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annexation 1. The act of attaching; the state of being attached. 2. Property. The point at which a fixture becomes a part of the realty to which it is attached. 3. A formal act by which a nation, state, or municipality incorporates land within its dominion. In international law, the usual formalities of announcing annexation involve having specially commissioned officers hoist the national flag and read a proclamation. 4. The annexed land itself. Cf. ACCESSION (5). annex, vb.

anniversary date Insurance. The annually recurring date of the initial issuance of a policy. Cf. POLICY YEAR.

anno ante christum (an-oh an-tee kris-tam), adv. [Latin]. In the year before Christ. Abbr. A.A.C.

Anno Domini (an-oh dom-a-ni or -nee). [Latin "in the year of the Lord"]. Since the supposed year in which Jesus Christ was born; ofthe current era <A.D. 1776>.Abbr. A.D. Also termed in the year of Our Lord. Cf C.E.

Anno Regni (an-oh reg-ni). [Latin). In the year of the reign. A.R.V.R. 22, for example, is an abbreviated reference to Anno Regni Victoriae Reginae vicesimo secundo ("in the twenty-second year of the reign of Queen Victoria"). Abbr. A.R.

annonae civiles (a-noh-nee sa-vi-leez), n. [Latin]. Hist. Yearly rents issuing out of particular lands and payable to certain monasteries.

annotatio (an-oh-tay-shee-oh). [Latin]. RESCRIPT (3).

annotation (an-a-tay-shan), n. 1. A brief summary of the facts and decision in a case, esp. one involving statutory interpretation. 2. A note that explains or criticizes a source of law, usu. a case. Annotations appear, for example, in the United States Code Annotated (USCA). 3. A volume containing such explanatory or critical notes. 4. RESCRIPT (3). Cf. NOTE (2). annotate (an-a-tayt), vb. annotative (an-a-tay-tiv), adj. annotator (an-a-tay-tar), n. "One of the most important classes of Search Books is those included in the category of Annotations. They are important and valuable. in that they often purport to give. in very condensed form. some indication of the law, deduced from the cases or statutes. as well as to point out where similar cases can be found: William M. Lile et aI., Brief Making and the Use of Law Books 84 (3d ed. 1914).

announce To make publicly known; to proclaim formally <the judge announced her decision in open court>.

annoyance See NUISANCE (1).

annua pensione See DE ANNUA PENSIONE.

annual account See intermediate account.

annual- account See intermediate account under ACCOUNT.

annual crops See CROPS.

annual crops- 1. Crops that must be planted each year, such as cotton, wheat, barley, corn, carrots, potatoes, and melons. 2. Crops for which the produce in any single year is mainly the result of attention and care exerted in the same agricultural year, such as hops and sugar cane.

annual depreciation See DEPRECIATION.

annual depreciation- The yearly decrease in a property's value due to regular wear and tear.

annual exclusion See EXCLUSION (1).

annual exclusion- The amount allowed as nontaxable gift income during the calendar year. The purpose of the annual exclusion is both to serve as an estate-planning mechanism (so that gifts made during the donor's lifetime remain nontestamentary and nontaxable) and to eliminate the administrative inconvenience of taxing relatively small gifts. In 2009, for an individual, the first $13,000 in gifts can be excluded; for married persons, the exclusion is $26,000 per couple for joint gifts, regardless of which spouse supplied the donated property. IRC (26 USCA) § 2503. - Also termed annual gift-tax exclusion. 2. Evidence. A trial judge's determination that an item offered as evidence may not be presented to the trier of fact (esp. the jury). 3. Insurance. An insurance-policy provision that excepts certain events or conditions from coverage. - exclude, vb. - exclusionary, adj.

annual gift-tax exclusion See annual exclusion under EXCI.USION.

annual meeting See MEETING.

annual message See MESSAGE.

annual percentage rate See INTEREST RATE.

annual percentage rate The actual cost of borrowing money, expressed in the form of an annualized interest rate. - Abbr. APR.

