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surplus profit See PROFIT (1).

surplus profit Corporations. The excess of revenue over expenditures.• Some jurisdictions prohibit the declaration of a dividend from sources other than surplus profit.

surplus revenue See appropriated retained earnings under EARNINGS.

surplus water See WATER.

surplusage (sar-plas-ij). 1. Redundant words in a statute or legal instrument; language that does not add meaning <the court must give effect to every word, reading nothing as mere surplusage>. 2. Extraneous matter in a pleading <allegations that are irrelevant to the case will be treated as surplusage>. "Surplusage is to be avoided. The perfection of pleading is to combine the requisite certainty and precision with the greatest possible brevity of statement. Surplusage includes matter of any description which is unnecessary to the maintenance of the action or defense. The rule requires the omission of such matter in two instances: (1) Where the matter is wholly foreign and irrelevant to the merits of the case. (2) When, though not wholly foreign, such matter need not be stated." Benjamin J. Shipman, Handbook of Common-Law Pleading § 316, at 514 (Henry Winthrop Ballantine ed., 3d ed. 1923).

surplus-lines insurance See INSURANCE.

surplus-lines insurance Insurance with an insurer that is not licensed to transact business within the state where the risk is located. Also termed excess-lines insurance.

surprise An occurrence for which there is no adequate warning or that affects someone in an unexpected way. In a trial, the procedural rules are designed to limit surprise - or trial by ambush as much as possible. For example, the parties in a civil case are permitted to conduct discovery, to determine the essential facts of the case and the identities of possible witnesses, and to inspect relevant documents. At trial, if a party calls a witness who has not been previously identified, the witnesss testimony may be excluded if it would unfairly surprise and prejudice the other party. And if a party has diligently prepared the case and is nevertheless taken by surprise on a material point at trial, that fact can sometimes be grounds for a new trial or for relief from the judgment under Rules 59 and 60 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

surrebuttal (sar-ri-bat-al). The response to the opposing partys rebuttal in a trial or other proceeding; a rebuttal to a rebuttal <called two extra witnesses in surrebuttal>.

surrebutter (sar-ri-bat-ar). Common-law pleading. The plaintiffs answer of fact to the defendants rebutter.

surrejoinder (sar-ri-joyn-dar). Common-law pleading. The plaintiffs answer to the defendants rejoinder. See REPLICATION. "Where the common-law system of pleading is in force, the pleadings do not terminate with the plaintiffs replication. The defendant may interpose a rejoinder to the replication, and the plaintiff a surrejoinder to the defendants rejoinder. Then follows the rebutter, which in turn may be met by a surrebutter." 61A Am. Jur. 2d Pleading § 193, at 192 (1981).

surrender 1. The act of yielding to anothers power or control. 2. The giving up of a right or claim; RELEASE (1). 3. The return of an estate to the person who has a reversion or remainder, so as to merge the estate into a larger estate. Cf. MERGER (4). "Merger bears a very near resemblance, in circumstances and effect, to a surrender; but the analogy does not hold in all cases, though there is not any case in which merger will take place, unless the right of making and surrender resided in the parties between whom the merger takes place. To a surrender, it is requisite that the tenant of the particular estate should relinquish his estate in favor of the tenant of the next vested estate, in remainder or reversion. But merger is confined to the cases in which the tenant of the estate in reversion or remainder grants that estate to the tenant of the particular estate, or in which the particular tenant grants his estate to him in reversion or remainder. Surrender is the act of the party, and merger is the act of the law." 4 James Kent, Commentaries on American Law *100 (George Comstock ed., 11th ed. 1866). 4. Commercial law. The delivery of an instrument so that the delivery releases the deliverer from all liability. 5. A tenants relin¬quishment of possession before the lease has expired, allowing the landlord to take possession and treat the lease as terminated. - Also termed (in sense surrender of term. - surrender, vb.

surrender by bail A suretys delivery of a prisoner, who had been released on bail, into custody.

surrender by operation of law An act that is an equivalent to an agreement by a tenant to abandon property and the landlord to resume possession, as when the parties perform an act so inconsistent with the landlord-tenant relationship that surrender is presumed, or when a tenant performs some act that would not be valid if the estate continued to exist.

