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equitable disseisin- See DISSEISIN.

equitable distribution The division of marital property by a court in a divorce proceeding, under statutory guidelines that provide for a fair, but not necessarily equal, allocation of the property between the spouses. With equitable distribution, when a marriage ends in divorce, property acquired during the marriage is divided equitably between the spouses regardless of who holds title to the property . The courts consider many factors in awarding property, including a spouse's monetary contributions, nonmonetaryassistance to a spouse's career or earning poten tial, the efforts of each spouse during the marriage, and the length of the marriage. The court may take into account the relative earning capacity of the spouses and the fault of either spouse. Equitable distribution is applied in 47 states (i.e., all the states except California, Louisiana, and New Mexico, which are "equal division" community-property states). - Also termed equitable division; assignment ofproperty. Cf. TITLE DIVISION; COMMUNITY PROPERTY.

equitable division See EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.

equitable doctrine of approximation See DOCTRINE OF APPROXIMATION.

equitable dower See equitable jointure under JOINTURE (1).

equitable dower- See equitable jointure under JOINTURE.

equitable duty A duty enforceable in a court of chancery or in a court having the powers of a court in chancery.

equitable duty- See DUTY (1).

equitable easement 1. An implied easement created by equity when adjacent lands have been created out of a larger tract. Such an easement is usu. created to allow implied privileges to continue. 2. See restrictive covenant (1) under COVENANT (4).

equitable easement- See EASEMENT.

equitable ejectment A proceeding brought to enforce specific performance of a contract for the sale of land and for other purposes. Though in the form of an ejectment action, this proceeding is in reality a substitute for a bill in equity.

equitable ejectment- See EJECTMENT.

equitable election See ELECTION (2).

equitable estate See ESTATE (1).

equitable estate- An estate recognized in equity, such as a trust beneficiary's interest. See EQUITY. "[A] legal estate was a right in rem, an equitable estate a right in personam, that is to say, the former conferred a right enforceable against the whole world, the latter one which could be enforced only against a limited number of persons:' G.c. Cheshire, Modern Law of Real Property 54 (3d ed. 1933).

equitable estoppel See ESTOPPEL.

equitable estoppel- 1. A defensive doctrine preventing one party from taking unfair advantage of another when, through false language or conduct, the person to be estopped has induced another person to act in a certain way, with the result that the other person has been injured in some way. This doctrine is founded on principles of fraud. The five essential elements of this type of estoppel are that (1) there was a false representation or concealment of material facts, (2) the representation was known to be false by the party making it, or the party was negligent in not knowing its falsity, (3) it was believed to be true by the person to whom it was made, (4) the party making the representation intended that it be acted on, or the person acting on it was justified in assuming this intent, and (5) the party asserting estoppel acted on the representation in a way that will result in substantial prejudice unless the claim of estoppel succeeds. Also termed estoppel by conduct; estoppel in pais. 2. See promissory estoppel.

equitable foreclosure See FORECLOSURE.

equitable foreclosure- A foreclosure method in which the court orders the property sold, and the proceeds are applied first to pay the costs of the lawsuit and sale and then to the mortgage debt. - Any surplus is paid to the mortgagor.

equitable fraud See constructive fraud (1) under FRAUD.

equitable fraud- See constructive fraud (1).

equitable indemnity See INDEMNITY.

equitable indemnity- 1. A doctrine allowing a defendant in a tort action to allocate blame to a codefendant or cross-defendant, and thereby to proportionally reduce legal responsibility, even in the absence of contractual indemnity. Also termed implied indemnity; doctrine of equitable indemnity. 2. See implied contractual indemnity. 3. See implied indemnity.

equitable interest See INTEREST (2).

equitable interest An interest held by virtue of an equitable title or claimed on equitable grounds, such as the interest held by a trust beneficiary.

equitable jettison See JETTISON.

equitable jointure A premarital arrangement for a woman to enjoy a jointure, accepted by the woman in lieu of dower. Also termed equitable dower 2. A settlement under which a wife receives such an estate. - Also termed legal jointure. 3. An estate in lands given jointly to a husband and wife before they marry. See JOINTRESS.

equitable jointure See JOINTURE.

equitable levy See equitable lien under LIEN.

equitable lien See LIEN.

equitable life estate See ESTATE (1).

equitable life estate- An interest in real or personal property that lasts for the life of the holder of the estate and that is equitable as opposed to legal in its creation. - An example is a life estate held by a trust beneficiary.

equitable life tenant See LIFE TENANT.

