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prohibit 1. To forbid by law. 2. To prevent or hinder.

prohibited and reserved trademarks See TRADEMARK.

prohibited degree See DEGREE.

prohibited degree A degree of relationship so dose (as between brother and sister) that marriage between the persons is forbidden by law. Generally, with slight variations from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, the law forbids marriages between all persons lineally related and within the third civil-law degree of relationship. That is, aunt-nephew and uncleniece relations are prohibited. Prohibited degrees are also known as Levitical degrees, since the incest prohibition is pronounced in the Bible in Leviticus 18:6-18. Also termed forbidden degree. 6. A title conferred on a graduate of a school, college, or university, either after the completion of required studies or in honor of special achievements <she began studying for the bar exam the day after receiving her law degree>. Cf. DIPLOMA (3).

prohibited substitution Louisiana law. The designation of a person who is not a trustee to take full ownership of property and deliver it to another designated person at death. The first donee is called the institute, the second the substitute. See INSTITUTE (5); S{;BSTITUTE (2).

prohibited substitution See SUBSTITUTION.

prohibitio de vasto, directa parti (proh-ha-bish-ee-oh dee vas-toh, di-rek-ta pahr-ti). [Latin "prohibition of waste, directed to the party"]. A writ issued during litigation prohibiting a tenant from committing waste.

prohibition 1. A law or order that forbids a certain action. 2. An extraordinary writ issued by an appellate court to prevent a lower court from exceeding its jurisdiction or to prevent a nonjudicial officer or entity from exercising a power. - Also termed (in sense 2) writ ofprohibition; inhibition; (in Scots law) inhibition. Cf. WRIT OF CONSULTATION. "Prohibition is a kind of common-law injunction to prevent an unlawful assumption of jurisdiction .... It is a common law injunction against governmental usurpation, as where one is called coram non judice (before a judge unauthorized to take cognizance of the affair), to answer in a tribunal that has no legal cognizance of the cause. It arrests the proceedings of any tribunal, board, or person exercising judicial functions in a manner or by means not within its jurisdiction or discretion." Benjamin J. Shipman, Handbook of Common-Law Pleading § 341, at 542 (Henry Winthrop Ballantine ed., 3d ed. 1923). 3. (cap.) The period from 1920 to 1933, when the manufacture, transport, and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States was forbidden by the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. The 18th Amendment was repealed by the 21st Amendment.

prohibitive statute A statute that forbids all acts that disturb societys peace or forbids certain acts on other grounds. An example of a noncriminal prohibitive statute is one forbidding the execution of a mentally retarded criminal because a person who lacks mental capacity cannot understand the reason for the punishment.

prohibitive statute See STATUTE.

prohibitory injunction An injunction that forbids or restrains an act. This is the most common type of injunction. Cf. mandatory injunction.

prohibitory injunction See INJUNCTION.

prohibitory interdict See INTERDICT (1).

prohibitory interdict An interdict by which a praetor forbade something to be done.

project financing A method of funding in which the lender looks primarily to the money generated by a single project as security for the loan .o This type of financing is usu. used for large, complex, and expensive single-purpose projects such as power plants, chemical-processing plants, mines, and toll roads. The lender is usu. paid solely or primarily from the money generated by the contracts for the facility's output (sometimes paid by customers directly into an account maintained by the lender), such as the electricity sold by a power plant. The lender usu. requires the facility to be developed and owned by a specialpurpose entity (sometimes called a bankruptcyremote entity), which can be a corporation, limited partnership, or other legal entity, that is permitted to perform no function other than developing, owning, and operating the facility. See SINGLE-PURPOSE PROJECT; SPECIAL-PURPOSE ENTITY; BANKRUPTCYREMOTE ENTITY.

project financing See FINANCING.

projectio (pra-jek-shee-oh). [Latin] Alluvion created by the sea. See ALLUVION.

projector See PROMOTER.