surrender clause Oil & gas. A provision commonly found in oil-and-gas leases authorizing a lessee to release its rights to all or any portion of the leased property at any time and to be relieved of further obligations on the acreage surrendered.

surrender of a criminal An officers delivery of a prisoner to the authorities in the appropriate jurisdiction. See EXTRADITION; RENDITION.

surrender of a preference The yielding of a voidable conveyance, transfer, assignment, or encumbrance by a creditor to the trustee as a condition of allowing the creditors claim.

surrender of charter The dissolution of a corporation by a formal yielding of its charter to the state under which it was created and the subsequent acceptance of that charter by the state. "The surrender of a charter can be made only by some formal, solemn act of the corporation, and will be of no avail until accepted by the government. There must be the same agreement ofthe parties to dissolve that there was to form the compact. It is the acceptance which gives efficacy to the surrender. Consent of the state is sometimes by general statute." 19 Am. Jur. 2d Corporations § at 546 (1986).

surrender of copyhold The transfer by a tenant of a copyhold estate by yielding it to the lord in trust for the transferee according to the terms in the surrender. In normal practice, the tenant went to the steward of the manor and delivered a rod, a glove, or other customary symbol, thereby conveying to the lord (through the steward) all interest and title to the estate, in trust, to be then granted by the lord to the transferee. See COPYHOLD.

surrender of term See SURRENDER (5).

surrender to uses of will A required yielding of a copyhold interest passed by will to the wills uses. The requirement was abolished by St. 55 Geo. 3, ch. 192.

surrender value See cash surrender value UDder VALUE (2).

surrenderee One to whom a surrender is made. See SURRENDER.

surrenderer See SURRENDEROR.

surrenderor One who surrenders; esp., one who yields up a copyhold estate for conveyance. Also spelled surrenderer. See COPYHOLD.

surreply A movants second supplemental response to another partys opposition to a motion. Sometimes written sur-reply.

surreptitious (sar-ap-tish-as), adj. (Of conduct) unauthorized and clandestine; stealthily and usu. fraudulently done <surreptitious interception of electronic communications is prohibited under wiretapping laws>.

surreptitious-entry search warrant See covert-entry search warrant.

surreptitious-entry search warrant See covert-entry search warrant under SEARCH WARRANT.

surreptitious-entry warrant See WARRANT (1).

surrogacy 1. The act of performing some function in the place of someone else. 2. The process of carrying and delivering a child for another person.

surrogacy contract See SURROGATE-PARENTING AGREEMENT.

surrogate (sar-a-git). 1. A substitute; esp., a person appointed to act in the place of another <in his absence, Sams wife acted as a surrogate>. See SURROGACY; surrogate mother under MOTHER. 2. A probate judge <the surrogate held that the will was valid>. See probate judge under JUDGE. 3. One who acts in place of another. surrogate, adj. surrogacy (sar-a-ga-see), surrogateship, n.

surrogate carrier See surrogate mother (1) under MOTHER.

surrogate court See probate court under COURT.

surrogate mother See MOTHER.

surrogate parent 1. See PARENT. 2. See surrogate mother under MOTHER.

surrogate parent 1. A person who carries out the role of a parent by court appointment or the voluntary assumption of parental responsibilities. 2. See surrogate mother (2) under MOTHER. 2. See parent corporation under CORPORATION.

surrogate s court See probate court under COURT.

surrogate-parenting agreement See SURROGATE-PARENTING AGREEMENT.

surrogate-parenting agreement A contract between a woman and typically an infertile couple under which the woman provides her uterus to carry an embryo throughout pregnancy; esp., an agreement between a person (the intentional parent) and a woman (the surrogate mother) providing that the surrogate mother will (1) bear a child for the intentional parent, and (2) relinquish any and all rights to the child. If the surrogate mother is married, her husband must also consent to the terms of the surrogacy contract. The agreement usu. provides that the woman will relinquish to the couple any parental rights she may have upon the birth of the child. Complex issues arise concerning who is the parent of the resulting child: the genetic donor ofegg or sperm, a spouse of either donor, the surrogate, or the person intending to care for the resulting child? American jurisdictions are split on the interpretation and enforceability of these contracts. Also termed surrogacy contract. See surrogate mother under MOTHER; intended child under CHILD; intentional parent under PARENT.

surrogate's court See probate court.