equitable mortgage See MORTGAGE.

equitable owner See beneficial owner (1).

equitable ownersbip See beneficial ownership (1) under OWNERSHIP.

equitable ownership See beneficial ownership (1). full ownership. Hist, Louisiana law. See perfect ownership.

equitable parent 1. A husband who, though not the biological father, is treated by the court as the father in an action for custody or visitation, usu. when the husband (1) has treated the child as his own while married to the child s mother, (2) is the only father the child has ever known, and (3) seeks the rights of fatherhood. 2. A mother or father, not by blood or adoption, but by virtue of the close parent-like relationship that exists between that person and a child. The status of equitable parent is a legal fiction that is used as an equitable remedy. Most commonly, the status of equitable parent arises when a person, living with the child and one of his or her legal or natural parents, forms a close bond with the child and assumes the duties and responsibilities of a parent. Also termed constructive parent. See adoption by estoppel under ADOPTION. Cf. psychological parent; de facto parent.

equitable parent See PARENT.

equitable recoupment 1. A doctrine allowing a taxpayer to offset previously overpaid taxes against current taxes due, even though the taxpayer is time-barred from claiming a refund on the previous taxes. 2. A doctrine allowing the government to offset taxes previously uncollected from a taxpayer against the taxpayer's current claim for a refund, even though the government is time-barred from collecting the previous taxes. In both senses, this type of recoupment can be asserted only if the statute oflimitations has created an inequitable result. See RECOUPMENT (2). 3. A principle that diminishes a party's right to recover a debt to the extent that the party holds money or property of the debtor to which the party has no right. This doctrine is ordinarily a defensive remedy going only to mitigation of damages. The doctrine is sometimes applied so that a claim for a tax refund that is barred by limitations may nonetheless be recouped against a tax claim of the government. - Also termed equitable-recoupment doctrine. See SETOFF; RECOUPMENT (3).

equitable remedy A remedy, usu. a nonmonetary one such as an injunction or specific performance, obtained when available legal remedies, usu. monetary damages, cannot adequately redress the injury. Historically, an equitable remedy was available only from a court of equity. Also termed equitable relief See IRREPARABLE-INJURY RULE.

equitable remedy See REMEDY.

equitable remuneration See compulsory license (1) under LICENSE.

equitable rescission Rescission that is decreed by a court of equity.

equitable rescission See RESCISSION.

equitable reversion See REVERSION (1).

equitable right See RIGHT.

equitable right A right cognizable within a court of equity. If a legal right and an equitable right conflict, the legal right ordinarily prevails over and destroys the equitable right even if the legal right arose after the equitable right. Breaches of equitable rights are remedied by means other than monetary damages, such as an injunction or specific performance. With the merger oflaw and equity in federal and most state courts, the procedural differences between legal and equitable rights have been largely abolished. Cf.legal right (1), (2).

equitable right to setoff The right to cancel crossdemands, usu. used by a bank to take from a customer's deposit accounts the amount equal to the customer's debts that have matured and that are owed to that bank. See SETOFF.

equitable seisin 1. Possession or enjoyment of a property interest or right enforceable in equity. 2. See seisin in law.

equitable seisin See SEISIN.

equitable servitude See restrictive covenant under COVENANT (4).

equitable servitude See restrictive covenant under COVENANT (4).

equitable subrogation See legal subrogation under SUBROGATION.

equitable title See TITLE (2).

equitable tolling 1. The doctrine that the statute of limitations will not bar a claim if the plaintiff, despite diligent efforts, did not discover the injury until after the limitations period had expired, - Equitable tolling does not require misconduct by the defendant. 2. The doctrine that if a plaintiff files a suit first in one court and then refiles in another, the statute of limitations does not run while the litigation is pending in the first court if various requirements are met. Among those requirements are (1) timely notice to the defendant; (2) no prejudice to the defendant; and (3) reasonable and good-faith conduct on the part of the plaintiff.

equitable waste See WASTE (1).

equitable-adjustment theory The doctrine that in settling a federal contract dispute, the contracting officer should make a fair adjustment within a reasonable time before the contractor has to settle with its subcontractors, suppliers, and other creditors.

equitable-benefit doctrine Bankruptcy. The principle that allows a bankruptcy court to grant preferred status to claims for service rendered by persons other than bankruptcy officers, to the extent that the service benefited the estate, when the person filing the claim acted primarily for the benefit of the estate as a whole.

equitable-fund doctrine See COMMON-FUND DOCTRINE.

