Legal Dictionary

U

UIFSA

The American uniform child and spousal support legislation, the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act already adopted and implemented by most states and expected to be law throughout the USA soon. It is the successor of URESA and is a long-arm statutes as it gives the state which issues the first support order jurisdiction over the support payor anywhere in the USA for the purposes of varying that order. For more information, please see http://wwlia.org/us-uifsa.htm

Ultra vires

Without authority. An act which is beyond the powers or authority of the person or organization which took it.

Unjust enrichment

A legal procedure whereby you can seek reimbursement from another who benefitted from your action or property without legal justification. There are said to be three conditions which must be met before you can get a court to force reimbursement based on "unjust enrichment": an actual enrichment or benefit to the defendant, a corresponding deprivation to the plaintiff, and the absence of a legal reason for the defendant's enrichment. For example (and only theoretically as many countries have laws which have modified equity law in some situations), if you found somebody else's cash and spent it, you might be sued for reimbursement under unjust enrichment. The legal theory behind unjust enrichment is the constructive trust, which the court imposes upon the circumstances to hold the person unjustly enriched as the trustee for the person who should properly get the property back, held to be the beneficiary of the constructive trust.

URESA

Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act of the United States, as created in 1950 by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. This was the first family support uniform legislation in the USA and it was ultimately adopted, in some form or another, by all the US states. It was updated in 1968 and the revised version became known as "RURESA", the initial "R" standing for "Revised." It has been replaced by UIFSA. For more information, please see http://wwlia.org/us-uifsa.htm

Usufruct

From ancient Roman law (and now a part of many civil law systems), "usufruct" means the rights to the product of another's property. For example, a farmer may give a right of "usufruct"of his land to a neighbor, thus enabling that neighbor to sow and reap the harvest of that land.

Usury

Excessive or illegal interest rate. Most countries now prohibit interest rates above a certain level; and rates which exceed these levels are called "usury".

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V

Vagrant

A tramp or homeless person.

Vendor

The seller; the person selling.

Venue

This has the same meaning as in everyday English except that in a legal context it usually refers specifically to the location of a judicial hearing. For example, if a criminal case has a very high media profile in a particular city, the "venue" may change to another city to ensure objective witnesses (i.e. that would not have been spoiled by media speculation on the crime).

Vehicle

Any thing that is designed to transport persons or objects. A bicycle has been held to be a vehicle.

Verba fortius accipiuntur contra proferentem

Latin: a principle of construction whereby if words of a contract are ambiguous, of two equally possible meanings, they should be interpreted against the author of the words and not against the other party.

Verdict

The decision of a jury. In criminal cases, this is usually expressed as "guilty" or "not guilty".In a civil case, the verdict would be a finding for the plaintiff or for the defendant.

Videlicet

Latin for "to wit" or "that is to say." "Viz.", which is the abbreviation of videlicet, is much more commonly used. It is often found in legal documents to advise that what follows provides more detail about a preceding general statement. For example: "The defendant committed adultery; viz., on April 15th, at approximately 10:30 pm, he had sexual intercourse with Ms Jane Doe."

Vis

An abbreviation of the Latin word videlicet. Short for "namely" or "that is to say."

Vicarious liability

When a person is held responsible for the tort of another even though the person being held responsible may not have done anything wrong. This is often the case with employers who are held vicariously liable for the damages caused by their employees.

Vir

Latin: man or husband. Vir et uxor censentur in lege una persona is an old (and long abandoned in most countries) legal principle meaning that man and wife are considered to be one person in law.

Void or void ab initio

Not legally binding. A document that is void is useless and worthless; as if it did not exist.For example, in many countries, contracts for immoral purposes are said to be "void":unenforceable and not recognized by the courts. A good example is a contract to commit a serious crime such as murder.

Voidable

The law distinguishes between contracts which are void and those which are voidable. Some contracts have such a latent defect that they are said to be void (see definition of "void" above). Other have more minor defects to them and are voidable at the option of the party victimized by the defect. For example, contracts signed by a person when they are totally drunk are voidable by that person upon recovering sobriety.

Voir dire

A mini-hearing held during a trial on the admissibility of contested evidence. For example, a defendant may object to a plaintiff's witness. The court would suspend the trial, immediately preside over a hearing on the standing of the proposed witness, and then resume the trial with or without the witness, or with any restrictions placed on the testimony by the judge as a result of the voir dire ruling. In a jury trial, the jury would be excused during the voir dire.