annual permit A permit, required by some states, that must be paid each year by a corporation that does business in the state. In some states, the permit fee is set according to the corporation's capitalization.

annual report A yearly corporate financial report for shareholders and other interested parties. The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires registered corporations to file an annual report on the SEC's Form 10-K. An annual report includes a balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in financial position, reconciliationof changes in owners' equity accounts, a summary of significant accounting principles, other explanatory notes, the auditor's report, and comments from management about prospects for the coming year. Also termed annual statement; financial report.

annual value See VALUE (2).

annuitant (a-n[y]oo-a-tant), n. A beneficiary of an annuity.

annuity (a-n[y]oo-a-tee). 1. An obligation to pay a stated sum, usu. monthly or annually, to a stated recipient. These payments terminate upon the death of the designated beneficiary. 2. A fixed sum of money payable periodically. 3. A right, often acquired under a life-insurance contract, to receive fixed payments periodically for a specified duration. Cf. PENSION. 4. Patents. See MAINTENANCE FEE. 5. A savings account with an insurance company or investment company, usu. established for retirement income. Payments into the account accumulate taxfree, and the account is taxed only when the annuitant with draws money in retirement.

annuity bond See BOND (3).

annuity bond- A bond that lacks a maturity date and that perpetually pays interest. Also termed consol; perpetual bond; continued bond; irredeemable bond.

annuity certain An annuity payable over a specified period, regardless ofwhether the annuitant dies before the period ends. Also termed term annuity.

annuity depreciation method A depreciation method that allows for a return of imputed interest on the undepreciated balance of an asset's value. The imputed interest is subtracted from the current depreciation amount before it is credited to the accumulated depreciation accounts.

annuity depredation method See DEPRECIATION METHOD.

annuity due An annuity that makes payments at the beginning of each pay period. Cf. ordinary annuity.

annuity insurance See INSURANCE.

annuity insurance An agreement to pay the insured (or annuitant) for a stated period or for life.

annuity policy An insurance policy providing for monthly or periodic payments to the insured to begin at a fixed date and continue through the insured's life.

annuity trust See TRUST.

annuity, certain See ANNUITY.

annulment (a-nal-mant), n. 1. The act of nullifying or making void; VOIDANCE. 2. A judicial or ecclesiastical declaration that a marriage is void. An annulment establishes that the marital status never existed. So annulment and dissolution of marriage (or divorce) are fundamentally different: an annulment renders a marriage void from the beginning, while dissolution of marriage terminates the marriage as of the date of the judgment of dissolution. Although a marriage terminated by annulment is considered never to have occurred, under modern ecclesiastical law and in most states today a child born during the marriage is not considered illegitimate after the annulment. Cf. DIVORCE. 3. A rescission. See RESCIND (3). ~- annul (a-nal), vb.

annulment of adoption See ABROGATION OF ADOPTION.

annulment of judgment A retroactive obliteration of a judicial decision, having the effect of restoring the parties to their pretrial positions. Types ofannulment include reversal and vacation. See REVERSE; VACATE (1).

annum luctus (an-am lak-tas), n. [Latin "year of mourning"]. Roman law. The year following the death of a married man during which his widow could not remarry, because of the confusion that would ensue in determining the parentage ofa child born a few months after a second marriage within that year. Also sometimes termed year in mourning.

annus (an-as). [Latin] A year.

annus continuus (an-as kan-tin-yoo-as). [Latin "a continuous year"]. Roman law. A straight 365-day period, with out interruption. Cf. ANNUS UTILIS.

annus et dies (an-as et di-eez). [Law Latin]. A year and a day. See YEAR-AND-A-DAY RULE.

annus utitis (an-as-yoo-ta-lis). [Latin "a year that can be used"]. Roman law. A 365-day period during which legal rights could be exercised, not including days when the courts were closed or when a person could not otherwise pursue those rights; a year made up of the available days for conducting legal business. Cf. ANNUS CONTINUUS.

annus, dies, et vastum (an-as, di-eez, et vas-tam). [Law Latin]. See YEAR, DAY, AND WASTE.

