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ex visitatione dei (eks viz-a-tay-shee-oh-nee dee-i). [Latin]. 1. By the dispensation of God; by reason of physical incapacity. Anciently, when a prisoner who was being arraigned stood silently instead of pleading, a jury was impaneled to inquire whether the prisoner obstinately stood mute or was dumb ex visitatione Dei. 2. By natural causes as opposed to violent ones. This phrase sometimes appears in a coroner's report when death results from a disease or another natural cause.

ex visuscriptionis (eks vi-s[y]oo [or -z[y]oo] skrip-shee-oh-nis). [Latin] From the sight of the writing; from having seen a person write. This phrase describes a method of proving handwriting.

ex voluntate (eks vol-an-tay-tee). [Latin]. Voluntarily; from free will or choice.

ex warrants adj. Without warrants. Shares are traded ex warrants when they no longer carry the right to receive declared warrants that have been distributed to holders. - Abbr. X; XW.

ex works From the factory.This trade term defines the obligations of a buyer and a seller of goods with respect to delivery, payment, and risk of loss. The seller's delivery is complete (and the risk ofloss passes to the buyer) when the goods are made available to the buyer at a location of the seller's choice without requiring a collecting vehicle to be loaded, as at the seller's showroom, factory, or warehouse. Abbr. EXW.

ex. gr abbr. EXEMPLI GRATIA.

ex. ord (often cap.) abbr. EXECUTIVE ORDER.

exacta diligentia (eg-zak-ta dil-a-jen-shee-a). [Latin], Roman law. Great care.

exacta diligentia- See DILIGENTIA.

exaction 1. The act of demanding more money than is due; extortion. 2. A fee, reward, or other compensation arbitrarily or wrongfully demanded. - exact, vb.

exactor 1. Civil law. A tax collector; a gatherer or receiver of money. 2. A collector of public funds; a tax collector.

ex-all Without all rights and privileges. Securities sold ex-all reserve all rights and privileges, such as pending dividends, to the seller.

examen (eg-zay-man), n. [Law Latin], A trial; investigation.

examen computi (eg-zay-man kam-pyoo-ti). [Latin], The balance of an account.

examination 1. The questioning of a witness under oath. See DIRECT EXAMINATION; CROSS-EXAMINATION. 2. Bankruptcy. The. questioning of a debtor, esp. at the first meeting of creditors, concerning such matters as the bankrupt's debts and assets. 3. An inquiry made at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, upon application for a patent, into the alleged invention's novelty and utility, and whether it interferes with any other pending application or in-force patent. 4. Banking. The government's factfinding mechanism for determining the soundness of a bank's finances and management. 5. Insurance. A periodic investigation by a state insurance commission into the affairs and soundness of an insurance company licensed in that state.

examination before trial See DEPOSITION (1).

examination on the voir dire See VOIR DIRE.

examination pro interesse suo (proh in-tar-es-ee s[y] oo-oh). [Latin "according to his interest"], A judicial inquiry into the merits of a person's claim to sequestered property. "In practice. an examination pro interesse suo is an inquiry described as follows: When any person claims to be entitled to an estate or other property sequestered, whether by mortgage or judgment, lease or otherwise, or has a title paramount to the sequestration, he should apply to the court to direct an inquiry whether the applicant has any and what interest in the property sequestered." 79A c.J,S. Sequestration § 31. at 589 (1995).

examination system A patent system in which an invention is subjected to official scrutiny to determine whether it qualifies for patent protection. Cf. REGISTRATION SYSTEM.

examination-in-chief See DIRECT EXAMINATION.

examined copy A copy (usu. of a record, public book, or register) that has been compared with the original or with an official record of an original.

examined copy- See copy,

examiner 1. One authorized to conduct an examination; esp,. a person appointed by the court, esp. a court of equity, to administer an oath and take testimony. Also formerly termed examiner ill chancery. See MASTER (2). 2. A patent officer responsible for determining the patentability of an invention submitted to the patent office. 3. MEDICAL EXAMlNER. 4. BANK EXAMINER.

examiner in chancery See EXAMINER (1).

examiner-in-chief 1. A member of the quasi-judicial body in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that formerly heard appeals of interference decisions and patent-application rejections. 2. (pl. cap.) The body comprising those members; the predecessor of the Board of Appeals, the Board of Patent Interferences, and the present-day Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences.