projet (proh-zhay). [French] Int l law. A draft of a proposed measure, treaty, or convention.

proles (proh-Ieez). [Latin] Offspring; esp., the issue of a lawful marriage.

proletariat (proh-la-tair-ee-at). The working class; those without capital who sell their labor to survive.

proletarius (proh-la-tair-ee-as), n. [Latin] Roman law. One of the common people; a member of a lower class who owned little or no property.

prolicide (proh-la-sid). 1. The killing of offspring; esp., the crime of killing a child shortly before or after birth. 2. One who kills a child shortly before or after birth. Cf. INFANTICIDE. - prolicidal, adj.

prolixity (proh-lik-sa-tee). The unnecessary and superfluous stating of facts and legal arguments in pleading or evidence.

prolixity rejection Rejection ofa patent application on the ground that the language is so wordy and tedious that it tends more to hide than to disclose the invention.

prolixity rejection See REJECTION.

prolocutor (proh-lok-ya-tar). 1. Eccles. law. The president or chair of a convocation. 2. Hist. The speaker of the British House of Lords. -This office now belongs to the Lord Chancellor. - Also termed (in sense 2) forspeca.

promatertera (proh-ma-tar-tar-a). [Latin] Roman & civil law. A great-great-aunt; the sister of one s greatgrandmother.

promatertera magna (proh-ma-tar-tar-a mag-na). (Latin] Civil law. A great-great-great-aunt.

promise 1. The manifestation of an intention to act or refrain from acting in a specified manner, conveyed in such a way that another is justified in understanding that a commitment has been made; a person s assurance that the person will or will not do something. A binding promise one that the law will enforce - is the essence of a contract. "By common usage, a promise is an expression leading another person justifiably to expect certain conduct on the part of the promisor. Such an expression is a promise, whether enforceable at law or not. It is indeed an essential element in every contract. Society does not guarantee the fulfillment of all expectations so induced." William R. Anson, Principles of the Law of Contract 6 n.3 (Arthur L. Corbin ed .. 3d Am. ed. 1919). "[Promise] means not only the physical manifestations of assurance by words or conduct, but also the moral duty to make good the assurance by performance, If by reason of other operative facts the promise is recognized as creating a legal duty, the promise is a contract: Samuel Williston, A Treatise on the Law of Contracts § lA, at 4 (Walter H.E. Jaeger ed., 3d ed, 1957). "It is well to make clear two points at the outset .... The first is that I do not believe that all promises are morally binding; accordingly, I use the term promise without prejudging the question whether the promise creates an obligation. The second is that, where a promise does create an obligation, the reason for that may depend upon whether the promise was explicit or implied. There is thUS, in my view, a fundamental distinction between explicit and implied promises, and when I use the word promise Without qualification, I normally mean an explicit promise." P.S. Atiyah, Promises, Morais, and Law 8 (1981).

promise implied in fact A promise existing by inference from the circumstances or actions of the parties. See implied promise.

promise in consideration of marriage A promise for which the actual performance of the marriage is the consideration, as when a man agrees to transfer property to a woman if she will marry him. A promise to marry, however, is not considered a promise in consideration of marriage.

promise in restraint of trade A promise whose performance would limit competition in any business or restrict the promisor in the exercise of a gainful occupation. Such a promise is usu. unenforceable.

promise not to compete See noncompetition covenant under COVENANT (1).

promise of marriage See marriage promise under PROMISE.

promise to marry See marriage promise under PROMISE.

promisee (prom-is-ee). One to whom a promise is made.

promisor (prom-is-or). One who makes a promise; esp., one who undertakes a contractual obligation.

promissor (prom-is-ar). [Latin] Civil law. 1. A promisor; specif., a party who undertakes to do a thing in response to the interrogation of the other party (the stipulator). 2. See REUS PROMITTENDI.

promissory adj, Containing or consisting of a promise <the agreement s promissory terms>.

promissory condition See CONDITION (2).

