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servitium forinsecum (sar-vish-ee-am fa-rin-si-kam), n. [Law Latin}. A service due the king rather than a lord.

servitium intrinsecum (sar-vish-ee-am in-trin-si-kam), n. [Law Latin]. The ordinary service due from a tenant to the chieflord.

servitium liberum (sar-vish-ee-am lib-ar-am), n. [Law Latin]. The service by a free tenant (not a vassal) to the lord, as by attending the lords court or accompanying the lord into military service. Also termed liberum servitium; servitium liberum armorum.

servitium regale (sar-vish-ee-am ri-gay-lee). [Latin "royal service"}. The right of a lord of a royal manor to settle disputes, make assessments, mint money, and the like.

servitium scuti (sar-vish-ee-am sk[y]oo-ti). [Latin "service of the shield"] Hist. Knight-service.

servitium socae (sar-vish-ee-am soh-see). [Latin "service of the plow"}. Socage.

servitor of bills (sar-vi-tar). A messenger of the marshal of the Kings Bench, sent out to summon people to court. Also termed tip-stave.

servitude 1. An encumbrance consisting in a right to the limited use of a piece of land or other immovable property without the possession of it; a charge or burden on an estate for anothers benefit <the easement by necessity is an equitable servitude>. Servitudes include easements, irrevocable licenses, profits, and real covenants. See EASEMENT; LICENSE; PROFIT (2); covenant running with the land under COVENANT (4). 2. Roman & civil law. 1he right exercised by a dominant tenement over a servient tenement, either adjoining or neighboring. This right was perpetual except for personal servitudes; the land, rather than its owner, enjoyed the right. Although a servitude could not be possessed because it was incorporeal, it could be protected by interdict. Generally, a servitude had to be exercised civiliter, with as little inconvenience as possible. There was never a closed list of what constituted a servitude; for example, Justinian classed personal rights in re aliena as personal servitude.See SERVITUS (2).

servitude appurtenant A servitude that is not merely an encumbrance of one piece of land but is accessory to another piece; the right of using one piece ofland for the benefit of another, such as the right of support for a building. - Also termed real servitude; predial (or praedial) servitude; landed servitude. La. Civ. Code art. 646.

servitude in gross A servitude that is not accessory to any dominant estate for whose benefit it exists but is merely an encumbrance on a given piece of land.

servitude of drip Louisiana law. A servitude appurtenant that binds the servient estates owner to maintain a roof so that rainwater does not drip or drain onto the dominant estate. La. Civ. Code art. 664. Also termed servitude ofdrip and drain.

servitude of drip and drain See servitude of drip under SERVITUDE (2).

servitude of view Louisiana law. The dominant estate owners right to enjoy a view through the servient estate and to prevent its obstruction. La. Civ. Code art. 701.

servitus (sar-vi-tas), n. [Latin fr. servire "to serve") Roman law. 1. Slavery; bondage. 2. A servitude, usu. a servitude appurtenant as opposed to a personal servitude such as usufruct; an easement. See rural servitude and urban servitude under SERVITUDE (2). PI. servitutes.

servitus actus (sar-vi-tas ak-tas). (Latin "the servitude of driving cattle"] Roman law. A type of right-of-way; a rural servitude entitling one to walk, ride, or drive animals over anothers property.

servitus altius non tollendi (sar-vi-tas al-shee-as non ta-len-di). [Latin "the servitude of not building higher"] Roman law. An urban servitude allowing a person to prevent a neighbor from building a taller house.

servitus aquae ducendae (sar-vi-tas ak-wee d[y]oo¬sen-dee). [Latin "the servitude of leading water"] Roman law. A rural servitude allowing one to bring water to property through anothers land, as by a canal. - Also termed aquaeductus.

servitus aquae educendae (sar-vi-tas ak-wee ee-d[y]oo¬sen-dee). [Latin "the servitude of leading off water"] Roman law. An urban servitude entitling a person to discharge water onto anothers land.

servitus aquae hauriendae (sar-vi-tas haw-ree-en-dee). [Latin "the servitude of drawing water"] Roman law. See AQUAEHAUSTUS.

servitus aquaehaustus (sar-vi-tas ak-wee haws-tas). [Latin "the servitude of drawing water"] Roman law. See AQUAEHAUSTUS.

servitus fumi immittendi (sar-vi-tas fyoo-mi im-a¬ten-di). [Latin "the servitude of discharging smoke"] Roman law. An urban servitude allowing a persons chimney smoke to be directed over a neighbors property.

servitus itineris (sar-vi-tas i-tin-ar-is). [Latin "the servitude of way"] See ITER.

