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fictitious person See artificial person.

fictitious person See artificial person under PERSON (3).

fictitious promise See implied promise.

fictitious promise See implied promise under PROMISE.

fictitious seisin See seisin in law under SEISIN.

fictitious seisin See seisin in law.

fictitious-payee rule Commercial law, The principle that if a drawer or maker issues commercial paper to a payee whom the drawer or maker does not actually intend to have any interest in the instrument, an ensuing forgery of the payee's name will be effective to pass good title to later transferees. Also termed padded-payroll rule.

fide-committee A beneficiary; CESTUI QUE TRUST.Also termed fidei-commissarius. "In a particular case, a cestuy que trust is called by the Roman law, fideicommissarius. In imitation of this, I have seen him somewhere or other called in English a fide-committee. This term, however, seems not very expressive. A fide-committee, or, as it should have been, a fidecommittee, seems, literally speaking, to mean one who is committed to the good faith of another." Jeremy Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation 226 n.l (1823).

fideicomiso (fee-day-koh-mee-soh). Mexican law. A trust; esp., a trust that is established for the purpose of acquiring property in Mexico with a Mexican bank as trustee and a non-Mexican (who may be the settlor) as beneficiary. The property is held in the name of the trust, but the beneficiary has all the rights and obliga tions of direct ownership, including the power to lease, sell, or devise the property. A Mexican fideicomiso usu. lasts 50 years and can be renewed for 50 more. Cf. FIDEICOMMISSUM.

fidei-commissarius See CESTUI QUE TRUST.

fidei-commissary (fi-dee-i kom-a-ser-ee). See CESTUI QUE TRUST.

fideicommissary heir See HEIR.

fideicommissary heir. (fi-dee-i kom-i-sair-ee). Roman & civil law. A beneficiary of property who succeeds the direct (original) heir. See FIDEICOMMISSUM.

fideicommissary substitution 1. SUBSTITUTION (6). 2. SUBSTITUTION (7).

fideicommissum (fi-dee-i-ka-mis-am). [Latin]. 1. Roman law. A direction to an heir asking the heir as a matter of good faith to give some part of the inheritance, such as a particular object, or all the inheritance, to a third party. - A fideicommissum was a device to overcome some of the technicalities of the Roman wilL Originally it created a mere moral obligation, but Augustus made it enforceable by legal process. 2. Roman & civil law. An arrangement similar to a trust by which a testator gave property to a person for the benefit of another who could not, by law, inherit property. - Over time, this device was used to tie up property for generations, and most civil jurisdictions now prohibit or limit it. For example, in Louisiana, an arrangement in which one person bequeaths property to a second with a charge to preserve it and, at death, to restore it to a third person is a prohibited fideicommissum. - Sometimes spelled fidei-commissum. Pl. fideicommissa. "The many formalities with regard to the institution of heirs and the bequest of legacies, coupled With the fact that many persons, e.g. peregrini, were incapable of being instituted heirs, or of being given a legacy, led, in the late Republic, to testators leaving directions to their heirs in favour of given individuals, which, though not binding at law, they hoped their heirs would, in honour, feel bound to carry out. The beginning of fideicommissa, therefore, was very like the early practice with regard to trusts in English law, and, as in the case of trusts, a time came when trusts were made binding legally as well as morally.... For brevity, the fideicommissum will here be called 'the trust', the person upon whom it was imposed (fiduciarius) 'the trustee', and the person in whose favour it was imposed (fideicommissarius) 'the beneficiary'." RW. Leage, Roman Private Law 252 (c. H. Ziegler ed., 2d ed. 1930)

fidejubere (fi-dee-ya-beer-ee), vb. [Latin], Roman law. To become a surety. Forms of this word were spoken by the parties to a stipulatio that bound one party to become a surety for the other; the first party asked, "Do you pledge yourself?" ("fidejubesne?"), and the second responded, "I do pledge myself" (fidejubeo"). See STIPULATIO.

fidejussion (fi -di-jash-an). [fr. Latin fidejussio], Roman law. An act by which a person becomes an additional security for another. The act does not remove the principal's liability but only adds to the surety's security. Fidejussion was one of the three types of adpromission, and the only type remaining in Justinian's law. - Also spelledfidejussio;fideiussio. See ADPROMISSION (1). - fidejussionary, adj.

