Law Dictionary
	Search:

filia (fil-ee-a) n. [Latin], A daughter. PLfiliae.

filial consortium (fil-ee-al). A child's society, affection, and companionship given to a parent.

filial consortium- See CONSORTIUM.

filiality See FILIATION (1).

filiated father The proven biological father of a child born to unmarried parents. See FILIATION.

filiated father- See FATHER.

filiation (fil-ee-ay-shan). 1. The fact or condition of being a son or daughter; relationship of a child to a parent. - Despite Bentham's protest (see below),filiation is usual in this sense. - Also termed filiality. "In English we have no word that will serve to express with propriety the person who bears the relation opposed to that of parent. The word chi/dis ambiguous, being employed in another sense, perhaps more frequently than in this: more frequently in opposition to a person of full age, an adult, than in correlation to a parent. For the condition itself we have no other word than filiation: an ill-contrived term, not analogous to paternity and maternity: the proper term would have been fmality: the word filiation is as frequently, perhaps, and more consistently, put for the act of establishing a person in the possession of the condition offiliality." Jeremy Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation 276 n.2 (1823). 2. Judicial determination of paternity. See PATERNITY; filiated father under FATHER.

filiation order See ORDER (2).

filiation order A court s determination of paternity, usu. including a direction to pay child support. Governments usu. seek filiation orders so that some or all of the public funds spent on the child s welfare can be recovered from a nonmarital child s father. Until the early 20th century, municipalities, not the state, had the legal duty to support the poor, including unwed mothers and their children. In some states, two judges had to determine who an unacknowledged child s father was before the municipality could recover its expenditures. Also termed affiliation order; order of filiation.

filibuster (fil-a-bas-tar), 1. A dilatory tactic, esp. prolonged and often irrelevant speech making, employed in an attempt to obstruct legislative action. The filibuster is common in the U.S. Senate, where the right to debate is usu. unlimited and where a filibuster can be terminated only by a cloture vote of two-thirds of all members. 2. In a deliberative body, a member in the minority who resorts to obstructive tactics to prevent the adoption of a measure or procedure that is favored by the majority. Also termed filibusterer. 3. A person who, together with others, works to invade and revolutionize a foreign state in disregard of international law. See CLOTURE. - filibuster, vb.

filicide (fil-i-sid). 1. A person who kills his or her own child. 2. The act of killing one's own child. Cf. INFANTICIDE.

filing A particular document (such as a pleading) in the file of a court clerk or record custodian <the lawyer argued that the plaintiff's most recent filing was not germane to the issue before the court>.

filing date 1. Generally, the date when any document is delivered to the appropriate authority. 2. Patents. The date when a patent application is filed. The filing date closes the door on prior art; starts the clock on the period of eligibility to file in other countries; sets the priority date for public use, disclosure, or sale; and (absent other evidence) establishes the date of constructive reduction to practice. 3. Trademarks. The date when a trademark application is filed.

filing date- See DATE.

filing fee A sum of money required to be paid to the court clerk before a proceeding can start.

filing statns One of the four categories under which a person files an income tax return.o Under federal law, the four categories are: (1) Single; (2) head of household; (3). married filing a joint return; and (4) married filing separate returns.

filiolus (fil-ee-oh-Ias). [Latin]. A godson. Also spelled (in old records) filious.

filius (fil-ee-as), n. [Latin], 1. A son. 2. (pl.) Descendants. Cf. HERES. PI. filii.

filius mulieratus (fil-ee-as myoo-Iee-a-ray-tas). [Law Latin]. The eldest legitimate son of a woman who previously had an illegitimate son by the same father; a legitimate son, whose older brother is illegitimate; MULIER PUISNE. Cf. bastard eisne under EISNE.

filius nullius (fil-ee-as na-h-as). [Latin "son of nobody"]. An illegitimate child. Also termed filius populi. I proceed next to the rights and incapacities which appertain to a bastard. The rights are very few, being only such as he can acquire; for he can inherit nothing, being looked upon as the son of nobody; and sometimes called filius nullius, sometimes filius populi." 1 William Blackstone, Commemories on the Laws of England 447 (1765).

filius populi See FILIUS NULLIUS.

