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nonparticipating preferred stock Preferred stock that does not give the shareholder the right to additional earnings - usu. surplus common-stock dividends beyond those stated in the preferred contract.

nonparticipating royalty A share of production or of the revenue from production free its costs carved out of the mineral interest. A nonparticipating-royalty holder is entitled to the stated share of production or cash without regard to the terms ofany lease. Nonparticipating royalties are often retained by mineralinterest owners who sell their rights.

nonpecuniary damages Damages that cannot be measured in money. See irreparable damages.

nonpecuniary injury See irreparable injury.

nonperformance See NONPERFORMANCE.

nonpersonal action An action that proceeds within some category of territorial jurisdiction other than in personam - that is, jurisdiction in rem, quasi in rem, or over status.

nonprobate asset Property that passes to a named beneficiary upon the owner's death according to the terms of some contract or arrangement other than a will. Such an asset is not a part of the probate estate and is not ordinarily subject to the probate court's jurisdiction (and fees), though it is part of the taxable estate. Examples include life-insurance contracts, joint property arrangements with right of survivorship, pay-an-death bank accounts, and inter vivos trusts. Also termed nonprobate property. Cf. WILL SUBSTITUTE.

nonprofit association A group organized for a purpose other than to generate income or profit, such as a scientific, religious. or educational organization.

nonprofit corporation A corporation organized for some purpose other than making a profit, and usu. afforded special tax treatment. Also termed not-for-profit corporation. Cf. business corporation.

nonqualified deferred-compensation plan An unfunded compensation arrangement, frequently offered to executives, that defers compensation and the recognition of its accompanying taxable income to a later date. It is termed "nonqualified" because it does not qualify for favorable tax treatment under IRC (26 USCA) § 40l(a). The plan avoids the restrictions on qualified plans, esp. the limits on contributions and benefits and rules against discrimination in favor of highly compensated employees. Abbr. NQDC. - Also termed nonqualified executive-compensation plan; unfunded deferred-compensation plan. "Generally, a nonqualified deferred compensation plan is an agreement or promise by an employer to certain indio viduals to pay compensation to those individuals at some future date. A nonqualified plan may also be a series of deferred compensation agreements between an employer and certain individuals that are considered to be a plan of benefits. These types of plans do not qualify for the special tax treatment afforded to plans that meet the qualifica· tion requirements of Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code ...." BruceJ. McNeil, Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans 1 (1994).

nonqualified pension plan A deferred-compensation plan in which an executive increases retirement benefits by annual additional contributions to the company s basic plan.

nonqualified stock option A stock-option plan that does not receive capital-gains tax treatment, thus allowing a person to buy stock for a period (often ten years) at or below the market Abbr. NQSO.

nonrecurring dividend See extraordinary dividend.

nonrefund annuity An annuity with guaranteed payments during the annuitant's life, but with no refund to anyone at death. Also termed straight life annuity; pure annuity.

nonreporting issuer An issuer not subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act because it (1) has not voluntarily become subject to the reporting requirements, (2) has not had an effective registration statement under the Securities Act within the fiscal year, and (3) did not, at the end of its last fiscal year, meet the shareholder or asset tests under the Exchange Act registration requirements.

nonresident alien A person who is neither a resident nor a citizen of the United States.

nonresident decedent A decedent who was domiciled outside the jurisdiction in question (such as probate Jurisdiction) at the time of death.

nonresidential parent See noncustodial parent.

nonservant agent An agent who agrees to act on the principal's behalf but is not subject to the principal's control over how the task is performed. A principal is not liable for the physical torts of a non servant agent. See INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR. Cf. independent agent; SERVANT.

nonsovereign state A state that is a constituent part of a greater state that includes both it and one or more others, and to whose government it is subject; a state that is not complete and self-existent. Among other things, a nonsovereign state has no power to engage in foreign relations. - Also termed dependent state. Cf. SOVEREIGN STATE.