fidejussor (fi-dee-jas-or or -jas-ar). 1. Roman law. (ital.) A guarantor; a person who binds himself to pay another's debt. 2. lvlaritime law. A person who acts as bail for a defendant in the Court of Admiralty. Also spelled fidejussor. Cf. ADPROMISSOR. fidejussory, adj. "The proceedings of the court of admiralty bear much resemblance to those of the civil law, but are not entirely founded thereon; and they likewise adopt and make use of other laws, as occasion requires; such as the Rhodian law, and the laws of Oleron. For the law of England, as has frequently been observed, doth not acknowledge or pay any deference to the civil law considered as such; but merely permits its use in such cases where it judged its determinations equitable, and therefore blends it, in the present instance, with other marine laws .... The first process in these courts is frequently by arrest of the defendant's person; and they also take recognizances or stipulation of certain fidejussors in the nature of bail, and in case of default may imprison both them and their principal." 3 William Blackstone. Commentaries on the Laws of Eng/and 108-09 (1768).

fidelitas (fi-del-a-tas). [Latin "fidelity"], See FEALTY.

fidelitatis sacramentum (fi-del-i-tay-tis sak-ra-men-tam). [Law Latin]. The oath of fealty that a vassal owed to a lord.

fidelity insurance An agreement to indemnify an employer against a loss arising from the lack of integrity or honesty of an employee or of a person holding a position oftrust, such as a loss from embezzlement. Also termed fidelity guaranty insurance; fidelity and guaranty insurance; surety and fidelity insurarlce.

fidelity and guaranty insurance See fidelity insurance under INSURANCE.

fidelity bond A bond to indemnify an employer or business for loss due to embezzlement, larceny, or gross negligence by an employee or other person holding a position of trust. Also termed blanket bond.

fidelity bond- See BOND (2).

fidelity guaranty insurance See fidelity insurance under INSURANCE.

fidelity insurance See INSURANCE.

fidem facere judici (fi-dam fay-sa-ree joo-di-si). [Latin]. To convince the judge. The phrase appeared in reference to the introduction of evidence to prove a case.

fidem mentiri (fi-dam men-ti-ri). [Latin]. To betray faith or fealty. The term refers to a feudal tenant who did not keep'the fealty sworn to the lord.

fidepromission (fi-dee-proh-mish-an), n. [Latin "faithpromise"], Roman law. A contract of guaranty by stipulation. Fidepromission was one of the three types of adpromission. See ADPROMISSION (1); STIPULATION (3). - fidepromissor, n.

fides (fi-deez). [Latin]. Faith.

fides facta (fi-deez fak-ta). [Latin]. Faith-making; faith-pledging. Among the Franks and Lombards, certain transactions were guaranteed by symbolic, formal acts making one's faith such as the giving of a rod when property was transferred. See FESTUCA.

fiducia (fi-d[y]oo-shee-a), n. [Latin "an entrusting"], Roman law. An early form of transfer of title by way of mortgage, deposit, etc., with a provision for reconveyance upon payment of the debt, termination of the deposit, etc. 'The Roman mortgage (fiducia) fell wholly out of use before the time ofJustinian, having been displaced by the superior simplicity and convenience of the hypotheca; and in this respect modern Continental law has followed the Roman." John Salmond. Jurisprudence 443 (Glanville L. Williams ed., 10th ed. 1947).

fiducial adj. Of, relating to, or characterized by confidence in and reliance on another person or thing <there must be a fiducial bond between a patient and a doctor>.

fiducial relationship See trust relationship under RELATIONSHIP.

fiducial relationship See trust relationship.

fiduciarius heres (fi-d[y]oo-shee-air-ee-as heer-eez). [Latin "fiduciary heir"]. Roman law. A person formally named an heir in a testament, but in a fiduciary capacity, and charged to deliver the succession to the person designated by the testament.

fiduciarius tutor (fi-d[y]oo-shee-air-ee-as t[y]oo-tar). Roman law. A fiduciary guardian; a person who by fulfilling a trust to free someone in power became his or her guardian.