equitable-parent doctrine Family law. The principle that a spouse who is not the biological parent of a child born or conceived during the marriage may, in a divorce action, be considered the child's natural father or mother if (1) the other spouse and the child both acknowledge a parent-child relationship, esp. when that other spouse has cooperated in the development of this relationship before the divorce action, (2) the nonbiologically related spouse wants parental rights, and (3) he or she is willing to take on the responsibility of paying support.The doctrine sometimes applies to nonspousal partners as well. Very few jurisdictions apply the doctrine. See Carolee Kvoriak Lezuch, Michigan's Doctrine of Equitable Parenthood, 45 Wayne L. Rev. 1529 (1999). Also termed eqUitable-parenthood doctrine.

equitable-restraint doctrine See Younger abstention (1) under ABSTENTION.

equity 1. Fairness; impartiality; evenhanded dealing <the company's policies require managers to use equity in dealing with subordinate employees>. 2. The body of principles constituting what is fair and right; natural law <the concept of "inalienable rights" rehects the influence of equity on the Declaration of Independence>. "In its popular sense it [equity] is practically equivalent to natural justice. But it would be a mistake to suppose that equity, as administered by the Courts, embraces ajurisdiction as wide and extensive as that which would result from carrying into operation all the principles of natural justice. There are many matters of natural justice wholly unprovided for, from the difficulty of framing any general rules to meet them, and from the doubtful wisdom of a policy of attempting to give a legal sanction to duties of imperfect obligation, such as charity, gratitude and kindness. A large proportion of natural justice in its Widest sense is thus not judicially enforced, but is left to the conscience of each individual." R.E. Megarry, Snell's Principles of Equity I (23d ed. 1947). 3. The recourse to principles of justice to correct or supplement the law as applied to particular circum stances <the judge decided the case by equity because the statute did not fully address the issue>. Also termed natural equity. 4. The system of law or body of principles originating in the English Court of Chancery and superseding the common and statute law (together called "law" in the narrower sense) when the two conflict <in appealing to the equity of the court, she was appealing to the "king's conscience">; CHANCERY (2).

equity accounting method See ACCOUNTING METHOD.

equity accounting method A method of accountingfor long-term investment in common stock based on acquisition cost, investor income, net losses, and dividends.

equity capital Funds provided by a company's owners in exchange for evidence ofownership, such as stock.

equity capital- See CAPITAL.

equity contra legem (kon-tra lee-jam). lnt'l law. The use of equity in derogation of the law, where, under the circumstances of the case, an exception to the law is needed to achieve an equitable and just result. Sometimes shortened to contra legem. See EX AEQUO ET BONO. Cf. I right to foreclose on any security held by the creditor EQUITY INTRA LEGEM.

equity financing See FINANCING.

equity financing- 1. The raising of funds by issuing capital securities (shares in the business) rather than making loans or selling bonds. 2. The capital so raised.

equity insolvency See INSOLVENCY.

equity insolvency Insolvency created when the debtor cannot meet its obligations as they fall due. Under most state laws, equity insolvency prevents a corporation from making a distribution to its shareholders.

equity intra legem (in-tra-lee-jam). A court's power to interpret and apply the law to achieve the most equitable result. Sometimes shortened to intra legem. Also written equity infra legem. Cf. EQUITY CONTRA LEGEM.

equity jurisdiction See JURISDICTION.

equity jurisdiction In a common-law judicial system, the power to hear certain civil actions according to the procedure of the court of chancery, and to resolve them according to equitable rules. "[T]he term equity jurisdiction does not refer to jurisdiction in the sense of the power conferred by the sovereign on the court over specified subject•matters or to jurisdiction over the res or the persons of the parties in a particular proceeding but refers rather to the merits. The want of equity jurisdiction does not mean that the court has no power to act but that it should not act, as on the ground, for example, that there is an adequate remedy at law." William Q. de Funiak, Handbook of Modern Equity 38 (2d ed.1956).

equity jurisprudence 1. The legal science treating the rules, principles, and maxims that govern the decisions of a court of equity. 2. The cases and controversies that are considered proper subjects of equity. 3. The nature and form of the remedies that equity grants.

equity jurisprudence See JURISPRUDENCE.

equity kicker See EQUITY PARTICIPATION.

equity loan See home equity loan under LOAN.

