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overlapping jurisdiction

See concurrent jurisdiction under JURISDICTION.

overlapping jurisdiction

See concurrent jurisdiction.

overplus

See SURPLUS.

overreaching

1. The act or an instance of taking unfair commercial advantage of another, esp. by fraudulent means. 2. The act or an instance of defeating one s own purpose by going too far. overreach, vb.

overridden veto

See VETO.

override

(oh-var-rId), vb. To prevail over; to nullify or set aside <Congress mustered enough votes to override the President s veto>.

override

(oh-var-rId), 1. A commission paid to a manager on a sale made by a subordinate. 2. A commission paid to a real-estate broker who listed a property when, within a reasonable amount of time after the expiration of the listing, the owner sells that property directly to a buyer with whom the broker had negotiated during the term of the listing.

overriding royalty

A share of either production or revenue from production (free of the costs of production) carved out of a lessees interest under an oil-and-gas lease. Overriding-royalty interests are often used to compensate those who have helped structure a drilling venture. An overriding-royalty interest ends when the underlying lease terminates.

overriding royalty

See ROYALTY (2).

overrule

1. To rule against; to reject <the judge overruled all of the defendant s objections>. 2. (Of a court) to overturn or set aside (a precedent) by expressly deciding that it should no longer be controlling law <in Brown v. Board ofEducation, the Supreme Court overruled Plessy v. Ferguson>. Cf. VACATE (1). "If a decision is not a recent one, and especially if it seems to be very poor, it should not be relied upon without ascer• taining whether it may not have been expressly or impliedly overruled by some subsequent one; that is, whether the court may not have laid down a contrary principle in a later case. Frank Hall Childs, Where and How to Find the Law 94 (1922). "Overruling is an act of superior jurisdiction. A precedent overruled is definitely and formally deprived of all authority. It becomes null and void, like a repealed statute, and a new principle is authoritatively substituted for the old. John Salmond, Jurisprudence 189 (Glanville L. Williams ed., 10th ed. 1947).

overseas bill of lading

See BILL OF LADING.

overseas bill of lading

A bill oflading used for overseas shipment by water or air. UCC § 2-323 . In air freight, an overseas bill of lading is called an air waybill. Often shortened to overseas bill.

Overseas Private Investment Corporation

A federally chartered corporation that promotes private investment in developing countries by making or guaran teeing loans; supporting private funds that invest in foreign nations; insuring investments against political risks; and engaging in outreach activities. It was established as an independent agency by the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998. The agency is self-sustaining. Abbr.OPIC.

oversman

See UMPIRE.

oversubscription

A situation in which there are more subscribers to a new issue of securities than there are securities available for purchase.

overt

Open and observable; not concealed or secret <the conspirators overt acts>.

overt act

1. An act that indicates an intent to kill or seriously harm another person and thus gives that person a justification to use self-defense. [2. An outward act, however innocent in itself, done in furtherance of a conspiracy, treason, or criminal attempt.• An overt act is usu. a required element of these crimes. 3. See ACTUS REUS. - Also termed positive act.

over-the-counter

1. Not listed or traded on an organized securities exchange; traded between brokers and dealers who negotiate directly <over-the-counter stocks>. 2. (Of drugs) sold legally without a doctor s prescription <over-the-counter cough medicine>. Abbr. OTC.

over-the-counter market

The market for securities that are not traded on an organized exchange. Over-the counter (OTC) trading usu. occurs through telephone or computer negotiations between buyers and sellers. Many of the more actively traded OTC stocks are listed on NASDAQ. Abbr. OTC market.

overtime

1. The hours worked by an employee in excess of a standard day or week. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers must pay extra wages (usu. 1- times the regular hourly rate) to certain employees (usu. nonsalaried ones) for each hour worked in excess of 40 hours per week. 2. The extra wages paid for excess hours worked.

overtry

(Of a trial lawyer) to try a lawsuit by expending excessive time, effort, and other resources to explore minutiae, esp. to present more evidence than the fact-trier can assimilate, the result often being that the adversary gains arguing points by disputing the minutiae.

overturn

To overrule or reverse <the court overturned a long-established precedent>.

OWCP

abbr. OFFICE OF WORKERS COMPENSATION PROGRAMS.

owelty

(oh-dl-tee). 1. Equality as achieved by a compensatory sum of money given after an exchange of parcels of land having different values or after an unequal partition of real property. 2. The sum of money so paid.

owing

That is yet to be paid; owed; due <a balance of $5,000 is still owing>.