examiner's amendment Patents & Trademarks. Minor changes in the form of a patent or trademark application, made by the examiner rather than the applicant For example, the examiner may correct spelling and grammar rather than wait for the applicant to respond. A patent examiner may also amend or cancel claims if authorized by the applicant.

examiner's answer The brief filed by a patent examiner with the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences to rebut the arguments in an appeal brief and to defend the examiner's decision to reject the application. Cf appeal briefunder BRIEF.

examining authority A self-regulatory organization registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and vested with the authority to examine, inspect, and otherwise oversee the activities of a registered broker or dealer. 4. A legal writing taken as definitive or decisive; esp., a judicial or administrative decision cited as a precedent <that case is good authority in Massachusetts> .The term includes not only the decisions of tribunals but also statutes, ordinances, and administrative rulings.

examining authority- See AUTHORITY (3).

examining board An appointed group of public officials responsible for conducting the tests required by those applying for occupational and professional licenses. Also termed board ofexaminers.

examining court A lower court (usu. preSided over by a magistrate) that determines probable cause and sets bail at a preliminary hearing in a criminal case.

examining court- See COURT.

examining group A subunit of the Patent Office consisting of patent examiners who specialize in a particular area of technology.

examining trial See PRELIMINARY HEARING.

example A detailed description of an invention's embodiment. Alternatives without detail may be referred to as by example. Also termed specific example; working example.

exannual roll (eks-an-yoo-al). In England, a roll into which illeviable fines and desperate debts were transcribed and that was annually read to the sheriff upon his accounting to see what might be gotten.

excambiator (eks-kam-bee-ay-tar), n. [Latin]. An exchanger of lands; a broker.

excambion (eks-kam-bee-ahn), n. Scots law. 1. The exchange of one piece of property for another, esp. an exchange of heritable estates. 2. EXCAMBIUM (1).

excambium (eks-kam-bee-am), n. [Latin], 1. An exchange; a place where merchants meet to transact their business. Also termed (in Scots law) excambion. 2. An equivalent in recompense; a recompense in lieu of dower ad ostium ecclesiae.

excellency (usu. cap.) A title of honor given to certain high officials or dignitaries, such as governors, ambassadors, and Roman Catholic bishops or archbishops.

excelsior list Labor law. A roster of the names and addresses of employees who are eligible to vote in a union election. The NLRB requires an employer to file the list within seven days after the employer and a union reach a consent-election agreement. Excelsior Underwear, Inc., 156 N.L.R.B. 1236 (1966).

exceptio (ek-sep-shee-oh), n. [Latin]. 1. An exception, plea, or objection. 2. Roman & civil law. A defendant's plea admitting the claim in principle but alleging facts or legal provisions that negate it in this instance. 3. A defense to a claim that is justly brought but that unjustly accuses the particular defendant named. PI. exceptiones (ek-sep-shee-oh-neez).

exceptio dilatoria (dil-a-tor-ee-a). A dilatory exception; an exception that defeated the action for a time and created a delay, such as an agreement not to sue within a certain time.

exceptio doli mali (doh-li mal-i). An exception, defense, or plea of fraud. Sometimes shortened to exceptio doli.

exceptio dominii (da-min-ee- i). A claim of ownership by the defendant in an action to recover property.

exceptio dotis cautae non tlumeratae (doh-tis kaw-tee non n[y]oo-ma-ray-tee). A defense to an action for the restitution of dowry, asserting that, although promised, dowry was never paid.

exceptio in factum (in fak-tam). An exception on the facts; an exception or plea founded on the peculiar circumstances of a case.

exceptio in personam (in par-soh-nam). A plea or defense of a personal nature that only the person to whom it is granted by law may assert.

exceptio in rem (in rem). A plea or defense that is not of a personal nature but is connected with the legal circumstances on which the suit is founded, and that may therefore be alleged by any party in interest, such as an heir or surety of the proper or original debtor.

exceptio jurisjurandi (joor-is-juu-ran-ar). An exception of oath; an exception or plea that the matter had been sworn to. This kind of exception was allowed if a debtor, at a creditor's instance, had sworn that nothing was due the creditor, but the creditor sued anyway.