equity of exoneration (eg-zon-a-ray-shan). The right of a person who is secondarily liable on a debt to make the primarily liable party discharge the debt or reimburse any payment that the secondarily liable person has made. One example is the right of a surety to call on the principal for reimbursement after the surety has paid the debt. Unlike contribution, which exists when the parties are equally liable, the equity of exoneration exists when parties are successively liable. Also termed right ofexoneration. See EXONERATION.

equity of partners The right of each partner to have the firm's property applied to the firm's debts.

equity of redemption The right of a mortgagor in default to recover property before a foreclosure sale by paying the principal, interest, and other costs that are due. A defaulting mortgagor with an equity of redemption has the right, until the foreclosure sale, to reimburse the mortgagee and cure the default. In many jurisdictions, the mortgagor also has a statutory right to redeem within six months after the foreclosure sale, and the mortgagor becomes entitled to any surplus from the sale proceeds above the amount of the outstanding mortgage. - Also termed right ofredemption. See CLOG ON THE EQUITY OF REDEMPTION; REDEMPTION (4); STATUTORY RIGHT OF REDEMPTION. "A mortgage is technically a conveyance of title to property as security for a debt. The law courts, with typical technicality, early adopted the rule that if the debt was not paid on the very day it was due, the debtor lost his land. The equity courts, however, with more liberality, and with more of a recognition of the real purpose of the transaction, recognized the fact that the securing of the debt, rather than the act of conveyance of title was the principal thing giving character to the transaction. Accordingly they alleviated the severity of the legal rule by, in effect. giving the land back to the debtor if he would pay the debt, even though it had not been paid on time. This equitable right to redeem, even after default in paying the debt when it was due, was called the 'equity of redemption. Charles Herman Kinnane, A First Book on Anglo·American Law 309 (2d ed. 1952).

equity of subrogation The right of a person who is secondarily liable on a debt, and who pays the debt, to personally enforce any right that the original creditor could have pursued against the debtor, including the and any right that the creditor may have to contribution from others who are liable for the debt. Also termed right of subrogation; (in Scots law) right of relief See SUBROGATION.

equity participation The inclusion of a lender in the equity ownership of a project as a condition of the lender's granting a loan. - Also termed equity kicker.

equity pleading See PLEADING (2).

equity pleading The system of pleading used in courts of equity. In most jurisdictions, rules unique to equity practice have been largely supplanted by one set of rules of court, esp. where law courts and equity courts have merged.

equity praeter legem (pree-tar lee-jam), The use of equity to fill a gap in the law. Sometimes shortened to praeter legem.

equity ratio 1. The percentage relationship between a purchaser's equity value (esp. the amount of a down payment) and the property value. 2. The measure of a shareholder's equity divided by total equity.

equity security A security representing an ownership interest in a corporation (such as a share of stock) rather than a debt interest (such as a bond); any stock or similar security, or any security that is convertible into stock or similar security or carrying a warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase stock or a similar security, and any such warrant or right.

equity security See SECURITY.

equity stock See STOCK.

equity stock Stock of any class having unlimited dividend rights, regardless of whether the stock is preferred.

equity term See TERM (5).

equity to a settlement A wife's equitable right, arising when her husband sues in equity for the reduction of her equitable estate to his own possession, to have all or part of that estate settled upon herself and her children. Also termed wife's equity; wife's settlement.

equity, bill in See BILL (2).

equity, court of See COURT.

equity-of-the-statuterule In statutory construction, the principle that a statute should be interpreted according to the legislators' purpose and intent, even if this interpretation goes beyond the literal mean ing of the text. Under this little-used rule, for example, if a statute defines jury-tampering to include a party's "giving a juror food or drink," the giving of cigars to a juror would also fall within that definition. Cf. GOLDEN RULE; MISCHIEF RULE; PLAIN-MEANING RULE.

equivalence of advantages See RECIPROCITY (2).

equivalent 1. Equal in value, force, amount, effect, or significance. 2. Corresponding in effect or function; nearly equal; virtually identical.

equivalent- Patents. An element that (1) existed before another element; (2) can perform the same function as the other element; and (3) is recognizable as a substitute for the other element. For instance, mechanical devices are equivalents when one skilled in the art would have recognized that each device would produce the same result. If the equivalent is known at the time an invention is conceived, the invention's patentability may be questioned. See ANALOG. "If a given substitute is an equivalent under certain Circumstances or in certain settings, and is not an equivalent under certain other circumstances or in certain other settings, then the substitution is patentable, provided the claim contains express limitations to the circumstances or settings in which the substitution is nonequivalent." Roger Sherman Hoar, Patent Tactics and the Law 43 (3d ed. 1950).