annuus reditus (an-as red-a-tas). [Law Latin]. A yearly rent.

anomalous indorsement See irregular indorsement under INDORSEMENT

anomalous indorsement- See irregular indorsement. blank indorsement. An indorsement that names no specific payee, thus making the instrument payable to the bearer and negotiable by delivery only. UCC § 3-205(b). Also termed indorsement in blank; general indorsement.

anomalous jurisdiction See JURISDICTION.

anomalous jurisdiction 1. Jurisdiction that is not granted to a court by statute, but that is inherent in the courts authority to govern lawyers and other officers of the court, such as the power to issue a preindictment order suppressing illegally seized property. 2. An appellate courts provisional jurisdiction to review the denial of a motion to intervene in a lower-court case, so that if the court finds that the denial was correct, then its jurisdiction disappears and it must dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction because an order denying a motion to intervene is not a final, appealable order. See ANOMALOUS-JURISDICTION RULE.

anomalous plea An equitable plea in which a party states new facts and negates some of the opponent s stated facts. Partly confession and avoidance and partly traverse, the plea is appropriate when the plaintiff, in the bill, has anticipated the plea, and the defendant then traverses the anticipatory matters. Also termed plea not pure. Cf. pure plea.

anomalous plea See PLEA (2).

anomalous pleading See PLEADING (1).

anomalous pleading A pleading that is partly affirmative and partly negative in its allegations.

anomalous rule See ANOMALOUS-JURISDICTION RULE.

anomalous-jurisdiction rule (a-nom-a-Ias). The principle that a court of appeals has provisional jurisdiction to review the denial of a motion to intervene in a case, and if the court of appeals finds that the denial was correct, then its jurisdiction disappears - and it must dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction because an order denying a motion to intervene is not a final, appealable order.This rule has been criticized by courts and commentators. Many appellate courts, upon finding that the trial court properly denied a motion to intervene, will affirm the denial instead of dismissing the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Sometimes shortened to anomalous rule.

anonymous Not named or identified <the police arrested the defendant after a tip from an anonymous informant>. anonymity (an-a-nim-a-tee), n.

anonymous work See WORK (2).

anouymous case A reported case in which the word "anonymous" is substituted for at least one party's name to conceal the party's identity. See, e.g., Anonymous v. Anonymous, 735 N.Y.S.2d 26 (App. Div. 2001).

anoysance (a-noy-zants), n. [Law French]. Hist. An annoyance or nuisance. See NUISANCE.

ansl abbr. AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDS INSTITUTE.

answer (bef. 12c) 1. A defendant's first pleading that addresses the merits of the case, usu. by denying the plaintiffs allegations. An answer usu. sets forth the defendant's defenses and counterclaims.

answer- 1. To respond to a question, a pleading, or a discovery request <the company failed to answer the interrogatories within 30 days>. 2. To assume the liability of another <a guarantor answers for another person's debt>. 3. To pay (a debt or other liability) <she promised to answer damages out of her own estate>.

answer date See answer day under DAY.

answer date- See answer day under DAY.

answer day See DAY.

answer day- Civil procedure. The last day for a defendant to file and serve a responsive pleading in a lawsuit. Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a defendant generally must serve an answer (1) within 20 days after being served with the summons and complaint, or (2) if a defendant timely waives service at the plaintiff's request, within 60 days after the request for waiver was sent. Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(d), 12(a). Also termed answer date; appearance date; appearance day.

answer in subsidium In equity pleading, an answer supporting a plea.

antapocha (ant-ap-a-ka). [Latin "counter-receipt"]. Roman & civil law. A counterpart to a receipt (i.e., an apocha), Signed by the debtor and delivered to the creditor as proof of payment. Cf. APOCHA.

ante (an-tee), prep. [Latin] Before. Cf. POST.

ante exhibitionem billae (an-tee ek-si-bish-ee-oh-nam bil-ee). Before the exhibition of the bill; i.e., before a suit has begun.