servitus jluminis (sar-vi-tas floo-ma-nas). [Latin "the servitude of a stream of rainwater"] Roman law. An urban servitude consisting in the right to divert rainwater as opposed to drip (stillicidium) onto anothers land.

servitus luminum (sa-vi-tas loo-ma-nam). [Latin "the servitude of lights"] Roman law. An urban servitude entitling one to receive light from a neighbors land, as by building windows in a common wall to light a room.

servitus ne luminibus officiatur (sar-vi-tas nee loo-min-a-bas a-fish-ee-ay-ta). [Latin "the servitude not to hinder light"] Roman law. An urban servitude preventing someones light from being obstructed by a neighbors building.

servitus ne prospectui officiatur (sar-vi-tas nee pra¬spek-too-I a-fish-ee-ay-tar). [Latin "the servitude not to intercept ones prospect"] Roman law. An urban servitude entitling someone to an unobstructed view.

servitus oneris ferendi (sa-vi-tas on-a-ris fa-ren-di). [Latin "the servitude of bearing weight"] Roman law. The urban servitude allowing a persons building to rest on a neighbors building, wall, or pillar. See ONERIS FERENDI; JUS ONERIS FERENDI.

servitus pascendi (sar-vi-tas pa-sen-di). [Latin "the servitude of pasturing"] Roman law. A rural servitude allowing one to pasture cattle on anothers land. Also termed jus pascendi.

servitus pecoris ad aquam adpulsum (sar-vi-ta pek-a-ris ad ak-wam ad-pal-sam). [Latin "the servitude to drive cattle to water"] Roman law. A rural servitude allowing one to drive cattle to water across anothers land.

servitus praedii rustici (sar-vi-tas pree-dee-i ras-ti-si). [Latin "the servitude of a country estate"] Roman law. A rural servitude; a servitude attached to land, as in servitus pecoris ad aquam adpulsus. Cf. rural servitude under SERVITUDE (2).

servitus praedii urbani (sar-vi-tas pree-dee-i ar-bay-ni). [Latin "the servitude of an urban estate"] Roman law. An urban servitude; a servitude attached to a building, as in servitus oneris ferendi. See urban servitude under SERVITUDE (2).

servitus praediorum (sar-vi-tas pree-dee-or-am). [Latin "praedial servitude"] Roman law. A burden on one estate for the benefit of another. See servitude appurtenant under SERVITUDE (2).

servitus projiciendi (sar-vi-tas pra-jish-ee-en-di). [Latin "the servitude of projecting"] Roman law. An urban servitude allowing a projection from ones building into the open space over a neighbors property.

servitus stillicidii (sar-vi-tas stil-a-sid-ee-i). [Latin "the servitude of drip"] Roman law. An urban servitude allowing water to drip from ones house onto a neighbors house or ground. Cf. AQUAE IMMITTENDAE; DRIP RIGHTS.

servitus tigni immittendi (sar-vi-tas tig-ar im-a¬ten-di). [Latin "the servitude ofletting in a beam"] Roman law. An urban servitude allowing one to insert beams into a neighbors wall.

servitus viae (sar-vi-tas vi-ee). [Latin "the servitude of road way"] Roman law. A rural servitude allowing a right-of-way over anothers land. See VIA (2).

servus (sar-vas), n. [Latin] 1. Roman law. A slave; a human being who was property, and could be bought, sold, pledged, and testated.• A Roman slave who was formally freed became a Roman citizen. Cf. INGENUUS; LATINI JUNIANI; LIBERTINII. 2. Hist. A bondman; a servant.

sess See CESS.

sessio (sesh-ee-oh), n. [Latin "a sitting"]. A session; a sitting, as in sessio parliamenti ("the sitting of Parliament").

session 1. Parliamentary law. A meeting or series of related meetings throughout which a court, legislature, or other deliberative assembly conducts business in a continuing sequence <the courts spring session>. Also termed (for a court) sitting. See TERM (5). "Parliament have three modes of separation, to wit, by adjournment, by prorogation, or dissolution by the king, or by the efflux of the term for which they were elected. Prorogation or dissolution constitutes there what is called a session, provided some act has passed. In this case all matters depending before them are discontinued, and at their next meeting are to be taken up de novo, if taken up at all. Adjournment, which is by themselves, is no more than a continuance of the session from one day to another, or for a fortnight, a month, &c. ad libitum. All matters depending remain in statu quo, and when they meet again, be the term ever so distant, are resumed without any fresh commencement. at the point at which they were left. Their whole session is considered in law but as one day, and has relation to the first day thereof." Thomas Jefferson, A Manual of Parliamentary Practice 127-28 (1801) (citations omitted).