promissory condition A condition that is also a promise. "The distinction between a condition which is also a promise, and a condition which is not the subject of a promise, is often one of great difficulty and importance, especially where the term is implied and not expressed, and it is unfortunate that legal usage has sanctioned the word 'condition' for two such different concepts. It would at least be desirable if lawyers could be persuaded to refer to conditions which are the subject of a promise as 'promissory conditions', a usage which it is proposed to adopt here." P.S. Atiyah, An Introduction to the Law of Contract 147 (3d ed. 1981).

promissory estoppel The principle that a promise made without consideration may nonetheless be enforced to prevent injustice if the promisor should have reasonably expected the promisee to rely on the promise and if the promisee did actually rely on the promise to his or her detriment. Also termed (inaccurately) equitable estoppel. ''The doctrine of promissory estoppel is equitable in origin and nature and arose to provide a remedy through the enforcement of a gratuitous promise. Promissory is distinct from equitable estoppel in that the representation at issue is promissory rather than a representation of fact. 'Promis· sory estoppel and estoppel by conduct are two entirely distinct theories. The latter does not require a promise.'" Ann Taylor Schwing, California Affirmative Defenses § 34:16, at 35 (2d ed. 1996) (quoting Division of Labor Law Enforcement v. Transpacific Transp. Co., 88 Cal. App. 3d 823,829 (Cal. Ct. App. 1979".

promissory estoppel See ESTOPPEL.

promissory fraud A promise to perform made when the promisor had no intention of performing the promise. - Also termed common-law fraud.

promissory fraud See FRAUD.

promissory note See NOTE (1).

promissory oath An oath that binds the party to observe a specified course of conduct in the future. Both the oath of office and the oath of allegiance are types of promissory oaths.

promissory oath See OATH.

promissory representation A representation about what one will do in the future; esp" a representation made by an insured about what will happen during the time of coverage, stated as a matter of expectation and amounting to an enforceable promise. 2. The act or an instance of standing for or acting on behalf of another, esp, by a lawyer on behalf of a client <Clarence Darrow s representation of John.

promissory representation See REPRESENTATION (I),

promissory restraint An attempt by an otherwise effective conveyance or contract to discourage a later conveyance by imposing contractual liability on anyone who makes a later conveyance.

promissory warranty See WARRANTY (3).

promoter 1. A person who encourages or incites. 2. A founder or organizer of a corporation or business venture; one who takes the entrepreneurial initiative in founding or organizing a business or enterprise. Formerly also termed projector. The complete judicial acceptance of the term promoter is a matter of comparatively recent date. In some of the early cases. persons engaged in the formation of a corporation are spoken of as projectors. Other cases of about the same period, though recognizing the obligations flowing therefrom, do not give any name to the relation in which such persons stand to the contemplated company. The word promoter, while undoubtedly employed in common parlance before that time, does not seem to have been used in any reported decision until after it had been used, and for the purposes of the act defined, in the Joint Stock Companies Act of 1844.. , . [A] person may be said to be a promoter of a corporation if before its organization, he directly or indirectly solicits subscriptions to its stock, or assumes to act in its behalf in the purchase of property, or in the securing of its charter, or otherwise assists in its organization." Manfred W. Ehrich, The Law of Promoters § 1. at 2-3; § 13, at 15 (1916). "A promoter is a person who takes the initiative in developing and organizing a new business venture. A promoter may act either alone or with co•promoters. The term promoter is not one of opprobrium; indeed, the promoter is often an aggressive, imaginative entrepreneur who fulfills the essential economic function of taking an idea and creating a profitable business to capitalize on the idea." Robert W. Hamilton, The Law of Corporations in a Nutshell 64 (3d ed. 1991).

promoting prostitution See PANDERING (1).

prompt To incite, esp. to immediate action.

promulgare (proh-mal-gair-ee), vb. [Latin] Roman law. To promulgate; to make (a law) publicly known after its enactment.