fiduciary (fi-d[y]oo-shee-er-ee), n. 1. A person who is required to act for the benefit of another person on all matters within the scope of their relationship; one who owes to another the duties of good faith, trust, confidence, and candor <the corporate officer is a fiduciary to the corporation>. 2. One who must exercise a high standard of care in managing another's money or property <the beneficiary sued the fiduciary for investing in speculative securities>. fiduciary, adj. "'Fiduciary' is a vague term, and it has been pressed into service for a number of ends.... My view is that the term fiduciary' is so vague that plaintiffs have been able to claim that fiduciary obligations have been breached when in fact the particular defendant was not a fiduciary stricto sensu but simply had withheld property from the plaintiff in an unconscionable manner." D.W.M. Waters, The Constructive Trust 4 (1964).

fiduciary bond A type of surety bond required of a trustee, administrator, executor, guardian, conservator, or other fiduciary to ensure the proper per-formance of duties. Also termed administrator's bond.

fiduciary bond- See BOND (2).

fiduciary contract An agreement by which one party delivers something to another on condition that the second party will return the thing to the first.

fiduciary debt A debt founded on or arising from a fiduciary relationship, rather than from a solely contractual relationship.

fiduciary duty (fi-d[y]oo-shee-er-ee). A duty of utmost good faith, trust, confidence, and candor owed by a fiduciary (such as a lawyer or corporate officer) to the beneficiary (such as a lawyer's client or a shareholder); a duty to act with the highest degree of honesty and loyalty toward another person and in the best interests of the other person (such as the duty that one partner owes to another). See FIDUCIARy; fiduciary relationship under RELATIONSHIP.

fiduciary duty- See DUTY (2).

fiduciary heir See HEIR.

fiduciary heir- Roman & civil law. An heir who takes property as a trustee on behalf of a person who is not eligible to receive the property immediately. See FIDEICOMMISSUM.

fiduciary relationship See RELATIONSHIP.

fiduciary relationship A relationship in which one person is under a duty to act for the benefit of another on matters within the scope of the relationship. Fiduciary relationships such as trustee-beneficiary, guardian-ward, principal-agent, and attorney-lient - require an unusually high degree of care. Fiduciary relationships usu. arise in one of four situations: (1) when one person places trust in the faithful integrity of another, who as a result gains superiority or influence over the first, (2) when one person assumes control and responsibility over another, (3) when one person has a duty to act for or give advice to another on matters falling within the scope of the relationship, or (4) when there is a specific relationship that has traditionally been recognized as involving fiduciary duties, as with a lawyer and a client or a stockbroker and a customer. - Also termed fidUciary relation; confidential relationship. Cf. special relationship.

fiduciary-out clause Mergers & acquisitions. A mergeragreement provision that allows the target corporation to terminate the agreement without committing a breach if a specified condition occurs. The most common condition is the receipt of a more favorable offer, but other conditions may also be specified.

fiduciary-shield doctrine Corporations. The principle that a corporate officer's act cannot be the basis for jurisdiction over the officer in an individual capacity.

fief (feef), n. 1. See FEE. 2. See FEUDoo Metaphorically, the term refers to an area of dominion, esp. in a corporate or governmental bureaucracy.

fief d'hauberk (feef doh-bairk). See feudum militare under FEUDUM.

fief d'haubert See feudum militare under FEUDUM.

fief-tenant The holder of a fief or fee; a feeholder or freeholder.

field audit An IRS audit conducted at the taxpayer's business premises, accountant's offices, or lawyer's offices.

field audit- See AUDIT.

field book A log or book containing a surveyor's notes that are made on-site and that describe by course and distance the running of the property lines and the establishment of the corners of a parcel of land.

field code The New York Code of Procedure of 1848, which was the first comprehensive Anglo-American code of civil procedure and served as a model for the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. It was drafted by David Dudley Field (1805-1894), a major law-reformer. See code pleading under PLEADING (2).

field notes The notes in a surveyor's field book.

field of invention See CLASSIFICATION OF PATENTS (2).

field of search See CLASSIFICATION OF PATENTS (2).