session laws 1. A body of statutes enacted by a legislature during a particular annual or biennial session. 2. The softbound booklets containing these statutes. Also termed acts.

sessions See COURT OF GENERAL QUARTER SESSIONS OF THE PEACE.

set aside (Of a court) to annul or vacate (a judgment, order, etc.) <the judge refused to set aside the default judgment>.

set down To schedule (a case) for trial or hearing, usu. by making a docket entry.

set forth See SET OUT.

set of exchange A Single bill of lading drawn in a set of parts, each of which is valid only if the goods have not been delivered against any other part. Bills may be drawn in duplicate or triplicate, the first part being "first of exchange: the second part being "second of exchange," and so on. When one part has been paid, the other parts become void.

set out To recite, explain, narrate, or incorporate (facts or circumstances) <set out the terms of the contract>. Also termed set forth.

set over To transfer or convey (property) <to set over the land to the purchaser>.

set up vb. To raise (a defense) <the defendant set up the insanity defense on the murder charge>.

set-aside Something (such as a percentage of funds) that is reserved or put aside for a specific purpose.

setback The minimum amount of space required between a lot line and a building line <a 12-foot setback>. Typically contained in zoning ordinances or deed restrictions, setbacks are designed to ensure that enough light and ventilation reach the property and to keep buildings from being erected too close to property lines. See BUSINESS LINE.

setback requirement See BUILDING LINE.

seti (set-ee). Mining law. A lease.

setoff 1. A defendants counterdemand against the plaintiff, arising out of a transaction independent of the plaintiffs claim. 2. A debtors right to reduce the amount of a debt by any sum the creditor owes the debtor; the counterbalancing sum owed by the creditor. Also written set-off. Also termed (in civil law) compensation; stoppage. See COUNTERCLAIM; OFFSET. Cf. RECOUPMENT (3). 3. The balancing of mutual liabilities with respect to a pledge relationship. - set off, vb. "Set-off signifies the subtraction or taking away of one demand from another opposite or cross demand, so as to distinguish the smaller demand and reduce the greater by the amount of the less; or. if the opposite demands are equal, to extinguish both. It was also. formerly. sometimes called stoppage, because the amount to be set-off was stopped or deducted from the cross demand." Thomas W. Waterman, A Treatise on the Law of Set. Off. Recoupment, and Counter Claim § 1, at 1 (2d ed. 1872). "Before considering the counter•claim, a brief reference to the set- off as known in former practice is necessary. By the common law, the setting off of one demand against another in the same action was unknown. If A had a cause of action in debt against B, and B had another cause of action in debt in equal amount against A. each must bring his action. One could not be set off against the other. This was changed by statute in England in 1729, by a provision which. somewhat enlarged and modified. has been generally adopted in this country." Edwin E. Bryant, The LawofP!eading Under the Codes ofCivil Procedure 250-51 (2d ed_ 1899). "Set-off is defined to be a counter-demand, generally of a liquidated debt growing out ofan independent transaction for which an action might be maintained by the defendant against the plaintiff." Eugene A. Jones. Manual of Equity Pleading and Practice 65 n.42 (1916).

setting The date and time established by a court for a trial or hearing <the plaintiff sought a continuance of the imminent setting>.

settle up To collect, pay, and turn over debts and property (e.g., of a decedent, bankrupt, or insolvent business).

settled estate See ESTATE (1).

settled estate An estate created or limited under a settlement; an estate in which the powers of alienation, devising, and transmission according to the ordinary rules of descent are restrained by the settlement's terms.

settled insanity See DELIRIUM TREMENS.

settled land Any land - or any interest in it that is the subject of any document that limited it to, or put it into trust for, a person by way of succession.

settled land See LAND.

settlement 1. The conveyance of property or of interests in property - to provide for one or more beneficiaries, usu. members of the settlors family, in a way that differs from what the beneficiaries would receive as heirs under the statutes of descent and distribution <in marriage settlements, historically, the wife waived her right to claim dower or to succeed to her husbands property>.

settlement agent An agent who represents the purchaser or buyer in the negotiation and closing of a real-property transaction by handling financial calculations and transfers of documents. Also termed closing agent. See also settlement attorney under ATTORNEY.

settlement agent 1. See AGENT (2). 2. See settlement attorney under ATTORNEY.

settlement agreement See SETTLEMENT (2).

settlement attorney An attorney who specializes in negotiating resolutions for disputes, such as pending lawsuits, or in finalizing negotiated transactions, such as real-property sales. Sometimes also termed (in real-property sales) settlement agent.

