Legal Term Dictionary

In old English law. Ale or beer.

In old English law. Ale or beer. Less...

In old English law. Head money or common fine. Money paid yearly by the residents of several manors to the lords thereof, for the certain keeping of the leet, (pro certo letw;) and sometimes to the hundred. Blount; 6 Coke, 78. Carta debet esse intentio, et narratio, et ocrtnnt fnndanicntnnt, More...

In old English law. Head money or common fine. Money paid yearly by the residents of several manors to the lords thereof, for the certain keeping of the leet, (pro certo letw;) and sometimes to the hundred. Blount; 6 Coke, 78. Carta debet esse intentio, et narratio, et ocrtnnt fnndanicntnnt, et oerta resmss dedncitnr in judicium. The design and narration ought to be certain, and- the foundation certain, and the matter certain, which is brought into court to be tried. Co. Litt. 303a. Less...

In old English law. A certain thing. Fleta, lib. 2, c 00, || 24, 25.

In old English law. A certain thing. Fleta, lib. 2, c 00, || 24, 25. Less...

Ascertained; precise; identified; definitive; clearly known; unambiguous ; or, in law, capable of being identified or made known, without liability to mistake or ambiguity, from data already given. Cooper v. Blgly, 13 Mich. 479; Losecco v. Gregory, 108 La. 648, 32 South. 986; Smith T. Fyler, 2 Hill (N. Y.) More...

Ascertained; precise; identified; definitive; clearly known; unambiguous ; or, in law, capable of being identified or made known, without liability to mistake or ambiguity, from data already given. Cooper v. Blgly, 13 Mich. 479; Losecco v. Gregory, 108 La. 648, 32 South. 986; Smith T. Fyler, 2 Hill (N. Y.) 649; Civ. Code La. 1900, art 8556. —Certain services. In feudal and old English law. Such services as were stinted (limited or defined) in quantity, and could not be exceeded on any pretense; as to pay a stated annual rent, or to plow such a field for three days. 2 BL Comm. 61. Less...

In pleading. Distinctness; clearness of statement; particularity. Such precision and explicitness in the statement of alleged facts that the pleader's averments and contention may be readily understood by the pleader on the other side, as well as by the court and jury. State v. Hayward, 88 Mo. 309; State v. More...

In pleading. Distinctness; clearness of statement; particularity. Such precision and explicitness in the statement of alleged facts that the pleader's averments and contention may be readily understood by the pleader on the other side, as well as by the court and jury. State v. Hayward, 88 Mo. 309; State v. Burke, 151 Mo. 143, 52 S. W. 226; David v. David, 66 Ala. 148, This word is technically used In pleading In two different senses, signifying either distinctness, or particularity, as opposed to undue generality. Certainty is said to be of three sorts: (1) Certainty to a common intent is such as Is attained by using words in their ordinary meaning, but is not exclusive of another meaning which might be made out by argument or inference. (2) Certainty to a certain intent in general is that which allows of no misunderstanding if a fair and reasonable construction is put upon the language employed, without bringing in facts which are possible, but not apparent. (3) Certainty to a certain intent in particular is the high-eat degree of technical accuracy and precision. Co. Litt 303 ; 2 H. Bl. 530; Spencer v. South wick, 9 Johns. (N. Y.) 317; State v. Parker, 84 Ark. 158, 36 Am. Rep. 5. Xa contracts. The quality of being specific, accurate, and distinct A thing is certain when Its essence, quality, and quantity are described, distinctly set forth, etc. Dig. 12, 1, 6. It is uncertain when the description is not that of an individual object, but designates only the kind. Civ. Code La. art 3522, no. 8; 5 Coke, 121. Less...

In English law. A writ commanding the mayor of the staple to certify to the lord chancellor a statute-staple taken before him where the party himself detains it and refuses to bring in the same. There is a like writ to certify a statute-merchant, and in divers other cases. Reg. More...

In English law. A writ commanding the mayor of the staple to certify to the lord chancellor a statute-staple taken before him where the party himself detains it and refuses to bring in the same. There is a like writ to certify a statute-merchant, and in divers other cases. Reg. Orig. 148, 151, 152. Less...

A written assurance, or official representation, that some act has or has not been done, or some event occurred, or some legal formality been complied with. Particularly, such written assurance made or issuing from some court and designed as a notice of things done therein, or as a warrant or More...