field sobriety test A motor-skills test administered by a peace officer during a stop to determine whether a suspect has been driving while intoxicated. The test usu. involves checking the suspects speaking ability or coordination (as by reciting the alphabet or walking in a straight line). Abbr. FST.

field sobriety test See SOBRIETY TEST.

field stop See STOP AND FRISK.

field warehousing An inventory-financing method by which a merchant pledges its inventory, which is in the possession of a third person (a warehouser). This is a method offinancing an inventory that cannot economically be delivered to the creditor or third party. The borrower segregates part of the inventory and places it under the nominal control of a lender or third party, so that the lender has a possessory interest. Cf. floor-plan financing under FINANCING; PLEDGE. "Field warehousing is a way of bringing about the security relationship of a pledge. It is an arrangement for allowing the pledgor a more convenient access to the pledged goods, while the goods are actually in the custody and control of a third person on the pledgor's premises." Business Factors, Ine. v. Taylor-Edwards Warehouse & Transfer Co., 585 P.2d 825, 828 (Wash. Ct. App. 1978). "Field warehousing is ... an arrangement whereby a whole· saler, manufacturer, or merchant finances his business through the pledge of goods remaining on his premises. The arrangement is valid and effective where there is an actual delivery to the warehouseman by the bailor who has hired the warehouseman and given him exclUSive posses· sion of the warehouse goods." In re Covington Crain Co., 638 F.2d 1362, 1365 (5th Cir. 1981).

field-of-use restriction Intellectual property. A license provision restricting the licensee's use of the licensed property to a defined product or service market or to a designated geographical area.

field-warehouse financing agreement The loan agreement in a field-warehousing arrangement.

fierding court (fyar-ding or feer-ding). An ancient court of inferior jurisdiction. Four courts were in each district or hundred.

fieri (fi-a-ri). [Latin], To be made; to be done. Fieri usu. appears as part of the phrase in fieri. See IN FIERI.

fieri facias (fi-a-ri fay-shee-as). [Latin "that you cause to be done"]. A writ of execution that directs a marshal or sheriff to seize and sell a defendant's property to satisfy a money judgment. - Abbr. fa.; Fi. Fa. Cf. LEVARI FACIAS. [Cases: Execution 1,15.] "It receives its name from the Latin words in the writ (quod fieri facias de bonis et catallis, that you cause to be made of the goods and chattels). It is the form of execution in common use in levying upon the judgment· debtor's personal property." John Bouvier, Bouvier's Law Diction· ary(8th ed. 1914). "The writ of 'fieri facias' (commonly called a writ of 'fi fa'), which commanded literally 'that you cause to be made,' was an early common-law means of enforcing payment on ajudgment; it was, in effect, an order to the sheriff of the court to enforce a judgment against the debtor by levy, seizure, and sale of his personalty to the extent needed to satisfy ajudgment." 30 Am.Jur. 2d Executions and Enforce· ment of Judgments § 14, at 50-51 (1994).

fieri facias de bonis ecclesiasticis (fi-a-ri fay-shee-as dee boh-nis e-klee-z[h]ee-as-ta-sis). [Latin "that you cause to be made of the ecclesiastical goods"], A writ of execution - used when the defendant was a beneficed clerk who had no lay fee - that commanded the bishop to satisfy the judgment from the ecclesiastical goods and chattels of the defendant within the diocese. - This was accomplished by issuing a sequestration to levy the debt out of the defendant's benefice. This writ was issued after a fieri facias had been returned nulla bona.

fieri facias de bonis propriis (fi-a-ri fay-shee-as dee boh-nis proh-pree-is). [Latin "that you cause to be made of his own goods"]. A writ that executes on an executor's property when a writ fieri facias de bonis testatoris is returned by the sheriff nulla bona or devastavit (a wasting of the testator's goods by the executor).

fieri facias de bonis testatoris (fi-a-ri fay-shee-as dee boh-nis tes-ta-tor-is). [Latin "that you cause to be made of the testator's goods"]. A writ of execution served on an executor for a debt incurred by the testator.

fieri feci (fi-a-n fee-si). [Latin "I have caused to be made"]. A sheriff's return on a fieri facias where the sheriff has collected, in whole or in part, the sum to be levied on. - The return is usu. expressed by the word "satisfied."