Volenti non fit injuria

Voluntary assumption of risk. A defence in tort that means where a person engages in an event accepting and aware of the risks inherent in that event, then they can not later complain of, or seek compensation for an injury suffered during the event. This is used most often to defend against tort actions as a result of a sports injury.

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W

Wagner Act

A 1935 American federal statute which recognized employee rights to collective bargaining, protected the right to belong to a union, prohibited many anti-union tactics then used by employers, and set up the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB was given wide enforcement powers. It was later amended by the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947.

Waiver

When a person disclaims or renounces to a right that they may have otherwise had. Waivers are not always in writing. Sometimes a person's actions can be interpreted as a waiver.

Warranty

A guarantee given on the performance of a product or the doing of a certain thing. For example, many consumer products come with warranties under which the manufacturer will repair or replace any product that fails during the warranty period; the commitment to repair or replace being the "warranty".

Waste

The abuse, destruction or permanent change to property by one who is merely in possesion of it as in the case of a tenant or a life tenant.

Wedlock

Being married. Has the same meaning as "matrimony." Used mostly to refer to illegitimate children as "born out of wedlock."

Will

A written and signed statement, made by an individual, which provides for the disposition of their property when they die. (See also codicil and probate.)

Wire-tapping

An electronic surveillance device which secretly listens in and records conversations held over a phone line. It is usually only allowed with the permission of a judge and if it can be shown to be necessary for the solving of a serious crime.

Without prejudice

A statements set onto a written document which qualifies the signatory as exempted from it's content to the extent that they may be interpreted as containing admissions or other interpretations which could later be used against the person signing; or as otherwise affecting any legal rights of the person signing. A lawyer will often send a letter "without prejudice" in case the letter makes admissions which could later prove inconvenient to the client.

Witness

The regular definition of this word is a person who perceives an event (by seeing, hearing, smelling or other sensory perception). The legal definition refers to the court-supervised recital of that sensory experience, in writing (deposition) or verbally (testimony).

Words of limitation

Words in a conveyance or in a will which set the duration of an estate. If a will said "to Bob and his heirs", the words "and his heirs" were words of limitation because they indicate that Bob gets the land in fee simple and his heirs get no interest.

Words of purchase

Words which specifically name the person to whom land is being conveyed. The property is conveyed to specifically and by name in a legal act such as a conveyance or will. This would preclude, for example, transfer as a result of intestacy.

Writ

An official court document, signed by a judge or bearing an official court seal, which commands the person to whom it is addressed, to do something specific. That "person" is typically either a sheriff (who may be instructed to seize property, for example) or a defendant (for whom the writ is the first notice of formal legal action. In these cases, the writ would command the person to answer the charges laid out in the suit, or else judgment may be made against them in their absence).

Wrongful death

An American tort law action which claims damages from any person who, through negligence or direct act or omission, caused the death of certain relatives (eg. spouse, children or parent). These actions are commenced under special "wrongful death" statutes because under the common law, there is no right of action for survivors for their own loss as a result of someone's death. The Canadian equivalent of the wrongful death legislation is generally known as the "fatal accidents act." In England, it is known as Lord Campbell's Act.

Wrongful dismissal

Being fired from a job without an adequate reason or without any reason whatsoever. Employees do not have a right to a job for life and can be dismissed for economic or performance reasons but they cannot be dismissed capriciously. Most employment implies an employment contract, which may be supplemented by labor legislation. Either could provide for certain procedures to be followed, failing which any firing is wrongful dismissal and for which the employee could ask a court for damages against the employer. Can also be referred to as "dismissal without just cause." Not all states recognize this tort law action.

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X-Z

Yellow dog contract

A name given in American labor law to contract of employment by which the employee agrees to forfeit their employment if they join a union during the period of employment. These types of contracts are now prohibited by American law.

Young offender

Young persons who, in many states, are treated differently than adult criminals and are tried in special youth courts. In Canada, for example, criminal suspects between 12 and 17 inclusively are processed under the Young Offenders Act, which includes several provisions which reflect the rehabilitative nature of the legislation.

Zipper

"Devices consisting of two opposite series of members adapted to be attached one on each side of an aperture in some article and to interlock so as to close the aperture upon the slide being operated in one direction, or to separate so as to leave the aperture open upon the slide being operated in the opposite direction." Editor's note:we didn't make this up! It's from a 1932 trademark case of the Supreme Court of Canada called Lightning Fastener Co. Ltd. V. Canadian GoodrichCo. Ltd.

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