A written assurance, or official representation, that some act has or has not been done, or some event occurred, or some legal formality been complied with. Particularly, such written assurance made or issuing from some court and designed as a notice of things done therein, or as a warrant or authority, to some other court, Judge, or officer. People v. Foster, 27 Misc. Rep. 576, 68 N. Y. Supp. 574; U. S. v. Ambrose, 108 U. S. 336, 2 Sup. Ct. 682, 27 L. Ed. 746; Ti-conic Bank v. Stackpole, 41 Me. 305. . A document in use in the English customhouse. No goods can be exported by certificate, except foreign goods formerly imported, on which the whole or a part of the customs paid on importation is to be drawn back. Wharton. —Certificate for costs. In English practice. A certificate or memorandum drawn up and signed by the judge before whom a case was tried, setting out certain facts the existence of which must be thus proved before the party is entitled, under the statutes, to recover costs. —Certificate into chancery. In English practice. This is a document containing the opinion of the common-law judges* on a question of law submitted to them for their decision by the chancery court—Certificate of acknowledgment. The certificate of a notary public, justice of the peace, or other authorized officer, attached to a deed, mortgage, or other instrument, setting forth that the parties thereto personally appeared before him on such a date and acknowledged the instrument to be their free and voluntary act and deed. Read v. Loan Co., 68 Ohio, St 280, 67 N. E. 729, 62 L. R. A. 790, 96 Am. St Rep. 663.—Certificate of deposit. In the practice of bankers. This is a writing acknowledging that the person named has deposited in the bank a specified sum of money, and that the same is held subject to be drawn out on his own check or order, or that of some other person named in the instrument as payee. Murphy v. Pacific Bank, 130 Cal. 542, 62 Pac. 1059; First Nat. Bank v. Greenville Nat. Bank, 84 Tex. 40, 19 S. W. 334; Neall v. U. S., 118 Fed. 706. 56 C. C. A. 31; Hotcbkiss v. Mosher, 48 N. Y. 482.—-Certificate of bolder of attached property. A certificate required by statute, n some states, to be given by a third person who is found In possession of property subject to an attachment in the sheriffs hands, setting forth the amount and character of such property and the nature of the defendant's interest in it. Code Civil Proc N. Y. § 650.—Certificate of incorporation. The instrument by which a private corporation is formed, under general statutes, executed by several persons as incorporators, and setting forth the name of the proposed corporation, the objects for which it is formed, and such other particulars as may be required or authorized by law, and filed in some designated public office as evidence of the corporate existence. Tbis is properly distinguished from a "charter," which is a direct legislative grant of corporate existence and powers to named individuals; but practically the certificate of incorporation or "articles of incorporation" will contain the same enumeration of corporate powers and description of objects and purposes as a charter.—Certificate of indebtedness. A form of obligation sometimes issued by public or private corporations having practically the same force and effect as a bond, though not usually secured on any specific prop- erty. Christie v. Duluth, 82 Minn. 202, 84 N. W. 754.—Certificate of purchase. A certificate issued by the proper public officer to the successful bidder at a judicial sale (such as a tax sale) setting forth the fact and details of his purchase, and which will entitle him to receive a deed upon confirmation of the sale by the court, or (as the case may be) if the land is not redeemed within the time limited for that purpose. Iightcap v. Bradley, 186 111. 510, 58 N. E. 221; Taylor v. Weston, 77 Cal. 534, 20 Pac. 62.—Certificate of registry. In maritime law. A certificate of the registration of a vessel according to the registry acts, for the purpose of giving her a national character. 3 teph. Comm. 274 ; 3 Kent, Comm. 139-150.— Certificate of sale. The same as "certificate of purchase," supra, (q. v.)—Certificate of stock. A certificate of a corporation or joint-stock company that the person named is the owner of a designated number of shares of its stock; given when the subscription is fully paid and the "scrip-certificate" taken up. Gibbons v. Mahon, 136 U. S. 549. 10 Sup. Ct. 1057, 34 L. Ed. 525; Merritt v. Barge Co., 79 Fed. 235, 24 C. C. A. 530.—Certificate, trial by. This is a mode of trial now little in use; it is resorted to in cases where the fact in issue lies out of the cognizance of the court, and the judges, in order to determine the question, are obliged to rely upon the solemn averment or information of persons in such a station as affords them the clearest and most competent knowledge of the truth. Brown. Less...

In Scotch practice. This is the assurance given to a party of the course to be followed in case he does not appear or obey the order of the court.

In Scotch practice. This is the assurance given to a party of the course to be followed in case he does not appear or obey the order of the court. Less...

In English practice. A writ anciently granted for the re-examining or retrial of a matter passed by assise before justices, now entirely superseded by the remedy afforded by means of a new trial.

In English practice. A writ anciently granted for the re-examining or retrial of a matter passed by assise before justices, now entirely superseded by the remedy afforded by means of a new trial. Less...

In French law. Certificates given by a foreign lawyer, establishing the law of the country to which he belongs upon one or more fixed points. These certificates can be produced before the French courts, and are received as evidence in suits upon questions of foreign law. Arg. Fr. Merc. Law, More...

In French law. Certificates given by a foreign lawyer, establishing the law of the country to which he belongs upon one or more fixed points. These certificates can be produced before the French courts, and are received as evidence in suits upon questions of foreign law. Arg. Fr. Merc. Law, 548. Less...