surrounding circumstances The facts underlying an act, injury, or transaction - usu. one at issue in a legal proceeding.

sursise (sar-siz). [Law French]. Neglect; omission.

sursum reddere (sar-sam red-ar-ee), vb. [Law Latin]. In conveyancing, to render up or surrender (property rights, etc.).

sursum redditio (sar-sam ra-dish-ee-oh). [Law Latin]. In conveyancing, a surrender of an estate by mutual agreement.

surtax An additional tax imposed on something being taxed or on the primary tax itself.

surtax See TAX.

surtax exemption 1. An exclusion of an item from a surtax. 2. An item or an amount not subject to a surtax. See surtax under TAX.

surveillance (sar-vay-ants). Close observation or listening ofa person or place in the hope of gathering evidence. surveil (sar-vayl), vb.

survey 1. A general consideration ofsomething; appraisal <a survey of the situation>. 2. The measuring ofa tract ofland and its boundaries and contents; a map indicating the results of such measurements <the lender requires a survey of the property before it will issue a loan>.

survey of a vessel See SURVEY (5).

surveyor (sar-vay-ar), n. One who surveys land and buildings. - surveyorship, n.

surveyor of the port A U.S. customs revenue officer appointed for each principal port ofentry to oversee the inspection and valuation of imports. The office was abolished in 1953.

survival action A lawsuit brought on behalf of a decedents estate for injuries or damages incurred by the decedent immediately before dying. A survival action derives from the claim that a decedent would have had such as for pain and suffering if he or she had survived. In contrast is a claim that the beneficiaries may have in a wrongful-death action, such as for loss of consortium or loss of support from the decedent. Cf. WRONGFUL-DEATH ACTION.

survival clause Wills & estates. A testamentary provision conditioning a bequest on a beneficiarys living for a specified period, often 60 days, after the testators death. If the beneficiary dies within the stated period, the testamentary gift usu. accrues to the residuaryestate. Also termed surVivorship clause. Cf. SIMULTANEOUS-DEATH CLAUSE.

survival statute A law that modifies the common law by allowing certain actions to continue in favor of a personal representative after the death of the party who could have originally brought the action; esp., a law that provides for the estates recovery of damages incurred by the decedent immediately before death. Cf. DEATH STATUTE.

survivance The right of succession (as to an office or to an estate) of a survivor named before the death of the incumbent or the holder.

surviving adj. Remaining alive; living beyond the happening of an event so as to entitle one to a distribution of property or income <surviving spouse>. See SURVIVAL ACTION.

surviving corporation See CORPORATION.

surviving corporation A corporation that acquires the assets and liabilities of another corporation by a merger or takeover.

surviving partner See PARTNER.

surviving partner The partner who, upon the partnership dissolution because of another partner death, serves as a trustee to administer the firm remaining affairs.

surviving spouse A spouse who outlives the other spouse.

surviving spouse See SPOUSE.

survivor 1. One who outlives another. 2. A trustee who administers a trust after the cotrustee has been removed, has refused to act, or has died.

survivor-income benefit plan An agreement between an employer and an employee whereby the employer agrees that if the employee dies before retirement, the employer will pay a specified or determinable amount to the employee's spouse or other designated beneficiary. Typically, a formula is used, so the benefit amount may be a multiple of the employee's salary (e.g., two times the average base pay in the three years preceding death) or based on the length of employment. - Abbr. SIB. Also written survivors-income benefit plan. Also termed death-benefit-only plan (abbr. DBO).

survivor-income benefit plan See EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN.

survivorship 1. The state or condition of being the one person out of two or more who remains alive after the others die. 2. The right of a surviving party having a joint interest with others in an estate to take the whole. See RIGHT OF SURVIVORSHIP.

survivorship annuity See ANNUITY.

survivorship annuity An annuity providing for continued payments to a survivor, usu. a spouse, after the original annuitant dies. Also termed continuing annuity.

survivorship clause See SURVIVAL CLAUSE.

survivorship policy See INSURANCE POLICY.

survivorship policy A joint life policy that is payable after all the insureds have died.

sus. per coll abbr. SUSPENDATUR PER COLLUM.

susceptibility See SUBJECTION (3).

suspect A person believed to have committed a crime or offense.

