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hostelagium (hos-ta-Iay-jee-am), n. [Law Latin]. A right to receive lodging and entertainment, anciently reserved by lords in their tenants' houses.

hosteler (hos-ta-Iar). 1. A person who stays in a youth hostel. 2. A stableman. 3. Archaic. A person who receives and entertains guests, esp. at a monastery. 4. Archaic. An innkeeper. See HOSTLER.

hostes (hos-teez), n. pl. [Latin], Enemies. Sing. hostis (hos-tis).

hostes humani generis (hyoo-may-ni jen-a-ris). Enemies of the human race; specif., pirates.

hosticide (hos-ta-sid), 1. The killing of an enemy. 2. A person who kills an enemy.

hostilaria- (hos-ta-Iair-ee-a), n. [Latin], A place or room in a religious house used to receive guests and strangers. Also termed hospitalaria (hos-pa-ta-ler-[ee-] a).

hostile adj. 1. ADVERSE. 2. Showing ill will or a desire to harm. 3. Antagonistic; unfriendly.

hostile act See ACT OF HOSTILITY.

hostile amendment An amendment that is opposed by the supporters of the main motion.

hostile amendment- See AMENDMENT (3).

hostile bidder See CORPORATE RAIDER.

hostile embargo See EMBARGO (1).

hostile possession See POSSESSION.

hostile possession Possession asserted against the claims of all others, esp. the record owner. See ADVERSE POSSESSION.

hostile propaganda Propaganda employed by a nation to manipulate the people ofanother nation to support or oppose their government. Also termed ideological aggression. See subversive propaganda. "Ideological aggression is the spreading of ideas intentionally and deliberately so as to manipulate by symbols controversial attitudes and positions. It is hostile propaganda indulged in by a state directly or vicariously to incite and influence the people of another state so as to maintain or alter the institutions and poliCies of that state, The campaign of hostile propaganda may emanate from within or without the territory of the victim state and can be carried on by any means of communications." Ann Van Wynen Thomas & A,J. Thomas,Jr., The Concept of Aggyes• sion in International Law 84 (l972).

hostile propaganda See PROPAGANDA.

hostile takeover A takeover that is resisted by the target corporation. - Also termed unfriendly takeover.

hostile takeover See TAKEOVER.

hostile witness See WITNESS.

hostile-environment sexual harassment Sexual harassment in which a work environment is created where an employee is subject to unwelcome verbal or phYSical sexual behavior that is either severe or pervasive. This type of harassment might occur, for example, if a group of coworkers repeatedly e- mailed pornographic pictures to a colleague who found the pictures offensive.

hostile-environment sexual harassment See SEXUAL HARASSMENT.

hostility 1. A state of enmity between individuals or nations. 2. An act or series of acts displaying antagonism. 3. (usu. pl.) Acts of war.

hostler ([h]os-lar). [fr. hosteler], 1. A stableman; an ostler. 2. An innkeeper. By the 16th century, this term had lost its "innkeeper" sense, and referred exclusively to a stableman.

hot bench A court, esp. an appellate court, in which, before oral argument, the judges thoroughly familiar-ize themselves with the facts and issues of the case, usu. by reading the briefs and the record, and often prepare questions for counseL. In the United States today, courts are generally expected to be hot. Cf. cold bench; lukewarm bench. "[Al hot bench, in the narrow sense, is one on which all the judges have read the briefs and the salient parts of the record. The court, therefore, is generally familiar with the facts and the legal issues and has devoted some time to thinking about the case, perhaps even to the point of jotting down questions. Obviously, if the appellate tribunal reviewed your case at some prior stage in the proceedings, it must be conSidered hot. Likewise, if the court has had a good deal of experience in the area of law in which your case falls, I am inclined to classify that bench also as hot." Samuel E. Gates, "Hot Bench or Cold Bench: When the Court Has Not Read the Brief before Oral Argument," in Counsel on Appeal 107, 115-16 (Arthur A. Charpentier ed" 1968).

hot bench- See BENCH.

hot blood See HEAT OF PASSION.

hot cargo Labor law. Goods produced or handled by an employer with whom a union has a dispute.

hot check See bad check.

hot check- See bad check under CHECK.

hot court A court, esp. an appellate court, that is familiar with the briefs filed in the case, and therefore with the issues, before oral argument. Typically, a hot court controls the oral argument with its questioning, as opposed to listening passdively to set presentations of counsel.

hot court- See COURT.

hot document A document that directly supports a litigant's allegation.

hot document- See DOCUMENT.

hot issue A security that, after an initial or secondary offering, is traded in the open market at a substantially higher price. Also termed hot stock.

hot issue See ISSUE (2).

hot news Intellectual property. Extremely time-sensitive or transient information that is usu. reliable for very brief periods, such as stock quotations.

hot pursuit 1. See FRESH PURSUIT. 2. Int'l law. The legitimate chase of a foreign vessel on the high seas just after that vessel has violated the law of the pursuing country while within that country's jurisdiction.

hot stock See hot issue under ISSUE (2).

hot stock See hot issue under ISSUE (2).