nonstatutory bond See voluntary bond.

nonstatutory claim See omnibus claim.

nonstock corporation A corporation that does not issue shares of stock as evidence of ownership but instead is owned by its members in accordance with a charter or agreement. Examples are mutual insurance companies, charitable organizations, and private clubs.

nontrading partnership A partnership that does not buy and sell but instead is a partnership of employment or occupation. Also termed noncommercial partnership. This type of partnership offers services rather than goods.

non-vessel-operating common carrier A freight forwarder that does not own the means of transportation, but that contracts with a shipper to transport freight, and with a carrier to perform the transportation. The non-vessel-operating common carrier becomes the carrier in the contract with the original shipper, and the shipper in the contract with the eventual carrier. See FREIGHT FORWARDER. -Abbr. NVOCC.

nonvoting stock Stock that has no voting rights under most situations.

no-par stock Stock issued without a specific value assigned to it. For accounting purposes, it is given a legal or stated value that has little or no connection to the stocks actual value. Sometimes shortened to no par. Also termed no-par-value stock.

normalized financial statement A statement in which some components have been adjusted to exclude anomalies, such as unusual and nonrecurring elements, and nonoperating assets or liabilities, so the statement may be compared with others. 2. INCOME-AND-EXPENSE DECLARATION.

normative jurisprudence See NATURAL LAW (2).

notary seal See NOTARY SEAL

note broker A broker who negotiates the discount or sale of commercial paper.

not-for-profit corporation See nonprofit corporation.

not-guilty plea An accused person s formal denial in court of having committed the charged offense. The prosecution must then prove all elements of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt if the defendant is to be convicted.

notice pleading A procedural system requiring that the pleader give only a short and plain statement of the claim shOWing that the pleader is entitled to relief, and not a complete detailing of all the facts. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a).

notice-based quorum A quorum determined according to how far in advance of the meeting its call was circulated. Under a notice-based quorum, the later the call gets sent out, the larger the quorum grows.

notorious cohabitation illicit cohabitation in which the parties make no attempt to hide their living arrangements. Also termed open and notorious cohabitation. See illicit cohabition.

notorious possession Possession or control that is evident to others; possession of property that, because it is generally known by people in the area where the property is located, gives rise to a presumption that the actual owner has notice of it. Notorious possession is one element of adverse possession. Also termed open possession; open and notorious possession. See ADVERSE POSSESSION.

now account An interest-bearing savings account on which the holder may write checks. Also termed negotiable-order-of-withdrawal account.

nude contract See NUDDM PACTUM.

nudum dominium (da-min-ee-,am n[y)oo-dam). [Latin "bare ownership"], Roman Law. Ownership divorced from present possession or use.

nuisance prior art Patents. Information that appears to anticipate or obviate an invention, but does not actually do so because the earlier described invention was neither reduced to practice nor adequately disclosed in any documents. Nuisance prior art does not bar a patent's issuance, but it may prolong the prosecution. The term does not apply to efforts that are not prior art at all, such as descriptions of unsuccessful attempts to reduce an invention to practice, or to writings that do not disclose real inventions or technology, such as science-fiction.

nuisance settlement A settlement in which the defendant pays the plaintiff purely for economic reasons as opposed to any notion of responsibility - because without the settlement the defendant would spend more money in legal fees and expenses caused by protracted litigation than in paying the settlement amount. The money paid in such a settlement is often termed nuisance money.

numerous Consisting of many

nunc pro tunc amendment (namgk proh tangk or nuungk proh tuungk). An amendment that is given retroactive effect, usu. by court order. 3. Parliamentary law. A motion that changes another motion's wording by striking out text, inserting or adding text, or substituting text. See AMEND (2). Cf. BLANK (2).

nunc pro tunc judgment (nangk proh tangk). A procedural device by which the record of a judgment is amended to accord with what the judge actually said and did, so that the record will be accurate. This device is often used to correct defects in real-estate titles.

