Security Agreement: A contract between a
lender and borrower that states that the lender can
repossess the property a person has offered as
collateral if the loan is not paid as agreed.
Services of Process: The act of notifying the
other parties that an action has begun and informing
them of the steps they should take in order to respond.
Settlement Agreement: In a civil lawsuit, the
document that spells out the terms of an out-of-court
compromise.
Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their
difference without having a trial. Settlements often
involve the payment of compensation by one party in
satisfaction of the other party's claims.
Sidebar: A conference between the judge and
lawyers held out of earshot of the jury and spectators.
Slander: Defamatory (false and injurious) oral
statements or gestures.
Sole Proprietorship: A form of business
organization in which an individual is fully and
personally liable for all the obligations (including
debts) of the business, is entitled to all of its
profits and exercises complete managerial control.
Standard of Care: The degree of care a
reasonable person would take to prevent an injury to
another.
Standing: The legal right to initiate a
lawsuit. To do so, a person must be sufficiently
affected by the matter at hand, and there must be a case
or controversy that can be resolved by legal action.
Stare Decisis: Latin for "to stand by
that which is decided." Refers to the principle of
adhering to precedent when deciding a case.
Statement: A description that a witness gives
to the police and that the police write down.
Statute of Limitations: A law that sets the
time within which parties must take action to enforce
their rights.
Statute of Repose: A statute of repose for
products completely cuts off liability of the
manufacturer or seller of a defective product after an
arbitrarily-established number of years, such as 10
years or 15 years. Statutes of repose apply no matter
how serious the injuries, how many injuries have been
caused over the years by these products or services, or
how reckless the actions of the wrongdoer were. They
cover products with expected lives much longer than
typical cut-off dates in the statute of repose, products
like nuclear power plant components, medical devices
such as pacemakers, elevators, airplanes, home
appliances, playground equipment, farm equipment,
freight trains, trucks, and other industrial machinery.
Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
Statutes of Fraud: Laws in most states to
protect against false claims for payment from contracts
that were not agreed upon. The specific laws vary from
state to state, but most require that certain contracts
be in writing.
Statutes of Limitations: Laws setting
deadlines for filing lawsuits within a certain time
after events occur that are the source of a claim.
Strict Liability: Liability even when there is
no proof of negligence. Often applicable in product
liability cases against manufacturers, who are legally
responsible for injuries caused by defects in their
products, even if they were not negligent.
Structured Settlements: Also called
"periodic payments," structured settlement
laws either mandate or allow courts to require that some
or all payments awarded by a judge or jury be made to
the injured consumer over a long period of time. In
other words, the injured consumer is prohibited from
receiving payments in a lump sum. These provisions
increase the hardships of the most seriously injured
consumers who are hit soon after an injury with large
medical costs and must make adjustments in
transportation and housing. Often, the law allows
insurance companies to pocket the money upon the
plaintiff's death, instead of paying it to a dependent
spouse or child.
Subpoena Duces Tecum: A command to a witness
to produce documents.
Subpoena: An order compelling a person to
appear to testify or produce documents.
Summary Judgment: A decision made on the basis
of statements and evidence presented for the record
without a trial. It is used when there is no dispute as
to the facts of the case, and one party is entitled to
judgment as a matter of law.
Summation: The closing argument in a trial.
Summons: A legal document that notifies a
party that a lawsuit has been initiated and states when
and where the party must appear to answer the charges.