hot-cargo agreement A voluntary agreement between a union and a neutral employer by which the latter agrees to exert pressure on another employer with whom the union has a dispute, as by ceasing or refraining from handling, using, selling, transporting, or otherwise dealing in any of the products of an employer that the union has labeled as unfair. - Most agreements of this type were prohibited by the Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959. See LANDRUM GRIFFIN ACT.

hotchpot (hoch-pot), 1. The blending of items of property to secure equality of division, esp. as practiced either in cases of divorce or in cases in which advancements of an intestate's property must be made up to the estate by a contribution or by an accounting. Also termed hotchpotch; hotchpot rule. "In some states ... a child who has received his advance· ment in real or personal estate, may elect to throw the amount of the advancement into the common stock, and take his share of the estate descended, or his distributive share of the personal estate, as the case may be: and this is said to be bringing the advancement into hotchpot, and it is a proceeding which resembles the collatio bonorum in the civil law." 4 James Kent, Commentaries on American Law"419 (George Comstock ed., 11th ed. 1866). "[T]he distribution of the property among the children is subject to what is called the hotchpot rule, the purpose of which is to ensure that the shares of all the children shall be equal. The rule is that any money or property which the intestate has paid to, or settled on, or covenanted to settle on a child, either by way of advancement or in view of marriage, shall be brought into account and deducted from the share which is payable to that child under the intestacy." G.c. Cheshire, Modern Law of Real Property 783-84 (3d ed. 1933). 2. In a community-property state, the property that falls within the community estate. See COLLATIO BONORUM. 3. MAIN POT.

hotel divorce A form of collusive divorce occurring before widespread passage of no-fault divorce laws in which the spouses agree to fake an adultery scene to create "fault." Cf. no fault divorce. "Clearly a lawyer may not originate or participate in a scheme to make it appear to the court that a ground for divorce has occurred when this is not the fact. Such is the case in the so-called 'hotel divorces,' prevalent in jurisdictions where adultery is the only ground for divorce, and based on the principle that intercourse will be presumed from apparently uninhibited opportunity." Henry S. Drinker, Legal Ethics 123-24 (1953).

hotel divorce- See DIVORCE.

hotelkeeper See INNKEEPER.

hotelkeeper's lien- See LIEN.

hot-news test A judicial test for determining whether a misappropriation claim is preempted by the Sears-Compeo doctrine, consisting in analyzing whether, in addition to the elements of copyright infringement, the claim also requires proof of (1) time-sensitive information collected at a cost to the plaintiff, (2) unfair use of that information by a directly competing defendant who has made no similar investment, and (3) a consequent threat to the plaintiff's commercial existence.

hot-potato rule The principle that a lawyer may not unreasonably withdraw from representing a client. The term comes from the rule's classic formulation: house bill "a firm may not drop a client like a 'hot potato: especially if it is in order to keep happy a far more lucra tive client." Picker Int'l, Inc. v. Varian Assocs., Inc., 670 F. Supp. 1363, 1365 (N.D. Ohio 1987). An exception may be allowed for a conflict of interest arising from circumstances beyond the control of the lawyer or the law firm. See thrust-upon conflict under CONFLICT OF INTEREST.

hot-water ordeal See ordeal by water (2) under ORDEAL.

hour of cause The time at which a trial is to begin.

housage (howz-ij). 1. A fee for storing goods. 2. The state of being housed or the action of housing.

house (bef. 12c) 1. A home, dwelling, or residence.

house arrest See HOUSE ARREST.

house arrest- The confinement of a person who has been accused or convicted of a crime to his or her home, usu. by attaching an electronically monitored bracelet to the person. Most house-arrest programs require the offender to work and permit leaVing the home only for reasons such as work, medical needs, or community-service obligations.

house bill See BILL (3).

house bill. (often cap.) A legislative bill being considered by a house of representatives. - Abbr. H; H.B.

house counsel See in-house counsel.

house counsel- See in-house counsel under COUNSEL.

house law- A regulatory code promulgated by the head of a royal or noble family, or of a prominent private family, governing intrafamily relationships and acts concerning events such as marriage, disposition of property, and inheritance. Such a code had no legal authority but was enforced within the family by personal and economic sanctions.

house mark See house trademark under TRADEMARK.

house of assignation See DISORDERLY HOUSE (2).

House of Commons The lower chamber of the British and Canadian parliaments. - Abbr. H.C.

house of correction 1. A reformatory. 2. A place for the confinement of juvenile offenders or those who have committed crimes of lesser magnitude. Also termed house of refuge.

house of correction- See HOUSE.

house of delegates 1. (often cap.) The convention of many learned or profeSSional associations, including the American Bar Association <the ABA House of Delegates>. Often shortened to House. Also termed house of representatives. See CONVENTION (4). 2. (cap.) The lower chamber of the state legislature in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.

house of detention See JAIL.

house of detention- See JAIL.

house of ill fame 1. See BROTHEL. 2. See DISORDERLY HOUSE (2).

house of ill fame- 1. See BROTHEL. 2. See DISORDERLY HOUSE (2).

house of ill repute See DISORDERLY HOUSE.