settlement attorney See ATTORNEY.

settlement class Numerous similarly situated people for whom a claimant's representative and an adversary propose a contract specifying the payment terms for the class members' claims in exchange for the release of all claims against the adversary. During the 1980$ and 1990s, mass-tort defendants began using settlement classes as a means of foreclosing claims by some unknown number of existing and future claimants. See, e.g., Amchem Prods. Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 117 S.Ct. 2231 (1997).

settlement class See CLASS (4).

settlement counsel See CIRCUIT MEDIATOR.

settlement counsel See CIRCUIT MEDIATOR.

settlement credit Civil procedure. A courts reduction of the amount of a jury verdict -or the effect of the verdict on non settling defendants to account for settlement funds the plaintiff has received from former defendants or from other responsible parties.

settlement date 1. The date on which an investor must pay the broker for securities purchased. 2. The date on which a seller must deliver negotiable certificates for securities sold. 3. The date on which a real-estate purchaser pays for and takes title to the real estate. Cf. CLOSING.

settlement date See DATE.

settlement option See OPTION.

settlement option A life-insurance-policy clause providing choices in the method of paying benefits to a beneficiary, as by lump-sum payment or periodic installments.

settlement right A government-issued certificate granting land to a settler.

settlement sheet See CLOSING STATEMENT (2).

settlement statement See CLOSING STATEMENT (2).

settlement value See VALUE (2).

settlement-first method A means by which to apply a settlement credit to a jury verdict, by first redUcing the amount of the verdict by subtracting the amount of all settlements the plaintiff has received on the claim, then reducing the remainder by the percentage of the plaintiffs comparative fault. See SETTLEMENT CREDIT. Cf. FAULT-FIRST METHOD.

settler 1. A person who occupies property with the intent to establish a residence. The term is usu. applied to an early resident of a country or region. 2. SETTLOR.

settlor (set- ar). 1. A person who makes a settlement of property; esp., one who sets up a trust. Also termed creator; donor; trustor; grantor;founder. 2. A party to an instrument. - Also spelled (in both senses) settler.

Seventeenth Amendment The constitutional amendment, ratified in 1913, transferring the power to elect U.S. senators from the state legislatures to the states voters.

Seventh Amendment The constitutional amendment, ratified with the Bill of Rights in 1791, guaranteeing the right to a jury trial in federal civil cases that are traditionally considered to be suits at common law and that have an amount in controversy exceeding $20.

seven-years-absence rule The principle that a person who has been missing without explanation for at least seven years is legally presumed dead. Cf. ENOCH ARDEN LAW. "[I]n the United States, it is quite generally held or provided by statute that a presumption of death arises from the continued and unexplained absence of a person from his home or place of residence without any intelligence from or concerning him for the period of 7 years. The presumption has been regarded as a procedural expedient and a rule of evidence." 22A Am. Jur. 2d Death § 551, at 527 (1988).

severability See BLUE-PENCIL TEST.

severability clause A provision that keeps the remaining provisions of a contract or statute in force if any portion of that contract or statute is judicially declared void, unenforceable, or unconstitutional. Also termed saving clause; separability clause. See severable contract under severable statute under STATUTE.

severable contract A contract that includes two or more promises each of which can be enforced separately, so that failure to perform one of the promises does not necessarily put the promisor in breach of the entire contract. - Also termed divisible contract; several contract. See SEVERABILITY CLAUSE. Cf. joint contract. "A severable contract ... is one the consideration of which is, by its terms, susceptible of apportionment on either side, so as to correspond to the unascertained consideration on the other side, as a contract to pay a person the worth ofhis services so long as he will do certain work: or to give a certain price for every bushel of so much corn as corresponds to a sample." Ivan Horniman, Wharton's Law Lexicon 215 (13th ed. 1925).

severable contract See CONTRACT.

severable statute See STATUTE.

severable statute A law that remains operative in its remaining provisions even if a portion of the law is declared unconstitutional.

several 1. (Of a person, place, or thing) more than one or two but not a lot <several witnesses>. 2. (Of liability, etc.) separate; particular; distinct, but not necessarily independent <a several obligation>. 3. (Of things, etc.) different; various <several settlement options>.

several contract See severable contract under CONTRACT.

several action See separate action.

several action See separate action under ACTION (4).

several count One of two or more counts in a pleading, each ofwhich states a different cause of action.

several count See COUNT.

several covenant A covenant that binds two or more covenantors separately. Also termed separate covenant. Cf. joint covenant.

several covenant See COVENANT (1).