promulgate (pra-mal-gayt or prom-al-gayt), 1. To declare or announce publicly; to proclaim. 2. To put (a law or decree) into fOfce Of effect. 3. (Of an administrative agency) to carry out the formal process of rulemaking by publishing the proposed regulation, inviting public comments, and approving or rejecting the proposal. - promulgation (prom-al-gay-shan or proh-mal-), n.

promulgation (prom-al-gay-shan or proh-mal-). The official publication of a new law or regulation, by which it is put into effect.

promutullm (proh -myoo-choo-am). [Latin "as if lent"] Civil law. A quasicontract in which a person who received money or property in error agrees to return what was received to the person who paid it.

pronepos (proh-nep-ohs). [Latin] Roman & civil law. A great-grandson. PI. pronepotes.

proneptis (proh-nep-tis). [Latin] Roman & civil law. A great-granddaughter. PI. proneptes.

pronotary (proh-noh-ta-ree), n. First notary.

pronounce To announce formally <pronounce judgment>.

pronunciation (pra-nan-see-ay-shan). Archaic. A sentence or decree.

pronurus (proh-na-ras). [Latin] Roman & civil law. The wife of a grandson or great-grandson. PI. pronurus.

proof 1. The establishment O[ refutation of an alleged fact by evidence; the persuasive effect of evidence in the mind of a fact-finder. 2. Evidence that determines the judgment of a court. 3. An attested document that constitutes legal evidence.

proof beyond a reasonable doubt Proof that precludes every reasonable hypothesis except that which it tends to support. See REASONABLE DOUBT. Formerly, this standard required evidence to "establish the truth of the fact to a reasonable and moral certainty" and "proof to a moral certainty as distinguished from an absolute certainty." Moral certainty is no longer a synonym for proof beyond a reasonable doubt. See Victor v. Nebraska, 511 U.S. 1,8, 12, 114 S.Ct. 1239, 1244, 1246 (1994).

proof brief A preliminary appellate brief to be reviewed by the clerk of the court for compliance with applicable rules .o Proof briefs are reqUired by local rules of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. A proof brief in full compliance will be accepted and filed, If not in compliance, it will be returned for corrections to be made, and a deadline will be set for refiling. After all proof briefs have been accepted in a case, a date is set for filing a final brief, which may be modified only to include joint-appendix references, repagination, or updated citations.

proof brief See BRIEF.

proof of acknowledgment An authorized officer s certification - based on a third party s testimony that the signature ofa person (who usu. does not appear before the notary) is genuine and was freely made. Also termed certificate ofproof See ACKNOWLEDGMENT (5).

proof of claim A creditor s written statement that is submitted to show the basis and amount of the creditor s claim. PI. proofs of claim.

proof of debt The establishment by a creditor of a debt in some prescribed manner (as by affidavit) as a first step in recovering the debt from an estate or property; PROOF OF CLAIM.

proof of loss An insured s formal statement of loss required by an insurance company before it will determine whether the policy covers the loss.

proof of service 1. A document filed (as by a sheriff) in court as evidence that process has been successfully served on a party. Also termed return of service; return ofprocess. See SERVICE (1). 2. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE.

proof of will See PROBATE (1).

proof, burden of See BURDEN OF PROOF.

prop. reg abbr. See proposed regulation under REGULATION.

propaganda 1. The systematic dissemination of doctrine, rumor, or selected information to promote or injure a particular doctrine, view, or cause. 2. The ideas or information so disseminated. The word propaganda originated as an abbreviated form of Congregatio de propaganda fide, a committee (of cardinals) for propagating the (Christian) faith.

propatruus (proh-pay-troo-as or -pa-troo-as). [Latin] Roman & civil law. A great-grandfather s brother.

propatruus magnus (proh-pay-troo-as [or -pa-troo-as] mag-nils). [Latin] Roman & civil law. A great-greatgreat-uncle on the father s side.