nuptial Of marriage

nuptiales tabulae (nap-shee-ay-leez tab-Ya-Iee). Roman law. Marriage tablets - i.e., documents record¬ ing a marriage and the terms on which it was entered into. These

Nuremberg defense (n[y]ar-am-barg) The defense asserted by a member of the military who has been nystagmus charged with the crime of failing to obey an order and who claims that the order was illegal, esp. that the order would result in a violation of international law. The term is sometimes used more broadly to describe situa tions in which citizens accused of committing domestic crimes, such as degradation of government property, claim that their crimes were justified or mandated by internationallaw.

nurture 1. To supply with nourishment. 2. To train, educate, or develop.

nurturing-parent doctrine The principle that, although a court deciding on child support gener-ally disregards a parent motive in failing to maximize earning capacity, the court will not impute income to a custodial parent who remains at home or works less than full-time in order to provide a better environment for a child. - The doctrine is fact-specific; courts apply it case by case.

nurus (n[y]oor-as), [Latin] A daughter-in-law.

NVOCC abbr. See non-vessel-operating common carrier under CARRIER.

NWS abbr. National Weather Service. See NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION.

nychthemeron (nik-thee-mar-ahn), [Greek] An entire day and night; a 24-hour period.

NYS abbr. NEW YORK SUPPLEMENT.

NYSE abbr. NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE.

nystagmus (ni-stag-mas). A rapid, involuntary jerking or twitching of the eyes, sometimes caused by ingesting drugs or alcohol. See HORIZONTAL-GAZE NYSTAGMUS TEST.

O.C abbr. 1. OPE CONSILIO. 2. Orphans court. See probate court under COURT.

O.N.B abbr. OLD NATURA BREVIUM.

O.R abbr. Own recognizance; on one s own recognizance <the prosecutor agreed not to object to releasing the suspect O.R.>.See RECOGNIZANCE; RELEASE ON RECOGNIZANCE.

O.S abbr. OLD STYLE.

o.s.p abbr, OBUT SINE PROLE.

OAR abbr. Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. See "ATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS-TRATION.

OASDHI abbr. Old Age, Survivors, Disability, and Health Insurance. See OLD-AGE AND SURVIVORS INSURANCE.

OASDI abbr. Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insur¬ ance. See OLD-AGE AND SURVIVORS INSURANCE.

OASI abbr. OLD-AGE AND SURVIVORS INSURANCE.

oath (bef. 12c] 1. A solemn declaration, accompanied by a swearing to God or a revered person or thing, that one s statement is true or that one will be bound to a promise. - The person making the oath implicitly invites punishment if the statement is untrue or the promise is broken. The legal effect of an oath is to subject the person to penalties for perjury if the testi¬ mony is false. 2. A statement or promise made by such a declaration. 3. A form of words used for such a declaration. 4. A formal declaration made solemn without a swearing to God or a revered person or thing; AFFIRMATION. Cf. PLEDGE (1). "The word oath (apart from its use to indicate a profane expression) has two very different meanings: (1) a solemn appeal to God in attestation of the truth of a statement or the binding character of such a promise: (2) a statement or promise made under the sanction of such an appeal." Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 515 (3d ed.1982).

oath against an oath See SWEARING MATCH.

oath de calumnia See oath ofcalumny.

oath ex officio (eks-a-fish-ee-oh). At common law, an oath under which a person accused ofa crime swore to answer questions before an ecclesiastical court.

oath in litem (li-tem or -tam). An oath taken by a plaintiff in testifying to the value of the thing in dispute when there is no evidence of value or when the defendant has fraudulently suppressed evidence of value.

oath of abjuration See ABJURATION.

oath of allegiance An oath by which one promises to maintain fidelity to a particular sovereign or government. This oath is most often administered to a high public officer, to a soldier or sailor, or to an alien applying for naturalization. Also termed loyalty oath; test oath.