OWl

abbr. Operating while intoxicated. See DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE.

owling

The smuggling of wool or sheep out of England. The term usu. refers to nighttime smuggling.

own

vb. (bef. 12c) To rightfully have or possess as property; to have legal title to.

owned-property exclusion

A provision in a comprehensive general-liability insurance policy allowing only third parties who are injured on or by the insured's property to make liability claims against the insurer. The provision ordinarily excludes coverage for (1) property owned, rented, occupied, sold, given away, or abandoned by the insured, (2) personal property in the care, custody, or control of the insured, and (3) property located where the insured and its employees work.

owned-property exclusion

See EXCLUSION (3).

owner

(bef. 12c) One who has the right to possess, use, and convey something; a person in whom one or more interests are vested An owner may have complete property in the thing or may have parted with some interests in it (as by granting an easement or making a lease). See OWNERSHIP.

owner of record

See record owner.

owner pro hac vice

(proh hahk vee-chay). See bareboat charter under CHARTER (8).

owner s policy

Real estate. A title-insurance policy covering the owner s title as well as the mortgagee s interest. Cf. MORTGAGEE POLICY.

owners association

1. The basic governing entity for a condominium or planned unit developments. It is usu. an unincorporated association or a nonprofit corporation. Also termed homeowners association. 2. See homeowners association under ASSOCIATION.

owners' association

1. See homeowners' association. 2. See OWNERS' ASSOCIATION.

owners equity

The aggregate of the owners financial interests in the assets of a business entity; the capital contributed by the owners plus any retained earnings. Owners equity is calculated as the difference in value between a business entity assets and its liabilities. Also termed owner s equity; book value; net book value; (in a corporation) shareholders equity; stockholders equity. Owner s equity is the residual claim of the owners of the business on its assets after recognition of the liabilities of the business. Owner s equity represents the amounts contributed by the owners to the business, plus the accumulated income of the business since its formation, less any amounts that have been distributed to the owners. Charles H. Meyer, Accounting and Finance for Lawyers in a Nutshell 4 (1995).

ownership

The bundle of rights allowing one to use, manage, and enjoy property, including the right to convey it to others. Ownership implies the right to possess a thing, regardless of any actual or constructive control. Ownership rights are general, permanent, and heritable. Cf. POSSESSION; TITLE (1). "Ownership does not always mean absolute dominion. The more an owner, for his advantage, opens up his property for use by the public in general, the more do his rights become circumscribed by the statutory and constitutional powers of those who use it. Marsh v. Alabama, 326 u.s. 501,506,66 S.Ct. 276, 278 (1946) (Black,].). "Possession is the de facto exercise of a claim; ownership is the de jure recognition of one. A thing is owned by me when my claim to it is maintained by the will of the state as expressed in the law; it is possessed by me, when my claim to it is maintained by my own self assertive will. Ownership is the guarantee of the law; possession is the guarantee of the facts. It is well to have both forms if possible; and indeed they normally co exist. John Salmond, jurispru dence 311 (Glanville L Williams ed., 10th ed. 1947).

ownership in common

Ownership shared by two or more persons whose interests are divisible. Typically their interests, at death, pass to the dead owner s heirs or successors.

ownership-in-place theory

Oil & gas. A characterization ofoil-and-gas rights used in a majority of jurisdictions, holding that the owner has the right to present possession of the oil and gas in place as well as the right to use the land surface to search, develop, and produce from the property, but that the interest in the minerals terminates if the oil and gas flows out from under the owner s land. This theory is used in Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Mississippi, and other major producing states. The rights of a severed-mineral-interest owner to oil and gas in these states are often described as an estate in fee simple absolute, but ownership of specific oil-and-gas molecules is subject to the rule of capture. See also NONOWNERSHIP THEORY.

own-product exclusion

A provision in some commercial general liability policies, excluding coverage for property damage to a product that is manufactured, sold, handled, distributed, or disposed of by the insured.

own-product exclusion

See EXCLUSION (3).

own-work exclusion

A provision in some commercial general liability policies, excluding coverage for damage to the work or services performed by the insured.

own-work exclusion

See EXCLUSION (3).

oxfild

(oks-fild). A restitution made by a county or hundred for a wrong done by someone within that region.