ante factum A thing done before; a previous act or fact. Also spelled ante-factum.

ante litem [Latin]. Before litigation.

ante litem motam (an-tee li-tam moh-tam). [Law Latin "before the lawsuit was started"]. Hist. Before an action has been raised; before a legal dispute arose i.e., at a time when the declarant had no motive to lie . This phrase was generally used in reference to the evidentiary requirement that the acts upon which an action is based occur before the action is brought. In Scotland, the phrase also referred to the obligation of an estate intromitter to become confirmed as executor of the estate before a creditor could sue the estate. Otherwise, the intromitter could be held personally liable for the decedent's debts. Sometimes shortened to ante litem.

ante meridiem (an-tee ma-rid-ee-am). [Latin]. Before noon. - Abbr. a.m.; A.M.

ante mortem [Latin]. Before death.

ante mortem interest (an-tee mor-tam). [Latin]. An interest existing before (but not after) a transferor's death.

ante mortem statement See dying declaration under DECLARATION (6).

ante omnia (an-tee ahm-nee-a). [Latin]. Hist. 1. Before anything else is done; first of all. Objections that could bar the litigation were usu. discussed ante omnia. 2. Above all other things.

ante redditas rationes (an-tee red-a-tas ray-shee-oh nis or rash-). [Law Latin]. Scots law. Before accounts are rendered. A tutor could not file an action against a minor to recover payments unless the tutor first provided an accounting of the ward's estate.

antea (an-tee-a), adv. [Latin]. Formerly; heretofore.

antecedence (quality or fact of going before), n.

antecedent (an-ta-see-dant), adj. Earlier; preexisting; previous. antecedent (preceding thing), n.

antecedent basis Patents. A general word or phrase in a patent claim or description to which a later specific word or phrase must refer. Claims will be rejected as impermissibly vague or indefinite if the latter word is not clearly connected to its antecedent, because the wording becomes ambiguous. In general, a term is first introduced with an indefinite article and is later referred to with the definite article (or said).

antecedent claim A preexisting claim. Under the UCC, a holder takes an instrument for value if it is taken for an antecedent claim. UCC § 3-303.

antecedent debt See DEBT.

antecedent debt- 1. Contracts. An old debt that may serve as consideration for a new promise if the statute of limitations has run on the old debt. See PREEXISTING-DUTY RULE. 2. Bankruptcy. A debtor's prepetition obligation that existed before a debtor's transfer of an interest in property. For a transfer to be preferential, it must be for or on account of an antecedent debt. See PREFERENTIAL TRANSFER.

antecessor (an-ta-ses-ar or an-ta-ses-ar), n. [Latin]. Roman law. A professor oflaw. 2. Hist. An ancestor. 3. Hist. A predecessor to an office.

antedate (an-ti-dayt), vb. 1. To affix with a date earlier than the true date; BACKDATE (1) <antedate a check>. 2. To precede in time <the doctrine antedates the Smith case by many years>. Also termed predate. Cf. POSTDATE. - antedate, n.

antedating of a prior-art reference Patents. The removal of a publication, a U.S. patent, or a foreign patent cited as prior art against the application by filing an affidavit or declaration establishing the applicant's completion of the invention in this country, or in another NAFTA or WTO member country, before the effective date of the cited reference. The term applies only to U.S. patent applications. An issued patent may also antedate a prior-art reference ifthe conception predates the prior art and the inventor used due diligence in reducing the concept to practice. Also termed antedating a reference; swearing behind a prior art reference; carrying back the date of invention.

antenatus (an-tee-nay-tas). [Law Latin]. A person born before a certain political event that affected the person's political rights; esp., a person born before the signing of the Declaration ofIndependence. Cf. POSTNATUS. Pl. antenati.

antenuptial (an-ti-nap-shal), adj. See PRENUPTIAL.

antenuptial agreement See PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT.

antenuptial- agreement See PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT.

antenuptial contract See PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT.

antenuptial gift See prenuptial gift under GIFT.