Legal Terminology

Front 1

chattel

Back 1

anything that is the subject of ownership other than real property

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fixture

Back 2

when personal property is attached to real property

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fungible goods

Back 3

types of good that are usually sold by weight, measure or stored in bulk quantities

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bailment

Back 4

whenever one person places personal property in the possession of another person without intending to transfer title to that person

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mutuum

Back 5

when someone borrows something such as a cup of sugar and intends to return a similar amount of the same goods, because the exact item that was borrowed will not be returned

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enjoin

Back 6

to require a person to perform or abstain from some act, and it is usually done by the court's insurance of an injunction

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service mark

Back 7

trademark protection for services

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patent infringement

Back 8

the unauthorized making, using, or selling of a patented invention during the term of the patent

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trade secret

Back 9

a plan, process, or device that is used in business and is known only to employees who need to know the secret to accomplish their work

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fair-use doctrine

Back 10

limited copying of a copyrighted work for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including classroom copies), scholarship, or research

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undisclosed principle

Back 11

when the third party deals with an agent and is not aware of the agency relationship

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malfeasance

Back 12

the doing of an act that ought not to be done at all

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nonfeasance

Back 13

the failure to do an act that ought to have been done

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factor

Back 14

a type of agent to whom the goods are cosigned for sale

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dummy corporation

Back 15

a lawful corporation created to take title to assets while safeguarding the owner corporation's identity and liability

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fee simple estate

Back 16

the largest estate that one can own in land, giving the holder absolute ownership that descends to the owner's heirs on his or her death

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fee tail estate

Back 17

restricts ownership of real property to a particular family bloodline

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leasehold estate

Back 18

an estate that is less than a freehold estate, in that it provides a temporary right to property

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tenancy for years

Back 19

an estate for a definite or fixed period of time, such as "for two years," or "for nine months"

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tenancy at sufferance

Back 20

an estate held wrongfully, held over after termination of a rightful tenancy, consisting of illegal possession only

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moiety

Back 21

a part, portion, or fraction

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unity of possession

Back 22

each owner is entitled to possession of the entire premises

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levy on execution

Back 23

the collect a sum of money by putting into effect the judgment of a court

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unit deed

Back 24

the transfer of ownership of each unit

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timesharing

Back 25

a fee simple ownership of a unit of real property in which the owner can exercise the right of possession for only an interval, such as a week or two each year

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right of redemption

Back 26

right to take back property

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seisin

Back 27

possession of a free-hold

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tacking

Back 28

an accumulation of possession by different occupiers who are not record owners

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accretion

Back 29

any addition to the soil made by nature, such as gradual accumulation of soil on land next to a stream caused by action of water

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sheriff's sale

Back 30

property sold by the sheriff from a losing defendant who does not pay amount of judgment to plantiff

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conveyancing

Back 31

transferring title to real property from one person to another

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metes

Back 32

the distances between points

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bounds

Back 33

the directions of the boundaries that enclose a parcel of land

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range

Back 34

a row of townships running north and south

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tract of land

Back 35

a subdivided large piece of land

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lien

Back 36

a claim or charge on the property for the payment of debt

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fixed-rate mortgage

Back 37

a mortgage with an interest rate that does not change during the life of the mortgage

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balloon mortgage

Back 38

mortgage with low, fixed payments during the life of the loan, ending with one final payment

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default

Back 39

the failure to perform a legal duty

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court of equity

Back 40

a court designed to do that which is just and fair

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tenancy at will

Back 41

an estate in real property for an indefinite period

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indenture

Back 42

an official document executed in two or more identical copies

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ejectment

Back 43

the legal action used by landlords to evict tenants

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sublease

Back 44

the transfer of part of a term but not for the remainder of it

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quiet enjoyment

Back 45

the tenants have the right to possess the property and to be undisturbed in that possession