oxgang

(oks-gang). An amount ofland equal to what an ox plows in one year, usu. 12 to 15 acres. An oxgang, equaling one-eighth of a carucate, was used to assess land for tax purposes. - Also termed oxgate; bovata terrae. Cf. CARUCATE.

oyer

(oy-ar or oh-yar). [fr. Old French orr "to hear"]. 1. A criminal trial held under a commission of oyer and terminer. See COMMISSION OF OYER AND TERMINER. 2. The reading in open court of a document (esp. a deed) that is demanded by one party and read by the other. 3. Common-law pleading. A prayer to the court by a party opposing a profert, asking to have the instrument on which the opponent relies read aloud. Oyer can be demanded only when a profert has been properly made, but it is disallowed for a private writing under seal. A party having a right to demand oyer is yet not obliged, in all cases, to exercise that right; nor is he obliged, in all cases, after demanding it, to notice it in the pleading he afterwards files or delivers. Sometimes, however, he is obliged to do both, namely, where he has occasion to found his answer upon any matter contained in the deed of which profert is made, and not set forth by his adversary. In these cases the only admissible method of making such matter appear to the court is to demand oyer, and, from the copy given, set forth the whole deed verbatim in his pleading. Benjamin J. Shipman, Handbook of Common•Law Pleading § 289, at 483 (Henry Winthrop Ballantine ed., 3d ed.1923).

oyer and terminer

(oy-ar an[d] tar-ma-nar). [Law French oyer et terminer "to hear and determine"]. 1. See COMMISSION OF OYER AND TERMINER. 2. COURT OF OYER AND TERMINER (2).

oyer, demand of

See DEMAND OF OYER.

oyez

(oh-yes or oh-yez or oh-yay). [Law French]. Hear yeo. The utterance oyez, oyez, oyez is usu. used in court by the public crier to call the courtroom to order when a session begins or when a proclamation is about to be made.

P

abbr. PACIFIC REPORTER.

P & L

abbr. Profit and loss. See INCOME STATEMENT.

p. pro

abbr. PER PROCURATIONEM.

p. proc

abbr. PER PROCURATIONEM.

P.A

abbr. See professional association under ASSOCIATION.

P.C

1. See professional corporation under CORPORATION. 2. POLITICAL CORRECTNESS. 3. PRIVY COUNCILLOR.

P.D

abbr. 1. PUBLIC DEFENDER. 2. Police department.

p.fat

abbr. PRAEFATUS.

p.h.v

abbr. PRO HAC VICE.

P.I.

abbr. 1. See personal injury under INJURY. 2. Private investigator.

P.J

See presiding judge under JUDGE.

P.L.

abbr. PUBC LAW.

p.m

abbr. POST MERIDIEM.

P.O

abbr. 1. Post office. 2. PURCHASE ORDER.

P.O.D

abbr. Pay on delivery.

p.p

abbr. 1. PER PROCURATIONEM. 2. PROPRIA PERSONA.

p.s

abbr. (usu. cap.) 1. Public statute. See PUBLIC LAW (2). 2. Postscript.

paage

(pay-ij). See PEDAGE.

PAC

(pak). abbr. POLITICAL-ACTION COMMITTEE.

pacare

(pa-kair-ee), vb. [Law Latin]. To pay.

PACER

abbr. PUBLIC ACCESS TO COURT ELECTRONIC RECORDS.

pacific blockade

A blockade that is estab-lished without a declaration of war.

pacific blockade

See BLOCKADE.

Pacific Reporter

A set of regionallawbooks, part of the West Group s National Reporter System, containing every officially published appellate decision from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, from 1883 to date. The first series ran from 1883 to 1931; the second series ran until 2000; the third series is the current one. - Abbr. P.; P.2d; P.3d.

pacification

(pas-a-fi-kay-shan), The act of making peace between two belligerent nations. pacify (pas-a-fi), vb.

pacifism

(pas-a-fiz-am). The advocacy of peaceful methods rather than war as a means of solving disputes.

pacifist

(pas-a-fist). A person who is opposed to war; a person who believes in pacifism. Also termed pacificist. Cf. CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR.

pack

To choose or arrange (a tribunal, jurors, etc.) to accomplish a desired result <pack a jury>.

package mortgage

See MORTGAGE.

package policy

See INSURANCE POLICY.

package policy

An insurance policy providing protection against multiple perils and losses of both the insured and third parties. A homeowners policy is usu. a package policy.

packing

A gerrymandering technique in which a dominant political or racial group minimizes minority representation by concentrating the minority into as few districts as possible. Cf. CRACKING; STACKDIG (2).

packing a jury

See JURY-PACKING.