suspect 1. To consider (something) to be probable. 2. To consider (something) possible. 3. To consider (a person) as having probably committed wrongdoing, but without certain truth.

suspect class A group identified or defined in a suspect classification.

suspect classification Constitutional law. A statutory classification based on race, national origin, or alienage, and thereby subject to strict scrutiny under equal-protection analysis. Examples of laws creating suspect classifications are those permitting only U.S. citizens to receive welfare benefits and setting quotas for the governments hiring of minority contractors. See STRICT SCRUTINY. Cf. FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT.

suspend 1. To interrupt; postpone; defer <the fire alarm suspended the prosecutors opening statement>. 2. To temporarily keep (a person) from performing a function, occupying an office, holding a job, or exercising a right or privilege <the attorneys law license was suspended for violating the Model Rules of Professional Conduct>.

suspend the rules To pass a motion that overrides an agenda or other procedural rule, for a limited time and purpose, so that the deliberative assembly may take some otherwise obstructed action. "When a body wishes to do something that cannot be done without violating its own rules, but yet that is not in conflict with the constitution or with any controlling statutory provision, it suspends the rules that interfere with the proposed action. Suspension differs from amendment because it is limited in scope and in time. The object of the suspension must be specified, and nothing falling outside the stated limits of the motion to suspend the rules can be done under the suspension." National Conference of State Legislatures, Masons Manual of Legislative Procedure § 279, at 211 (2000).

suspendatur per collum (sas-pen-day-tar par kahl-am). [Law French]. Let him be hanged by the neck. This phrase was written by a judge in the margin of the sheriffs calendar, opposite the name of a prisoner who had been sentenced to death. - Abbr. sus. per coll. "And now the usage is, for the judge to sign the calendar, or list of all the prisoners names, with their separate judgments in the margin, which is left with the sheriff. As, for capital felony, it is written opposite to the prisoners name, hanged by the neck; formerly, in the days of Latin and abbreviation, sus. per call. for suspendatur per collum. And this is the only warrant that the sheriff has for so material an act as taking away life of another." 4 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 396 (1769).

suspended sentence See SENTENCE.

suspended sentence A sentence postponed so that the convicted criminal is not required to serve time unless he or she commits another crime or violates some other court-imposed condition. A suspended sentence, in effect, is a form of probation. - Also termed withheld sentence.

suspended trading See TRADING HALT.

suspense The state or condition of being suspended; temporary cessation <a suspense of judgment>.

suspense account A temporary record used in bookkeeping to track receipts and disbursements of an uncertain nature until they are identified and posted in the appropriate ledgers and journals . A suspense account does not appear in a final financial statement. It is a useful tool when, for example, a lump-sum receipt or expenditure must be broken down to match several transactions before posting.

suspense account See ACCOUNT.

suspense reserve See appropriated retained earnings under EARNINGS.

suspension 1. The act of temporarily delaying, interrupting, or terminating something <suspension of business operations> <suspension of a statute>. 2. The state of such delay, interruption, or termination <corporate transfers were not allowed because of the suspension of business>. 3. The temporary deprivation of a persons powers or privileges, esp. of office or profession; esp., a fairly stringent level of lawyer discipline that prohibits the lawyer from practicing law for a specified period, usu. from several months to several years <suspension of the bar license>. Suspension may entail requiring the lawyer to pass a legal-ethics bar examination, or to take one or more ethics courses as continuing legal education, before being readmitted to active practice. 4. The temporary withdrawal from employment, as distinguished from permanent severance <suspension from teaching without pay>. 5. Eccles. law. An ecclesiastical censure that can be temporary or permanent, and partial or complete. See DEPRIVATION. 6. Scots law. The process of staying a judgment pending an appeal to the Supreme Court.

suspension of arms See TRUCE.

suspension of judgment See STAY.

suspension of judgment See STAY.

suspension of trading The temporary cessation of all trading of a particular stock on a stock exchange because of some abnormal market condition.

suspensive appeal See APPEAL.

suspensive appeal An appeal that stays the execution of the underlying judgment. 2. Hist. The charging of someone with a crime; specif., an accusation of a crime, esp. treason or a felony.

suspensive condition See CONDITION (2).

suspensive condition A condition that makes an obligation mandatory only if a specified but uncertain event occurs. Cf. potestative condition.

suspensive veto See suspensory veto under VETO.