proper independent advice See INDEPENDENT ADVICE.

proper care See reasonable care under CARE.

proper care See reasonable care.

proper evidence See admissible evidence.

proper evidence See admissible evidence under EVIDENCE.

proper feud A feud based on military service. 2. The interest of the tenant in the land conveyed. 3. The land itself conveyed. - Also termed (in senses 1, 2 & 3) fee; fief; feod; feude; feudum. 4. An enmity or private war existing between families or dans, esp. as a result of a murder. "Where wrong done to an individual is not regarded as an injury to the entire tribe, the wrongdoer is out of the peace only as regards the wronged party and his kin. The situation created by such wrongful deed is feud (Anglo Saxon foehth, Latin (aida). The root meaning of the word is 'hatred.' Feud is legally sanctioned hostility. The recognition of feud by the law is found in the fact that revenge taken in lawful feud is not a breach of the peace. It is not a wrongful deed. It furnishes no basis for any claim for fine or punishment. The man slain in lawful feud is not to be avenged nor has compensation to be paid for his slaying." Munroe Smith, The Development of European Law 29 (1928).

proper feud See FEUD (1).

proper improbation See IMPROBATION.

proper law Conflict of laws. The substantive law that, under the principles ofconflict oflaws, governs a transaction.

proper lookout The duty of a vehicle operator to exercise caution to avoid collisions with pedestrians or other vehicles.

proper means Any method of discovering trade secrets that does not violate property-protection statutes or standards of commercial ethics Proper means include independent invention, reverse engineering, observing the product in public, and studying published literature. RESTATEMENT OF TORTS § 757 cmt. f (1977). "Trade secrets are protected ... in a manner akin to private property, but only when they are disclosed or used through improper means. Trade secrets do not enjoy the absolute monopoly afforded patented processes. for example, and trade secrets will lose their character as private property when the owner divulges them or when they are discovered through proper means .... Thus, it is the employment of improper means to produce the trade secret, rather than mere copy or use, which is the basis of liability" Chicago Lock Co. v. Fanberg, 676 F.2d 400, 404 (9th Cif. 1982).

proper party See PARTY (2).

proper party A party who may be joined in a case for reasons of judicial economy but whose presence is not essential to the proceeding. See permissive joinder under JOINDER.

property extenta manerii (ek-sten-ta ma-neer-ee-i). [Latin "the extent of a manor"] An English statute (4 Edw., St. 1) directing the making of a survey ofa manor and all its appendages.

property 1. The right to possess, use, and enjoy a determinate thing (either a tract of land or a chattel); the right of ownership <the institution of private property is protected from undue governmental interference>. -Also termed bundle of rights. 2. Any external thing over which the rights of possession, use, and enjoyment are exercised <the airport is city property>. "In its widest sense, property includes all a person s legal rights, of whatever description. A man s property is all that is his in law. This usage, however, is obsolete at the present day, though it is common enough in the older books. In a second and narrower sense, property includes not all a person s rights, but only his proprietary as opposed to his personal rights. The former constitute his estate or property, while the latter constitute his status or personal condition. In this sense a man s land, chattels, shares, and the debts due to him are his property; but not his life or liberty or reputation .... In a third application, which is that adopted [here], the term includes not even all proprietary rights, but only those which are both proprietary and in rem. The law of property is the law of proprietary rights in rem, the law of proprietary rights in personam being distinguished from it as the law of obligations. According to this usage a freehold or leasehold estate in land, or a patent or copyright, is property; but a debt or the benefit of a contract is not. ... Finally, in the narrowest use of the term, it includes nothing more than corporeal property that is to say, the right of ownership in a material object, or that object itself." John Salmond, Jurisprudence 423~24 (Glanville L. Williams ed., 10th ed. 1947).

property dividend See asset dividend under DIVIDEND.

property crimes See CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY.

property dividend See asset dividend.

property division See PROPERTY SETTLEMENT (1).