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chantry (chan-tree), 1. A benefice endowed for the saying of Mass by chantry priests for the soul of the founder or his deSignees .o This practice was abolished in England by the Chantry Acts of 1545 and 1547. 2. A chapel or part of a church so endowed. Also spelled chauntry.

chapiter (chap-a-tar). [Law French], A list of matters drawn up by the king to be presented before the justices in eyre, justices of assise, or justices of the peace. Also spelled chapitre. Cf. ARTICLES OF THE EYRE.

Chapter 11 1.The chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code allowing an insolvent business, or one that is threatened with insolvency, to reorganize its capital structure under court supervision (and subject to creditor approval) while continuing its normal operations. Although the Code permits individual non business debtors to use Chapter 11, the vast majority of Chapter 11 cases involve business debtors. 2. A business reorganization conducted under this chapter; REORGANIZATION (1).

Chapter 12 1. The chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code prOViding for a court-approved debtpayment relief plan for family farmers with a regular income, allowing the farmer's net income to be collected by a trustee and paid to creditors. 2. A bankruptcy case filed under this chapter. Also termed (in sense 2) family-farmer bankruptcy; farmer bankruptcy.

Chapter 13 1. The chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code allowing a person's earnings to be collected by a trustee and paid to creditors by means of a court-approved debt-repayment plan if the person has a regular income .o A plan filed under Chapter 13 is sometimes called a wage-earner's plan, a wage-earner plan, or an income-based plan. Chapter 13 allows the debtor to propose a plan of rehabilitation to extend or reduce the balance of any obligations and to receive a discharge from unsecured debts upon completion of the payments under the plan. A plan made in good faith will be confirmed ifthe creditors receive what they would have received under Chapter 7, and if the plan pledges all of the debtor's disposable income for three years. 2. A bankruptcy case filed under this chapter.

Chapter 20 A debtor who files a Chapter 7 petition and receives a discharge, and then immediately files a Chapter 13 petition to deal with remaining nondischargeable or secured debts.

Chapter 22 A debtor, usu. a corporation, that fi1es a second Chapter 11 petition shortly after a previous Chapter 11 petition has failed, because the debtor has become insolvent again or is again threatened with insolvency.

Chapter 7 1. The chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code allowing a trustee to collect and liquidate a debtor's nonexempt property, either voluntarily or court order, to satisfy creditors.2. A bankruptcy case filed under this chapter. An individual debtor who undergoes this type ofliquidation usu. gets a fresh financial start by receiving a discharge of all debts. Also termed (in sense 2) straight bankruptcy; liquidation bankruptcy. "A Chapter 7 case has five stages: (1) getting the debtor into bankruptcy court; (2) collecting the debtor's property; (3) selling this property; (4) distributing the proceeds of the sale to creditors; and (5) determining whether the debtor is discharged from further liability to these creditors." David G. Epstein et al., Bankruptcy § 1-7, at 9 (1993).

Chapter 9 1. The chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code governing the adjustment of a municipality's debts. 2. A bankruptcy case filed under this chapter.

chapter surfing A debtor's movement from a filing under one United States Bankruptcy Code chapter to a filing under another.

character evidence See EVIDENCE.

character evidence- Evidence regarding someone's general personality traits or propensities, of a praiseworthy or blameworthy nature; evidence of a person's moral standing in a community. Fed. R. Evid. 404, 405, 608. Character evidence is usu., but not always, prohibited if offered to show that the person acted in conformity with that character. Cf. reputation evidence.

character loan See LOAN.

character witness See WITNESS.

characterization 1. Conflict of laws. The classification, qualification, and interpretation oflaws that apply to the case. Also termed qualification; classification; interpretation. "In a conflict·of.laws situation, a court must determine at the outset whether the problem presented to it for solution relates to torts, contracts, property. or some other field, or to a matter of substance or procedure. in order to refer to the appropriate law. In other words, the court must ini· tially, whether consciously or not, go through the process of determining the nature of the problem; other wise, the court will not know which choice·of·law rule to apply to the case. This process is generally called 'characterization,' and sometimes 'classification; 'qualification,' or 'interpretation.'" 16 Am. Jur, 2d Conflict of Laws § 3, at 12 (1998). 2. Family law. The process of classifying property accumulated by spouses as either separate or marital property (or community property).

character-reformation condition See conditional bequest under BEQUEST.

charge 1. A formal accusation of an offense as a preliminary step to prosecution <a murder charge>. Also termed criminal charge. 2. An instruction or command <a mother's charge to her son>. 3. JURY CHARGE <review the charge for appealable error>. 4. An aSSigned duty or task; a responsibility <the manager's charge to open and close the office>. 5. An encumbrance, lien, or claim <a charge on property>. 6. A person or thing entrusted to another's care <a charge of the estate>. 7. Price, cost, or expense <free of charge>.

charge- 1. To accuse (a person) of an offense <the police charged him with murder>. 2. To instruct or command <the dean charged the students to act ethically>. 3. To instruct a jury on matters onaw <the judge charged the jury on self-defense>. 4. To impose a lien or claim; to encumber <charge the land with a tax lien>. 5. To entrust with responsibilities or duties <charge the guardian with the ward's care>. 6. To demand a fee; to bill <the clerk charged a small filing fee>.

