Law Dictionary
	Search:

body of laws See BODY (2).

body politic A group of people regarded in a politi-cal (rather than private) sense and organized under a common governmental authority.

body-snatching The unlawful removal of a corpse, esp. from a grave. - body-snatcher, n.

bogus (boh-gas), Not genuine; counterfeit; SPURIOUS (1). Cf. GENUINE.

bogus check See bad check under CHECK.

bogus check, See bad check.

bogus will See WILL.

boilerplate 1. Ready-made or all-purpose language that will fit in a variety of documents .Originally, the term may have denoted a steel plate affixed to a boiler. But the modern sense comes from copy and artwork etched on metal plates (or molds made from a master plate) and distributed to newspapers and printers. The copy could not be edited. 2. Fixed or standardized contractual language that the proposing party often views as relatively nonnegotiable. boilerplate, adj.

boiler-room transaction A high-pressure telephone sales pitch, often of a fraudulent nature. Cf. PHISHING; TELESCAM.

Bolger test The judicial test for determining whether a statement is commercial speech, by examining (1) whether it is an advertisement; (2) whether it refers to a specific product or service; and (3) whether the speaker has an economic motivation for making the statement. Bolger v. Youngs Drug Prods. Corp., 463 U.S. 60,66-67, 103 S.Ct. 2875, 2879-80 (1983) .o An affirma-tive answer to all three questions is "strong support" that the speech is commercial, but it is not dispositive; rather, the decision should be based on common sense.

bolster To enhance (unimpeached evidence) with additional evidence .This practice is often considered improper when lawyers seek to enhance the credibility of their own witnesses.

bolts Student-argued cases in the Inns of Court. These practice cases were held privately, in contrast to the more formal and public moots. Also termed boltings.

bombardment An attack from land, sea, or air with weapons that are capable of destroying enemy targets at a distance with bombs, missiles, or projectiles.

bona (boh-na),[Latin "goods"] Chattels; personal property. Cf. BIENS.

bona fide judgment creditor See JUDGMENT CREDITOR.

bona activa (boh-na ak-ta-va). [Latin "active goods"] 1. Assets. See ASSET (1). 2. The claims that a person has against others. Cf. BONA PASSIVA.

bona adventitia (boh-na ad-ven-tish-ee-a). [Latin] 1. Roman law. Goods acquired by free persons in some way other than through their paterfamilias, or by slaves in a way other than through their owner. 2. Civil law. Goods acquired fortuitously, but not by inheritance. - Also spelled bona adventicia. Also termed adventitia bona.

bona castrensia et quasi castrensia (boh-na ka-stren-shee-a- et kway-sI [or kway-zI] ka-stren-shee-a). [Latin "goods acquired for military or quaSi-military (i.e., public) service"] Roman law. The property that a son could dispose of, by testament or otherwise, without his paterfamilias's consent. See PATERFAMILIAS.

bona confiscata (boh-na kon-fi-skay-ta). Goods confiscated by or forfeited to the Crown.

bona confiscata- See BONA.

bona et catalla (boh-na et ka-tal-a). [Law Latin] Goods and chattels.

bona felonum (boh-na fa-loh-nam). Personal property belonging to a convicted felon.

bona felonum- See BONA.

bona fide (boh-na fId or boh-na fI-dee), [Latin "in good faith"] 1. Made in good faith; without fraud or deceit. 2. Sincere; genuine. See GOOD FAITH. bona fide, adv.

bona fide contract See CONTRACT.

bona fide contract- (boh-na f id or fI-dee). A contract in which equity may intervene to correct inequalities and to adjust matters according to the parties' intentions.

bona fide empto (boh-na fld-ee emp-tar). [Latin] Good-faith purchaser. See bona fide purchaser under PUR-CHASER (1).

bona fide holder for value See HOLDER FOR VALUE.

bona fide intent to use A specific, good-faith intention to use a mark in the ordinary course of trade in interstate commerce and not merely to reserve it for later use, as determined by objective drcumstan-tial evidence. A federal registration obtained under Lanham Act § l(b) requires a bona fide intent to use the mark. If the required intent is later determined to be lacking, the registration may be invalidated.

bona fide judgment creditor One who recovers a judgment without engaging in fraud or collusion.