filiusfamilias (fil-ee-as-fa-mil-ee-as), n. [Latin "the son of a family"], Roman law. An unemancipated son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter. - Also termed homo alieni juris. "Every Roman citizen is either a paterfamilias or a filiusfamilias, according as he is free from paternal power (homo sui juris) or not (homo alieni juris). Paterfamilias is the generic name for a homo sui juris, whether child or adult, married or unmarried. Filiusfamilias is the generic name for a homo alieni juris, whether son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter, and so on." Rudolph Sohm, The Institutes: A Textbook of the History and System of Roman Private Law 177 Uames Crawford Ledlie trans., 3d ed. 1907).

fill a blank Parliamentary law. To replace a blank in a motion with one or more proposals from the floor. See BLANK.

filla (fil-a). The ribbon from which a seal hangs at the bottom of deeds and other legal documents.

fill-or-kill order See ORDER (8).

fill-or-kill order An order that must be executed as soon as it reaches the trading floor. If the order is not filled immediately, it is canceled.

filum (fi-lam). [Latin "thread"], 1. A thread or wire that holds (esp.legal) papers together to form a file. This was the ancient method of filing legal papers. 2. An imaginary thread or line passing through the middle of a stream or road. Also termed (in sense 1) filacium.

filum aquae (fi-lam ay-kwee). [Latin "thread of water"], A line of water; the middle line of a stream of water, supposedly diViding it into two equal parts and usu. constituting the boundary between the riparian owners on each side. - Also termed medium filum.

filum forestae (fi-lam for-a-stee). [Latin], The border of a forest.

filum viae (fi-lam vi-ee). [Latin], 1. The middle line of a road. 2. The boundarv between landowners on each side of a road.

finable (fi-na-bal), adj. Liable to a fine; subject to having to pay a fine. Also spelled fineable.

final adj. 1. (Of a judgment at law) not requiring any further judicial action by the court that rendered judgment to determine the matter litigated; concluded. 2. (Of an equitable decree) not requiring any further judicial action beyond supervising how the decree is carried out. Once an order, judgment, or decree is final, it may be appealed on the merits. Cf. INTERLOCUTORY.

final appealable order See final judgment under JUDGMENT.

final injnnction See permanent injunction under INJUNCTION.

final agenda An agenda that a deliberative assembly has adopted, or that has been adopted for a deliberative assembly by an officer or board charged with setting such an agenda.

final agenda- See AGENDA.

final alimony See permanent alimony.

final alimony- See permanent alimony under ALIMONY.

final and conclusive Terminal and unappealable, except on grounds of procedural error, fraud, or mistake.

final and conclusive- See FINAL.

final appealable judgment See final judgment.

final appealable judgment See final judgment under JUDGMENT.

final argument See CLOSING ARGUMENT.

final concord A written agreement between the parties to an action by which they settle the action in court, with the court's permission. Also termed finalis concordia;final peace.

final concord- See CONCORD.

final decision See final judgment under JUDGMENT.

final decision- See final judgment under JUDGMENT.

final decree See final judgment under JUDGMENT.

final decree- See final judgment under JUDGMENT.

final injunction See permanent injunction.

final judgment See JUDGMENT.

final judgment A courts last action that settles the rights of the parties and disposes of all issues in controversy, except for the award of costs (and, sometimes, attorneys fees) and enforcement of the judgment. Also termed final appealable judgment; final decision; final decree; definitive judgment; determinative judgment;final appealable order. See FINALJUDGMENT RULE.

final Office action A patent examiner s determination that an application is not allowable. The applicant may file a continuation application, appeal the decision, or request continued prosecution. Cf. first office action.

final office action See OFFICE ACTION.

final order An order that is dispositive of the entire case. See final judgment under J VDGMENT.

final order See ORDER (2).

final peace See final concord under CONCORD.

final process A process issued at the conclusion of a judicial proceeding; esp., a writ of execution.

final process See PROCESS.

final receiver's receipt The government's acknowledgment that it has received full payment from a person for public land, that it holds the legal title in trust for the person, and that it will in due course issue the person a land patent.

final rejection See REJECTION.

final rejection A patent examiner s finding, in a second or subsequent office action, that a claim in an application is unpatentable on the merits. A final rejection is made in the final office action. Despite the misleading name, a final rejection need not end the prosecution. The rejection can be appealed, or the application can be reexamined or continued in another application. A rejection may also be appealed to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. A decision of that Board may be reviewed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia or appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. 35 USCA §§ 141-45.