Pac-Man defense

(pak-man). An aggressive antitakeover defense by which the target company attempts to take over the bidder company by making a cash tender offer for the bidder company s shares. The name derives from a video game popular in the 1980s, the object of which was to gobble up the enemy. This defense is seldom used today. Cf. CROWN-JEWEL DEFENSE; SCORCHED-EARTH DEFENSE.

pact

An agreement between two or more parties; esp., an agreement (such as a treaty) between two or more nations or governmental entities. "Popular understanding notwithstanding, there is no legal difference between various kinds of international instru¬ ments because of the name they are given. In other words, treaties, pacts, protocols, conventions, covenants, and declarations are all terms to convey international agreements. Some of these terms may connote more or less solemnity or formality, but it does not matter for purposes of characterizing an accord as an international agreement, binding under international law. Davidj. Bederman, International Law Frameworks 25 (2001).

pact de non alienando

(pakt dee non ay-Iee-a-nan-doh). [Latin] Civil law. An agreement not to alienate encum bered (esp. mortgaged) property. This stipulation will not void a sale to a third party, but it does allow the mortgagee to proceed directly against the mortgaged property without notice to the purchaser.

Pact of Paris

See KELLOGG-BRIAND PACT.

pacta sunt servanda

(pak-ta sant sar-van-da). [Latin agreements must be kept"] The rule that agreements and stipulations, esp. those contained in treaties, must be observed <the Quebec courts

pactio

(pak-shee-oh). [Latin] Civil law. 1. The negotiating process that results in a pactum. 2. The pactum arrived at; an agreement. PI. pactiones.

paction

(pak-shan). 1. PACTIO. 2. An agreement between two nations to be performed by a Single act.

pactionai

Relating to or generating an agreement. pactionally, adv.

pactum

(pak-tam), [Latin] Roman & civil law. An agreement or convention, usu. falling short of a contract; a pact. Also termed pactum conventum. PLpacta.

pactum constitutae pecuniae

(pak-tam kon-sta-t[y] oo-tee pi-kyoo-nee-ee). [Latin agreement for a fixed sum of money"] See pactum de consituto.

pactum corvinum de hereditate viventis

(pak-tam kor-vi-nam dee ha-red-i-tay-tee vi-ven-tis). [Latin a raven-like contract on the inheritance of the living"] An agreement concerning the succession of one still liVing. - Also termed pactum de successione viventis; pactum super hereditate viventis. It is supposed that the Romans called this a corvine agree• ment (pactum coyvinum) on account of the eager rapacity of ravens, which prompts them to attack and commence to devour animals weakened and dying before death has actually taken place. John Trayner, Trayner s Latin Maxims 429 (4th ed. 1894).

pactum de successione viventis

(pak-tam dee sak-ses[h)-ee-oh-nee vi-ven-tis). [Latin] See pactum corvinum de hereditate viventis.

pactum de constituto

(pak-tam dee kon-sti-t[y]oo-toh). [Latin an agreement"] An informal agreement to pay an existing debt, one s own or another s, at a fixed time. The agreement was enforceable by a praetor. Justinian extended the pactum de canstituto from money to debts of any kind. The pactum could also be used to give security; it differs from fidejussion mainly in its informality. Also termed pactum constitutae pecuniae. See CONSTITGTUM. Cf. FIDEJUSSION.

pactum de non petend

(pak-tam dee non pa-ten-doh). [Latin agreement not to sue") An agreement in which a creditor promises not to enforce the debt.

pactum de quota litis

(pak-tam dee kwoh-ta-li-tis). [Latin "agreement about a portion of the amount in issue"] An agreement in which a creditor promises to pay a portion of a difficult-to-collect debt to a person attempting to collect it; an agreement to share the proceeds of a litigation.

pactum de retrovendendo

(pak-tam dee re-troh-venden-doh). [Latin] An agreement concerning the selling back of an object. This agreement gave the seller the right to repurchase the item sold within a certain period and at a fixed price.

pactum displicentiae

(pak-tam dis-pli-sen-shee-I). Roman law. A sale on approval. The buyer had the property on trial and could reject it.

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