bona fide occupational qualification An employ-ment qualification that, although it may discriminate against a protected class (such as sex, religion, or national origin), relates to an essential job duty and is considered reasonably necessary to the operation of the particular business. - Such a qualification is not illegal under federal employment-discrimination laws. -Abbr. BFOQ. "The bona fide occupational qualification is a complete defense. It is invoked when the defendant makes a distinc-tion expressly forbidden by Title VII, such as the refusal to hire women or women with preschool·age children, the reassignment of pregnant employees, or the exclusion of particular ethnic groups from particular jobs .The employer's motivation for excluding the protected class is not significant in evaluating the BFOQ defense. The inquiry focuses on the necessity of using an expressly for bidden classification. The fact that the employer adopted the exclusion for invidious reasons, rather than for the business consideration on which the defense is based, is not material. Thus, if the exclusion, in fact, is proved to be necessary it may be used, even if invidiously motivated." Mack A. Player, Employment Discrimination Law § 5.29, at 282-83 (1988).

bona fide operation A real, ongoing business.

bona fide perceptio et consumptio (boh-na fI-dee par-sep-shee-oh et kan-sump-shee-oh). [Latin] Hist. Gathering and consuming in good faith.The phrase appeared in reference to the rights of a bona fide pos-sessor to keep fruit that the possessor gathers in good faith and consumes in good faith.

bona fide possession See POSSESSION.

bona fide possession Possession of property by a person who in good faith does not know that the property s ownership is disputed.

bona fide purchaser One who buys something for value without notice of another s claim to the property and without actual or constructive notice of any defects in or infirmities, claims, or equities against the seller s title; one who has in good faith paid valuahle consideration for property without notice of prior adverse claims. Generally, a bona fide purchaser for value is not affected by the transferor s fraud against a third party and has a superior right to the transferred property as against the transferor s creditor to the extent of the consideration that the purchaser has paid. - Abbr. BFP. Also termed bona jide purchaser for value; good-faith purchaser; purchaser in good faith; innocent purchaser; innocent urchaser for value.

bona fide purchaser See PURCHASER (1).

bona fide purchaser for value See bona fide purchaser under PURCHASER (1).

bona fide sale A sale made by a seller in good faith, for valuable consideration, and without notice of a defect in title or any other reason not to hold the sale.

bona fide sale See SALE.

bona fides (boh-na-fl-deez), [Latin] 1.GOOD FAITH. 2. Roman law. The standard of conduct expected of a reasonable person, esp. in making contracts and similar actions; acting without fraudulent intent or malice.

bona fiscalia (boh-na- fis-kay-lee-a), Public property.

bona forisfacta (boh-na for-is-fak-ta). Forfeited goods.

bona forisfacta- See BONA.

bona fugitivorum (boh-na fyoo-ja-ti-vor-am). Goods belonging to a fugitive. Also termed bona utlagatorum.

bona fugitivorum- See BONA.

bona gratia (boh-na gray-shee-a). [Latin] Roman law. In goodwill; in a friendly way. The phrase typically referred to a divorce by mutual consent.

bona gratia matrimonium dissolvitur (boh-na-gray-shee-a-ma-tra-moh-nee-am di-sol-va-tar). [Law Latin "the marriage is dissolved in a friendly way"] Rist. A consensual divorce.

bona immobilia (boh-na i-moh-bil-ee-a). Immovable property.

bona immobilia- See BONA.

bona memoria (boh-na-ma-mor-ee-a). [Latin] Good memory. Bona memoria, as used in the phrase sanae mentis et bonae memoria (of sound mind and good memory), refers to a testator's mental capacity. See MIND AND MEMORY.

bona mobilia (boh-na moh-bil-ee-a). [Latin] Movable property. See MOVABLE.

bona mobilia- See BONA.

bona notabilia (boh-na noh-ta-bil-ee-a). Notable goods; property worth accounting for in a decedent's estate.

bona notabilia, See BONA.

bona paraphernalia (boh-na par-a-far-nay-Iee-a). Clothes, jewelry, and ornaments not included in a married woman's dowry.

bona paraphernalia- See BONA.

bona passiva (boh-na-pa-si-va). Roman law. Liabilities. Cf. BONA ACTIVA.

bona peritura (boh-na per-a-t[y]uur-a). Perishable goods; goods that an executor or trustee must dili-gently convert into money.

bona peritura- See BONA.

bona utlagatorum (boh-na at-Iay-ga-tor-am). See bona fugitivorum.

bona utlagatorum- See bona fugitivorum under BONA.

bona vacantia (boh-na- va-kan-shee-a). [Latin "vacant goods"] 1. Property not disposed of by a decedent's will and to which no relative is entitled under intes-tacy laws. See ESCHEAT. 2. Ownerless property; goods without an owner. Bona vacantia often resulted when a deceased person died without an heir willing and able to make a claim.The property either belonged to the finder or escheated to the Crown. Sometimes shortened to vacantia. Also termed vacantia bona.