final settlement A court order discharging an executors duties after an estates execution.

final settlement See SETTLEMENT (2).

final speech See CLOSING ARGUMENT.

final submission See CLOSING ARGUMENT.

final-decision rule See FINAL-JUDGMENT RULE.

finalis concordia (fi-nay-lis kan-kor-dee-a). [Latin], A final or conclusive agreement. See final concord under CONCORD; FINE (1).

finality doctrine The rule that a court will not judicially review an administrative agency's action until it is final. Also termed final-order doctrine; doctrine offmality; principle of finality. Cf. FINAL-JUDGMENT RULE; INTERLOCUTORY APPEALS ACT.

finality rule See FINAL-JUDGMENT RULE.

final-judgment rule The principle that a party may appeal only from a district court's final decision that ends the litigation on the merits. Under this rule, a party must raise all claims of error in a single appeal. - Also termed final-decision rule;finality rule. 28 USCA § 1291. See DEATH-KNELL DOCTRINE. Cf. FINALITY DOCTRINE; INTERLOCUTORY APPEALS ACT; DEATH-KNELL DOCTRINE.

final-offer arbitration Arbitration in which each party must submit a "final offer" to the arbitrator, who may choose only one.This device gives each party an incentive to make a reasonable offer or risk the arbitrator's accepting the other party's offer. The purpose of this type of arbitration is to counteract arbitrators' tendency to make compromise decisions halfway between the two parties' demands.

final-offer arbitration- See ARBITRATION.

final-order doctrine See FINALITY DOCTRINE.

finance 1. That aspect of business concerned with the management of money, credit, banking, and investments <after a brief career in finance, Andrea decided to go to law school>. 2. The science or study of the management of money, etc. <Bill sought a degree in finance because he wanted to be an investment banker>.

finance- To raise or provide funds.

finance bill A bill of exchange drawn by a bank in one country on a bank in another country to raise short-term credit. Finance bills are often issued in tight money periods, and usu. have maturity dates of more than 60 days. Also termed banker's bill; working capital acceptance.

finance bill- See BILL (6).

finance charge See FINANCE CHARGE.

finance charge- An additional payment, usu. in the form of interest, paid by a retail buyer for the privilege of purchasing goods or services in installments. This phrase is increasingly used as a euphemism for interest. See INTEREST (3).

finance company A nonbank company that deals in loans either by making them or by purchasing notes from another company that makes the loans directly to borrowers.

finance lease See LEASE.

finance officer See TREASURER.

financial accounting See ACCOU!\ITING (1).

financial accounting standards board The independent body of accountants responsible for establishing, interpreting, and improving standards for financial accounting and reporting. Abbr. FASB.

financial asset See current asset.

financial asset- See current asset under ASSET.

financial contract An arrangement that (1) takes the form of an individually negotiated contract, agreement, or option to buy, sell, lend, swap, or repurchase, or other similar individually negotiated transaction commonly entered into by participants in the financial markets; (2) involves securities, commodities, currencies, interest or other rates, other measures of value, or any other financial or economic interest similar in purpose or function; and (3) is entered into in response to a request from a counterparty for a quotation, or is otherwise entered into and structured to accommodate the objectives of the counterparty to such an arrangement ..

financial contract- See CONTRACT.

financial crimes enforcement network A unit in the U.S. Department of the Treasury responsible for supporting law-enforcement efforts against domestic and international financial crimes. Abbr. FinCEN.

financial deregulation The lessening of governmental oversight and intervention in the business of financial institutions. Among other effects, regulation of financial contracts is relaxed and competition for depositors and borrowers increases.

financial deregulation- See DEREGULATION.

financial futures See FUTURES (1).

financial institution A business, organization, or other entity that manages money, credit, or capital, such as a bank, credit union, savings-and-Ioan association, securities broker or dealer, pawnbroker, or investment company.

financial interest An interest involving money or its equivalent; esp., an interest in the nature of an investment. Also termed pecuniary interest.

financial interest See INTEREST (2).

financial intermediary A financial entity usu. a commercial bank - that advances the transfer of funds between borrowers and lenders, buyers and sellers, and investors and savers.

financial market See MARKET.

financial planner A person whose business is advising clients about personal finances and investments. Upon completing a certification program, such a person is called a certified financial planner. Abbr. CFP.

financial report See FINANCIAL STATEMENT.