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Affirmative Defense
An affirmative defense to a civil lawsuit or criminal charge is a fact or set of facts other than those alleged by the plaintiff or prosecutor which, if proven by the defendant, defeats or mitigates the legal consequences of the defendant's otherwise unlawful conduct. In civil lawsuits, affirmative defenses include the statute of limitations, the statute of frauds, waiver, and other affirmative defenses such as, in the United States, those listed in Rule 8 (c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In criminal prosecutions, examples of affirmative defenses are self defense, insanity, entrapment and the statute of limitations. Description In an affirmative defense, the defendant may concede that they committed the alleged acts, but they prove other facts which, under the law, either justify or excuse their otherwise wrongful actions, or otherwise overcomes the plaintiff's claim. In criminal law, an affirmative defense is sometimes called a justification or excuse defense ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Civil Law (common Law)
Civil law is a major "branch of the law", in common law legal systems such as those in England and Wales and in the United States, where it stands in contrast to criminal law. Glanville Williams. '' Learning the Law''. Eleventh Edition. Stevens. 1982. p. 2.W J Stewart and Robert Burgess. ''Collins Dictionary of Law''. HarperCollins Publishers. 1996. . Page 68. Definition 4 of "civil law". Private law, which relates to civil wrongs and quasi-contracts, is part of civil law, as is contract law and law of property (excluding property-related crimes, such as theft or vandalism). Civil law may, like criminal law, be divided into substantive law and procedural law. The rights and duties of persons ( natural persons and legal persons) amongst themselves is the primary concern of civil law. The common law is today as fertile a source for theoretical inquiry as it has ever been. Around the English-speaking world, many scholars of law, philosophy, politics, and history study the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States District Court
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one List of United States federal courthouses, federal courthouse in each district, and many districts have more than one. District court decisions are appealed to the United States courts of appeals, U.S. court of appeals for the circuit in which they reside, except for certain specialized cases that are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or directly to the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court. District courts are courts of common law, law, Court of equity, equity, and Admiralty court, admiralty, and can hear both Civil law (common law), civil and Criminal law, criminal cases. B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Payment
A payment is the tender of something of value, such as money or its equivalent, by one party (such as a person or company) to another in exchange for goods or services provided by them, or to fulfill a legal obligation or philanthropy desire. The party making the payment is commonly called the payer, while the payee is the party receiving the payment. Whilst payments are often made voluntarily, some payments are compulsory, such as payment of a fine. Payments can be effected in a number of ways, for example: * the use of money, whether through cash, cheque, mobile payment or bank transfers. * the transfer of anything of value, such as stock, or using barter, the exchange of one good or service for another. In general, payees are at liberty to determine what method of payment they will accept; though normally laws require the payer to accept the country's legal tender up to a prescribed limit. Payment is most commonly affected in the local currency of the payee unless ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
License
A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreement between those parties. In the case of a license issued by a government, the license is obtained by applying for it. In the case of a private party, it is by a specific agreement, usually in writing (such as a lease or other contract). The simplest definition is "A license is a promise not to sue", because a license usually either permits the licensed party to engage in an illegal activity, and subject to prosecution, without the license (e.g. Fishing license, fishing, Driver's license, driving an automobile, or operating a Broadcast license, broadcast radio or television station), or it permits the licensed party to do something that would violate the rights of the licensing party (e.g. make copie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laches (equity)
In common-law legal systems, laches ( , ; Law French: , , from ) is a lack of diligence and activity in making a legal claim, or moving forward with legal enforcement of a right, particularly in regard to equity (law), equity. It is an unreasonable delay that can be viewed as prejudicing the opposing party. When asserted in litigation, it is an equity defense, that is, a defense to a claim for an equitable remedy. It is often understood in comparison to a statute of limitations, a statutory defense, which traditionally is a defense to a claim "at law". The person invoking laches is asserting that an opposing party has "slept on its rights", and that, as a result of this delay, circumstances have changed (witnesses or evidence may have been lost or no longer available, etc.), such that it is no longer a just resolution to grant the plaintiff's claim. Laches is associated with the maxim of equity: "Equity aids the vigilant"not those who sleep on their rights. Put another way, f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Employment
Common employment was an historical defence in English tort law that said workers implicitly undertook the risks of being injured by their co-workers, with whom they were in "common employment". The US labor law terminology was the "fellow servant rule". Development The operation of the doctrine was seen first in '' Priestly v Fowler'' in the United Kingdom. In the United States the doctrine was seen in '' Farwell v. Boston & Worcester R.R. Corp''. Bunker Hill Mining Company operated by the fellow servant doctrine. According to Katherine Aiken, "persons engaged in the same common pursuit for the same employer were fellow servants and companies were not liable for injuries where a fellow servant was at fault. Thus, either the miner himself or his coworker was ultimately responsible for accidents." Between March 1893 and February 1894, 15 fatalities occurred at the mine. Abolition As Australia experienced a relatively influential labour movement in the late 19th and early 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Illegal Agreement