FIFO (fi-foh). abbr. FIRST-IN, FIRST-OUT.

FIFRA abbr. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. 7 USCA §§ 136-136y.

fifteenth A tax of one-fifteenth of all the personal property of every subject. The tax was levied atintervals by act of Parliament. Under Edward III, the value of the fifteenth was assessed and fixed at a specific sum and did not increase as the wealth of the kingdom increased thus the tax ceased to actually be onefifteenth. See QUOD PERSONA NEC PREBENDARII.

fifteenth amendment The constitutional amendment, ratified in 1870, guaranteeing all citizens the right to vote regardless of race, color, or prior condition of servitude.

fifth amendment The constitutional amendment, ratified with the Bill of Rights in 1791, providing that a person cannot be (1) required to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous offense unless a grand jury issues an indictment or presentment, (2) subjected to double jeopardy, (3) compelled to engage in self-incrimination on a criminal matter, (4) deprived of Hfe, liberty, or property without due process oflaw, or (5) deprived of private property for public use without just compensation.

fifth amendment, pleading the See TAKE THE FIFTH.

fifty decisions Justinian's rulings that settled controversies and eliminated obsolete rules in the law. The decisions were made in preparation for Justinian's Digest. - Also termed (in Latin) Quinquaginta Decisiones.

fighting age The age at which a person becomes eligible to serve in (or liable to conscription into) a military unit.

fighting age- See AGE.

fighting words 1. Inflammatory speech that might not be protected by the First Amendment's free-speech guarantee because it might incite a violent response. 2. Inflammatory speech that is pleadable in mitigation but not in defense of a suit for assault. Also termed fighting talk.

fightwite (fit-wit). A fine imposed against one who participated in a breach of the peace.

filacer (fil-a-sar). An officer of the Westminster superior courts who filed the writs on which process was made. The office was abolished in 1837. Also spelled filazer.

filacium See FILUM.

filare (fi-lair-ee), vb. [Law Latin]. To file.

filazer See FILACER.

file 1. A court's complete and official record of a case <the associate went to the courthouse to verify that the motion is in the file>. 2. A lawyer's complete record of a case <the paralegal stored the file in three drawers in her office>. 3. A portion or section of a lawyer's case record <the janitor found the correspondence file behind the copy machine>. 4. A case <Jonah was assigned the Watson file after Amy left the firm>.

file- 1. To deliver a legal document to the court clerk or record custodian for placement into the official record <Tuesday is the deadline for filing a reply brief>. - Also termed (in BrE) lodge. 2. To commence a lawsuit <the seller threatened to file against the buyer>. 3. To record or deposit something in an organized retention system or container for preservation and future reference <please file my notes under the heading "research">. 4. Parliamentary law. To acknowledge and deposit (a report, communication, or other document) for information and reference only without necessarily taking any substantive action.

file history See FILE WRAPPER.

file wrapper Patents &- Trademarks. The complete record of proceedings in the Patent and Trademark Office from the initial application to the issued patent or trademark; specif., a patent or trademark-registration application together with all documentation, correspondence, and any other record of proceedings before the PTa con cerning that application. Also termed file history; prosecution history. Cf CERTIFIED FILE HISTORY.

filed-rate doctrine A common-law rule forbidding a regulated entity, usu. a common carrier, to charge a rate other than the one on file with the appropriate federal regulatory authority, such as (formerly) the Interstate Commerce Commission. - Also termed filed-tariff doctrine. See TARIFF (3).

file-transport protocol A set of programmed rules enabling computers to exchange files over the Internet. Abbr. FTP.

file-wrapper continuation 1. See CONTINUATION. 2. See CONTINUATION-IN-PART. - Abbr. FWC.

file-wrapper continuation application 1. See CONTINUATION. 2. See CONTINUATION-IN-PART.

file-wrapper continuation application 1. See CONTINUATION. 2. See CONTINUATION-IN-PART.

file-wrapper estoppel See prosecution-history estoppel.

file-wrapper estoppel- See prosecution-history estoppel under ESTOPPEL.