bona vacantia, See BONA.

bona waviata (boh-na way-vee-ay-ta). Stolen goods thrown away in flight by a thief . The goods escheated to the Crown as a penalty to the owner for failing to pursue the thief and recover the goods.

bona waviata- See BONA.

bonae fidei (boh-nee fl-dee-I). [Latin] Of good faith; in good faith.

bonae fidei possessor (boh-nee fI -dee-I pa-zes-ar). A good-faith possessor of property owned by another.Unless the owner sued to recover the property, the possessor became the rightful owner after a specified time elapsed, unless the property had been stolen or taken by force. See USCAPIO.

bond 1. An obligation; a promise. "[A]n obligation, or in English a 'bond,' is a document written and sealed containing a confession of a debt; in later ti'mes 'contract' is the genus, 'obligation' the species." 2 Frederick Pollock & Frederic W. Maitland, The History of English Law 207 (2d ed. 1899). 2. A written promise to pay money or do some act if certain circumstances occur or a certain time elapses; a promise that is defeasible upon a condition subse-quent; esp., an instrument under seal by which (1) a public officer undertakes to pay a sum of money if he or she does not faithfully discharge the responsibilities of office, or (2) a surety undertakes that if the public officer does not do so, the surety will be liable in a penal sum. ''The fact that an instrument is called a 'bond' is not con· clusive as to its character. It is necessary to disregard nomenclature and look to the substance of the bond itself. The distinguishing feature of a bond is that it is an obliga' tion to pay a fixed sum of money, at a definite time, with a stated interest, and it makes no difference whether a bond is designated by that name or by some other, if it possesses the characteristics of a bond. There is no distinc' tion between bonds and certificates of indebtedness which conform to all the characteristics of bonds." 1 Silvester E. Quindry, Bonds & Bondholders Rights & Remedies § 2, at 3-4 (1934).

bond- 1. To secure payment by providing a bond <at the creditor's insistence, Gabriel consolidated and bonded his various loans>. 2. To provide a bond for (a person) <the company bonded its off-site workers>.

bond and mortgage A bond that is backed by a mortgage on realty. Also termed mortgage bond. Cf' DEBENTURE (3).

bond and mortgage- See BOND.

bond conversion The exchange of a convertible bond for another asset, usu. stock.

bond coupon The part of a coupon bond that is clipped by the holder and surrendered to obtain an interest payment. See coupon bond under BOND (3).

bond covenant A bond-indenture provision that protects bondholders by specifying what the issuer mayor may not do, as by prohibiting the issuer from issuing more debt. See BOND INDENTURE (1).

bond creditor See CREDITOR.

bond creditor- A creditor whose debt is secured by a bond.

bond discount See DISCOUNT (3).

bond dividend See DIVIDEND.

bond dividend- A dividend in which a shareholder receives a bond instead of scrip, property, or money.

bond for a deed See bond for land under BOND (2).

bond for deed 1. See CONVEYANCE (6). 2. See BOND FOR TITLE.

bond for land A bond given by the seller of land to a buyer, binding the seller to convey once the buyer tenders the agreed price. Also termed bond for a deed. Cf. BINDER (1).

bond for land- See BOND (2).

bond for title The seller's retention of legal title until the buyer pays the purchase price. Also termed bond for deed. Cf. contract for deed under CONTRACT.

bond fund See MUTUAL FUND.

bond indenture 1. A contract between a bond issuer and a bondholder outlining a bond's face value, interest rate, maturity date, and other features. 2. A mortgage held on specified corporate property to secure payment of the bond.

bond issue See Issue (2).

bond of corroboration An additional obligation undertaken to corroborate the debtor's original obligation.

bond of corroboration-0 See BOND (2).

bond premium See PREMIUM (3).

bond rating A system of evaluating and appraising the investment value of a bond issue.

bond retirement The cancellation of a bond that has been called or paid.

bond table A schedule used in determining a bond's current value by its coupon rate, its time to maturity, and its effective yield if held to maturity.

bond to keep the peace See peace bond.

bond trust See TRUST.

bondable Capable of obtaining a bond to protect another person; of or relating to a person whose record is sufficiently clear of criminal convictions or other evidence of questionable character that a bonding agency would be willing to guarantee the person's conduct. See BOND (2).

bonded (Of a person or entity) acting under, or placed under, a bond <a bonded court official>.

bonded debt See DEBT.

bonded debt- A debt secured by a bond; a business or government debt represented by issued bonds.