An illegal agreement, under the common law of contract, is one that the court will not enforce because either (1) the making of the agreement itself is illegal or (2) the agreement becomes illegal because of the way in which it is performed. The classic example of such an agreement is an agreement to commit a crime. For example, entering into a contract for murder is itself illegal because that very act can be prosecuted as the crime of conspiracy to commit a murder. The illegality of a contract depends on (1) the law of the jurisdiction governing the contract, and (2) the law of the place of performance. Different rules will apply depending on the laws of the relevant jurisdictions. However, a contract that requires only legal performance on the part of each party, such as the sale of packs of cards to a known gambler, where gambling is illegal, will nonetheless be enforceable. A contract directly linked to the gambling act itself, such as paying off gambling debts (see pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fraud
In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compensation) or criminal law (e.g., a fraud perpetrator may be prosecuted and imprisoned by governmental authorities), or it may cause no loss of money, property, or legal right but still be an element of another civil or criminal wrong. The purpose of fraud may be monetary gain or other benefits, such as obtaining a passport, travel document, or driver's licence. In cases of mortgage fraud, the perpetrator may attempt to qualify for a mortgage by way of false statements. Terminology Fraud can be defined as either a civil wrong or a criminal act. For civil fraud, a government agency or person or entity harmed by fraud may bring litigation to stop the fraud, seek monetary damages, or both. For cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consideration
Consideration is a concept of English law, English common law and is a necessity for simple contracts but not for special contracts (contracts by deed). The concept has been adopted by other common law jurisdictions. It is commonly referred to as one of the six or seven elements of a contract. The court in ''Currie v Misa'' declared consideration to be a "Right, Interest, Profit, Benefit, or Forbearance, Detriment, Loss, Responsibility". Thus, consideration is a promise of something of value given by a promissor in exchange for something of value given by a promisee; and typically the thing of value is goods, money, or an act. Forbearance to act, such as an adult promising to refrain from smoking, is enforceable if one is thereby surrendering a legal right. Consideration may be thought of as the concept of value offered and accepted by people or organisations entering into contracts. Anything of value promised by one party to the other when making a contract can be treate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Estoppel
Estoppel is a judicial device whereby a court may prevent or "estop" a person from making assertions or from going back on their word. The person barred from doing so is said to be "estopped". Estoppel may prevent someone from bringing a particular claim. In common law legal systems, the legal doctrine of estoppel is based in both common law and equity. Estoppel is also a concept in international law. Types of estoppel There are many different types of estoppel, but the common thread between them is that a person is restrained from asserting a particular position in law where it would be inequitable to do so. By way of illustration: * If a landlord promises a tenant that he will not exercise his right to terminate a lease, and relying upon that promise the tenant spends money improving the premises, the doctrine of ''promissory estoppel'' may prevent the landlord from exercising a right to terminate, even though his promise might not otherwise have been legally binding as a co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discharge In Bankruptcy
A bankruptcy discharge is a court order that releases an individual or business from specific debts and obligations they owe to creditors. In other words, it's a legal process that eliminates the debtor's liability to pay certain types of debts they owe before filing the bankruptcy case. Once a bankruptcy discharge is granted, the debtor is no longer legally required to pay back the discharged debts, and creditors are prohibited from attempting to collect on those debts. This means that the debtor can have a fresh financial start and move forward without the burden of overwhelming debt. Although the debtor is not personally liable for discharged debts, a secured creditor can claim any liens or property interest in the debtor's property that have not been made unenforceable by the courts. For example, if the debtor sells a property lien, the secured creditor is entitled to receive payment from the sale. It's important to note that not all debts are dischargeable in bankruptcy. Add ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contributory Negligence
In some common law jurisdictions, contributory negligence is a defense to a tort claim based on negligence. If it is available, the defense completely bars plaintiffs from any recovery if they contribute to their own injury through their own negligence. Because the contributory negligence doctrine can lead to harsh results, many common law jurisdictions have abolished it in favor of a "comparative fault" or "comparative negligence" approach. A comparative negligence approach reduces the plaintiff's damages award by the percentage of fault the fact-finder assigns to the plaintiff for their own injury. For example, if a jury thinks the plaintiff is 30% at fault, the plaintiff's damages award will be reduced by 30%. History The doctrine of contributory negligence was dominant in U.S. jurisprudence in the 19th and 20th century. The English case '' Butterfield v. Forrester'' is generally recognized as the first appearance, although in this case, the judge held the plaintiff's own ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
