is relied upon and is intended to be relied upon to cause a loss to the victim. |
| general jurisdiction | A court with no limitation as to the types of cases it can hear and no limitation as to monetary jurisdiction. |
| Good Samaritan statute | A state statute stipulating that persons who provide emergency services to others in peril--unless they do so recklessly, thus causing further harm--cannot be sued for negligence. |
| injunction | A court order prohibiting someone from doing some specified act or commanding someone to undo some wrong or injury. |
| intentional tort | Wrong perpetrated by one who intends to break the law. |
| jurisdiction | The power of a court to hear and try a case. |
| liability | A debt or obligation to another person or entity; legal responsibility to another. |
| libel | Damage to a person’s reputation by written or published information. |
| limited jurisdiction | Where a court is restricted in the type of case it can hear or in the amount of money involved in the litigation. |
| malpractice | Professional misconduct or unreasonable lack of skill, a violation of a standard of care. |
| misrepresentation | A false statement of material fact which is relied upon and is intended to be relied upon to cause a loss to the victim. |
| negligence | Failure to use care that a reasonable and prudent person would use under similar circumstances. |
| original jurisdiction | The authority granted to a court to hear and determine a matter for the first time, generally as a trial court. |
| personal injury | The term usually applied to describe the kind of suit filed to recover damages for a physical injury. |
| privilege | A benefit or advantage to certain persons beyond the advantages of other persons, i.e., an exemption, immunity, or power. |
| pro se | Term used to designate a person who represents himself in court. |
| products liability | Legal responsibility of manufacturers and sellers to buyers, users, and bystanders for damages or injuries suffered because of defects in goods. |
| proximate cause | The last negligent act which contributes to an injury. |
| prudent person | A careful, cautious, attentive person of good judgment. |
| punitive damage | An award in addition to the actual loss. |
| reasonable care | Due care, or ordinary care, under all circumstances. |
| self-defense | The right of a person to defend person, property, home, or family against anyone who intends to commit a forcible felony. |
| slander | Damage to a person’s reputation by spoken information. |
| standing to sue | A concept requiring that a person actually suffer injury before being permitted to sue. |
| doctrine of stare decisis | The doctrine requiring courts to stand by earlier court decisions when hearing cases with similar fact situations. |
| strict liability | Concept applied by the courts in products liability cases that when a manufacturer presents goods for public sale the manufacturer is representing that they are suitable for their intended use. |
| tort | A private or civil wrong or injury for which the court provides a remedy through an action for damages. |
| tortfeasor | A wrong-doer; an individual or business that commits or is guilty of a tort. |
| trespass | Illegal entry upon the land of another. |
| trial court | The court of original jurisdiction; the first court to consider litigation. |
| venue | The authority of a court to hear a matter based on geographical location. |
| verification | A statement, generally given under oath, that the allegations in a complaint or petition are true and correct. |
| writ of certiorari | An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal. |
| Bill of Rights | First ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution |
| doctrine of laches | an unreasonable delay in seeking a remedy for a legal right or claim will prevent it from being enforced or allowed |
| long arm statute | law which gives a local state court jurisdiction over an out-of-state company or individual whose actions caused damage locally or to a local resident. |
| primary law | Binding law; Constitution, statutes, administrative law, and case law |
| secondary law | Persuasvie law; legal encyclopedias, treatises, hornbooks, restatements of law |
| case of first impression | A case presenting a legal issue that has not yet been addressed by a court in a particular jurisdiction. |
| precedent | A court decision that furnishes an example or authority for deciding subsequent cases in which identical or similar facts are presented. |
| Supremacy clause | establishes the U.S. Constitution, federal statutes, and U.S. treaties as "the supreme law of the land." |
| special damages | Damages that compensate for to pay for a specific and identifiable expenses (medical bills, fix vehicle) |
| general damages | Damages that are issued to compensate for an individual's pain and suffering and other things hard to measure |
| punitive damage | Damages given by the civil courts as a punishment. |