oath of calumny (kal-am-nee). An oath that a plaintiff or defendant took to attest to that party s good faith and to the party s belief that there was a bona fide claim. Also termed oath de calumnia. See CALUMNY.

oath of office An oath taken by a person about to enter into the duties of public office, by which the person promises to perform the duties of that office in good faith.

oath of supremacy An oath required of those taking office, along with the oaths of alle giance and abjuration, declaring that the sovereign is superior to the church in ecclesiastical matters.

oath ofabjuration An oath renounc¬ing any and all right of descendants of a pretender to the Crown.

Oath or Affirmation Clause The clause of the U.S. Constitution requiring members of Congress and the state legislatures, and all members of the executive or judicial branches - state or local to pledge by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution. U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 3.

oath purgatory See purgatory oath.

oath suppletory See suppletory oath.

oath-helper See COMPURGATOR.

oath-rite The form or ceremony used when taking an oath.

oathworthy adj. Legally capable of making an oath.

ob continentiam delicti (ob kon-ta-nen-shee-am da-lik-ti). [Latin] On account of contiguity to the offense; being contaminated by association with some¬thing illegal.

ob contingentiam (ob kon-tin-jen-shee-am). 1. On account of connection; by reason of Similarity. This phrase appeared when there was a close enough connection between two or more lawsuits to consoli date them. 2. In case of contingency.

ob defectum haeredis (ob di-fek-ta}m ha-ree-dis). [Law Latin]. On account of a failure of heirs.

ob favorem mercatorum (ob fa-vor-am mar-ka-tor-am). [Latin] In favor of merchants.

ob majorem cauteIam (ob ma-jor-am kaw-tee-lam]. [Law Latin] For greater security.

ob metum perjurii (ob mee-tam par-juur-ee-i). [Law Latin) Scots law. On account of the fear of perjury. See METUS PERJURII.

ob non solutum canonem (ob non sa-loo-tam ka-noh¬nam). [Law Latin] Scots law. On account of unpaid canon or feu duty. A vassal could forfeit land if the vassal failed to pay the feu duty for two (later five) years. See FEU.

ob pias causas (ob pr-as kaw-zas). [Latin] On account of religious or charitable reasons; for dutiful considerations. "Provisions made by a son to his father ob pias causas are those which proceed from the affectionate regard and natural duty which the son is bound morally to render to his father. John Trayner, Trayner s Latin Maxims 412 (4th ed.1894).

ob poenam negligentiae (ob pee-nam neg-li-jen-shee¬ee). [Law Latin] On account of punishment for negligence. -lhe law punished those who were negligent in protecting their own interests.

ob pUblicam utilitatem (ob pab-li-kam yoo-til-a-tay-tam). [Latin] On account of public utility; for the public advantage.

ob reverentiam personae et metum perjurii (ob rev-a¬ren-shee-am par-soh-nee et mee-tam par-juur-ee-i). [Law Latin]. On account of reverence to the person and the fear of perjury. On this basis, certain wit nesses could be excluded or could decline to answer certain questions that might cause them to commit perjury rather than admit to some act. This principle is essentially the forerunner to the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. See METUS PERJURII.

ob turpem causam (ob tar-pam [or -pem] kaw-zam). [Latin] For an immoral consideration; on account of disgraceful consideration .• An obligation ob turpem causam (I.e., founded on what was termed turpis causa) could not be enforced.

obaeratus (oh-ba-ray-tas), adj. & n. [Latin] Roman law. 1. Adj. Burdened with debt. 2. n. A debtor.

obedience Compliance with a law, command, or authority.

obediential obligation See OBLIGATION.

obediential obligation (a-bee-dee-en-shal). An obligation imposed on a person because ofa situation or relationship, such as an obligation of parents to care for their children. Also termed implied obligation. Cf. conventional obligation.

obiit (oh-bee-it). [Latin] He died; she died.