exceptio metus (met-as). An exception, defense, or of fear or compulsion.

exceptio non adimpleti contractus (non ad-im-plee-ti kan-trak-tas). An exception in a contract action involving mutual duties or obligations, to the effect that the plaintiff may not sue if the plaintiff's own obligations have not been performed.

exceptio non numeratae pecuniae (ek-sep-shee-oh non n[y]oo-ma-ray-tee pi-kyoo-nee-ee). [Latinl Roman law. An exception or defense that money was not paid. 'This was one of the Roman law exceptions, founded on the obligatio literarum of the Romans, The obligatio literarum was constituted by a writing, the granter of which acknowledged receipt from the creditor of a certain sum of money. But as the obligation was sometimes granted before the money was advanced, spe numerandae pecuniae, by the Roman law, the obligation, until the lapse of two years after its date and delivery, did not prove the receipt of the money; and the debtor against whom, within that time, a demand for repayment was made, might plead the exceptio non numeratae pecuniae; that is, that the money of which repayment was demanded, was truly never advanced. The exception was sufficient to elide the demand, unless the creditor proved that he had advanced the money," William Bell, Bell's Dictionary and Digest of the Law ofScotland 426 (George Watson ed., 7th ed, 1890).

exceptio non solutae pecuniae (non sa-Ioo-tee pi-kyoo-nee-ee). A plea that the debt at issue in the suit had not been discharged by payment (as the adverse party alleged), notwithstanding the existence of a receipt or acquittance reflecting payment. Cf. exception pecuniae non numeratae.

exceptio pacti conventi (pak-ti-kdn-ven-ti). An exception of compact; a defense or plea that the plaintiff had agreed not to sue.

exceptio pecuniae non numeratae (pi-kyoo-nee-ee non n[y]oo-ma-ray-tee). An exception or plea of money not paid; a defense by a party who was sued on a promise to repay money that was never received from the plaintiff. Cf. exceptio non solutae pecuniae; PECUNIA NON NUMERATA.

exceptio peremptoria (par-emp-tor-ee-a). A peremptory exception that forever destroyed the subject matter or ground of the action, such as the exceptio doli mali and the exceptio metus. Also termed exceptio perpetua.

exceptio plurium concubentium (ploof-ee-am kon-kyoo-ben-shee-am). Rare. The plea or defense in a paternity action that the plaintiff had several lovers around the time of conception.

exceptio plurium concubentium defense 1. See MULTIPLE ACCESS. 2. See exceptio plurium concubentium under EXCEPTIO.

exceptio rei judicatae (ree-i joo-da-kay-tee). An exception or plea of matter adjudged; a plea that the subject matter of the action had been determined in a previous action.

exceptio rei venditae et traditae (ree-i ven-da-tee et trad-a-tee). An exception or plea of the sale and delivery [of a thing]. This exception presumes a valid sale but, because no one can transfer a right greater than what is possessed, no valid transfer of property occurred, yet the real owner is nonetheless estopped from contesting the sale.

exceptio senatusconsulti macedoniani (sa-nay-tas-kan-sal-ti mas-a-doh-nee-ay-ni). A defense to an action for the recovery of money loaned, on the ground that the loan was made to a person who was under another person's paternal power. This defense is so named from the decree of the senate that forbade the recovery of such loans.

exceptio senatusconsulti velleiani (sa-nay-tas-kan-saI-ti vel-ee-ay-ni). A defense to an action on a contract of suretyship, on the ground that the surety was a woman and thus incapable of becoming bound for another. This defense is so named from the decree of the senate forbidding such sureties.

exceptio temporis (tem-pa-ris). An exception or plea that the time prescribed by law for bringing a particular action has expired.

exception 1. A formal objection to a court's ruling by a party who wants to preserve an overruled objection or rejected proffer for appeal <the prosecutor stated her exception to the court's ruling disallowing the witness's testimony>. To make an exception or objection, attorneys sometimes say, "I except" or "I object." Exception properly refers only to an objection made after an initial objection or proffer is made and overruled. In most courts, an exception is no longer required to preserve the initial objection. The following quotation reflects former practice: "The exception must be distinguished from the objection. Many counsel are heard carelessly saying 'I except' when the thing they are dOing is 'I object.' The exception serves an entirely distinct purpose from the objection, a double purpose, in fact. It warns the judge and the other party that the excepter is not satisfied with the ruling and takes issue with a view to appeal; and it sums up and preserves the precise terms of the ruling. The proponent of the evidence is the excepter if the ruling excludes the evidence; but if it admits the evidence, the opponent of the evidence is the excepter. Thus the excepter and the objector are not necessarily the same parties." John H. Wigmore, A Students' Textbook of the Law of Evidence 421 (1935).