House of Lords The upper chamber of the British Parliament, of which the ll-member judicial committee provides judges who serve as the final court of appeal in most civil cases. In practice, the Lords sit as committees, usu. of five but occaSionally of seven. Two committees may sit Simultaneously. - Abbr. H.L. Also termed Lords. "'House of Lords' is an ambiguous expression. It refers [ll to all the peers who choose to sit as the Upper House of the legislature (Parliament), and also (2) to a court consisting of the highest level of the judiciary." Glanville Williams, Learning the Law 8 (l1th ed. 1982).

house of prostitution See DISORDERLY HOUSE (2).

house of prostitution- See DISORDERLY HOUSE (2).

house of refuge See house ofcorrection.

house of refuge- See house ofcorrection under HOUSE.

House of Representatives 1. The lower chamber of the U.S. Congress, composed of 435 members apportioned among the states on the basis of population who are eJected to two-year terms. 2. The lower house ofa state legislature. Abbr. H.R.; (in senses 1 & 2) H. Often shortened to House. 3. HOUSE OF DELEGATES (1): - Often shortened (in all senses) to House. - Abbr. H.R.

house of worship A building or place set apart for and devoted to the holding of religious services or exercises or public worship; a church or chapel, or a place similarly used.

house of worship- See HOUSE.

house trademark- See TRADEMARK.

houseage (howz-ij). A fee paid for housing goods, as by a carrier or at a wharf.

housebote An allowance of wood from the estate used to repair a house or to burn in the fireplace. Also termed firebote.

housebote- See BOTE (1).

housebreaking The crime of breaking into a dwelling or other secured building, with the intent to commit a felony inside; BURGLARY. Burglary is now used more frequently than housebreaking. In England, for example, housebreaking was replaced in 1968 with statutory burglary, though the term is still used in Scots law. In some jurisdictions, housebreaking includes "breaking out" of a house that was entered without a breaking. - housebreaker, n. "The oldest term for this purpose [i.e., of distinguishing between common-law burglary and its statutory enlarge· ments], still encountered at times, is 'housebreaking'; a more recent suggestion is 'breaking and entering,' and peace officers sometimes speak of a 'breakin,''' Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 270 (3d ed. 1982).

houseburning The common-law misdemeanor of intentionally burning one's own house that is within city limits or that is close enough to other houses that they might be in danger of catching fire (even though no actual damage to them may result). Also termed combustio domorum. Cf. ARSON.

house-duty English law. A tax first imposed in 1851 on inhabited houses. 14 & 15 Viet., ch. 36 (repealed 1924). This tax replaced the window tax, which levied a duty on houses with more than six windows. See window tax under TAX.

household adj. Belonging to the house and family; domestic.

household- 1. A family living together. 2. A group of people who dwell under the same roof. Cf. FAMILY. 3. The contents of a house.

household goods Goods that are used in connection with a home. Thiis term usu. arises when a warehouser claims a lien on what he or she asserts are "household" goods. According to the UCC, a warehouser may claim a lien on a depositor's furniture, furnishings, and personal effects that are used in a dwelling. "GCC § 7-209(d).

household goods- See GOODS.

householder 1. A person who keeps house with his or her family; the head or master of a family. 2. A person who has a household. 3. An occupier of a house. Cf. HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD. householdership, n.

housing code See BUILDING CODE.

housing court A court dealing primarily with landlord-and-tenant matters, including disputes over maintenance, lease terms, and building and fire codes.

housing court- See COURT.

hovering act A statute applying to a coastal country's criminal jurisdiction over ships, and persons aboard those ships, when the ships are outside the country's territory. The notion of hovering acts evolved long before that of a belt of uniform width in the form of territorial waters. Great Britain's first anti·smuggling legislation to operate at a stated distance seaward was in 1719, applying to the master of any ship 'found at anchor or hovering within two leagues from the shore. Later enactments extended this limit to three, then four, then eight leagues. A statute of 1794 gave power to seize and confiscate customable goods in vessels 'found at anchor, or hovering' inside specific straight lines drawn between lines on the British coasts, thus resembling the 'King's Chambers' of the Stuart era. In 1805 the British Parliament extended the seizure limit to 100 leagues (300 miles) from the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland in respect of vessels 'belongi ng whOlly or in part to His Majesty's subjects, or whereof one-half of the persons on board shall be subjects of His Majesty,' Foreign-flag vessels could have fallen within this category. In the case of Le Louis (l 817) 165 E.R. 1464, the British Admiralty judge Lord Stowell described these statutes as being permitted by 'the (ommon courtesy of nations for their convenience.''' Geoffrey Marston, "Hovering Acts," in 2 Encyclopedia of Public Intemational Law 884-85 (1995).

HOW abbr. HOME OWNERS WARRANTY.

How say you? Archaic. (Asked of a jury) how do you find?

howsoever adv. In whatever way; however.

HSR Act See HART-SCOTT-RODINO ANTITRUST IMPROVEMENT ACT.

HTML abbr. HYPERTEXT MARKUP LANGUAGE.

http abbr. HYPERTEXT TRANSFER PROTOCOL.

hub-and-spoke conspiracy See wheel conspiracy.