exception clause A clause that attempts to modify or exclude the prima facie obligations that arise when a document is signed. Also termed exemption clause.

exceptionable (ek-sep-shan-a-bal), adj. Liable to objection; OBJECTIONABLE.

exceptional charge See special charge under CHARGE.

exceptis excipiendis (ek-sep-tis ek-sip-ee-en-dis). [Latin]. With all necessary exceptions.

exceptor One who takes exception; an objector. Also spelled excepter.

excerpta (ek-sarp-ta), n. pl. [Latin], Extracts.

exces de pouvoir (ek-say a poo-vwahr). [French "excess of power"]. 1. Int'llaw. Beyond the powers (of a tribunal). 2. Administrative law. Beyond the powers of an official.

excess clause An insurance-policy provision - usu. contained in the "other insurance" section of the policy - that limits the insurer's liability to the amount exceeding other available coverage. This clause essentially requires other insurers to pay first. Cf. ESCAPE CLAUSE; PRO RATA CLAUSE.

excess condemnation A taking ofland in excess of the boundaries of the public project as designed by the condemnor.

excess condemnation- See CONDEMNATION.

excess damages Damages awarded to an insured beyond the coverage provided by an insurance policy - because the insurer did not settle the claim within policy limits .o If the insurer acted in bad faith in not settling, the insured may have a claim to recover the excess damages from the insurer. - Also termed excess-liability damages.

excess damages- See DAMAGES.

excess insurance An agreement to indemnify against any loss that exceeds the amount of coverage under another policy. Also termed excess policy. Cf. primary insurance. See EXCESS CLAUSE.

excess insurance See INSURANCE.

excess insurer An insurer who is liable for settling any part of a claim not covered by an insureds primary insurer. Also termed secondary insurer. See primary insurer.

excess insurer See INSURER.

excess judgment See JUDGMENT.

excess judgment A judgment that exceeds all of the defendants insurance coverage.

excess jurisdiction See EXCESS OF JURISDICTION (1).

excess limits Insurance coverage against losses in excess of a specified limit.

excess margin Equity in a brokerage firm's customer account that exceeds either the legal-minimum dollar amount for a margin account or the maintenance requirement.

excess of jurisdiction 1. A court's acting beyond the limits of its power, usu. in one of three ways: (1) when the court has no power to deal with the kind of matter at issue, (2) when the court has no power to deal with the particular person concerned, or (3) when the judgment or order issued is of a kind that the court has no power to issue. 2. A court's departure from recognized and established requirements oflaw, despite apparent adherence to procedural form, the effect of which is a deprivation of one's constitutional right. - Also termed excess jurisdiction.

excess of privilege 1. An excessive publication of a privileged statement - that is, beyond the limits of the privilege. 2. The improper and malicious use of the privilege to publish a statement.

excess policy See excess insurance under INSURANCE.

excess policy See excess insurance under INSURANCE.

excess reinsurance See REINSURANCE.

excess reinsurance Reinsurance in which a reinsurer assumes liability only for an amount of insurance that exceeds a specified sum. See excess insurance under INSURANCE

excess reserve The portion of a bank s reserve against deposits in excess of the amount of reserve required by law.

excess reserve See RESERVE.

excess theory The principle that a tortfeasor will be considered underinsured if the injured party's damages exceed the tortfeasor's liability-insurance coverage. This principle allows an injured party to invoke underinsured motorist coverage. Cf. GAP THEORY.

excess vote See VOTE (i).

excess water See WATER.

excess-benefit plan An employee benefit plan maintained by an employer solely for the purpose of providing benefits for certain employees in excess of limitations on contributions and benefits imposed by the Internal Revenue Code. 29 USCA § 1002(36).

excess-benefit plan- See EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN.

excessive assessment A tax assessment that is grossly disproportionate as compared with other assessments.