charge account See CHARGE ACCOUNT.

charge account- A credit arrangement by which a customer purchases goods and services and pays for them periodically or within a specified time. See CREDIT (4).

charge and discharge Equity practice. Court-ordered account filings by a plaintiff and a defendant . The plaintiff's account (charge) and the defendant's response (discharge) were filed with a master in chancery.

charge and specification A written description of an alleged offense.

charge bargain See PLEA BARGAIN.

charge bargain A plea bargain in which a prosecutor agrees to drop some of the counts or reduce the charge to a less serious offense in exchange for a plea ofeither guilty or no contest from the defendant.

charge conference A meeting between a trial judge and the parties' attorneys to develop a jury charge. Also termed prayer conference.

charge d'affaires (shahr-zhay da-fair). [French "one in charge of affairs"] A diplomat who is the second in command in a diplomatic mission (hence, subordinate to an ambassador or minister). Also spelled charge des affaires. Pl. charges d'affaires.

charge off To treat (an account receivable) as a loss or expense because payment is unlikely; to treat as a bad debt. See bad debt under DEBT.

charge sheet 1. A police record showing the name of each person brought into custody, the nature of the accusations, and the identity of the accusers. 2. Military law. A four-part charging instrument containing (1) information about the accused and the witnesses, (2) the charges and specifications, (3) the preferring of charges and their referral to a summary, special, or general court-martial for trial, and (4) for a summary court-martial, the trial record.

chargeable (Of an act). capable or liable of being charged as a criminal offense <taking that money for personal use would be chargeable>.

charge-back A bank's deducting of sums it had provisionally credited to a customer's account, occurring usu. when a check deposited in the account has been dishonored. UCC § 4-214.

charged with notice Imputed with knowledge or awareness that is legally binding <the defendant was charged with notice of the defect yet failed to act before the plaintiff was injured it>. Also termed put on notice.

chargee (chahr-jee]. 1. The holder of a charge on property or of a security on a loan. 2. One charged with a crime.

charging instrument A formal document usu. either an indictment or an information that sets forth an accusation of a crime. Also termed accusatory instrument.

charging lien See LIEN.

charging order A statutory procedure whereby an individual partner's creditor can satisfy its claim from the partner's interest in the partnership.

charitable 1. Dedicated to a general public purpose, usu. for the benefit of needy people who cannot pay for benefits received <charitable contribution>. 2. Involved in or otherwise relating to charity <charitable foundation>.

charitable bequest A bequest given to a philan-thropic organization. See CHARITABLE ORGANIZA-TION.

charitable bequest- See BEQUEST.

charitable contribution A gratuitous transfer of property to a charitable social-welfare, religious, scientific, educational, or other qualified organization . Such a contribution has tax value because it may result in a current income tax deduction, may reduce federal estate taxes, and can be made free of any gift taxes.

charitable corporation See CORPORATION.

charitable corporation- A nonprofit corporation that is dedicated to benevolent purposes and thus entitled to special tax status under the Internal Revenue Code. Also termed eleemosynary corporation. See CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION.

charitable deduction See DEDUCTION.

charitable deduction- A deduction for a contribution to a charitable enterprise that has qualified for tax-exempt status in accordance with IRC (26 USCA) § 501{c)(3) and is entitled to be deducted in full by the donor from the taxable estate or from gross income. See CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION (2); CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION.

charitable gift See GIFT.

charitable gift- An inter vivos or testamentary donation to a nonprofit organization for the relief of poverty, the advancement of education, the advancement of religion, the promotion of health, governmental, or municipal purposes, and other purposes the accomplishment of which is beneficial to the community. Restatement (Second) ofTrusts § 368 (1959). When the beneficiary is a religious organization or the gift is intended for a religious purpose, it is sometimes also termed a pious gift.

charitable immunity See IMMUNITY (2).

charitable immunity- The immunity of a charitable organization from tort liability. - This immunity has been eliminated or restricted in most states. Also termed eleemosynary defense.

charitable lead trust See TRGST.

charitable organization A tax exempt organization that (1) is organized and operated exclusively for religious, scientific, literary, educational, athletic, public-safety, or community-service purposes, (2) does not distribute earnings for the benefit of private individuals, and (3) does not participate in any way in political candidate campaigns, or engage in substantial lobbying. IRC (26 USCA) § 501(c)(3). Also termed charity; 501(c)(3) organization.

charitable purpose The purpose for which an organization must be formed so that it qualifies as a charitable organization under the Internal Revenue Code. Also termed charitable use.

charitable remainder See REMAINDER.

charitable remainder A remainder, usu. from a life estate, that is given to a charity; for example, "to Jane for life, and then to the American Red Cross.

charitable trust See TRUST.

charitable usc 1. See CHARITABLE PURPOSE. 2. See charitable trust under TRUST.

charitable-remainder annuity trust See TRUST.

charitable-remainder trust See TRUST.

charitable-remainder-trust retirement fund See charitable-remainder annuity trust under TRUST.

charity 1. CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION. 2. Aid given to the poor, the suffering, or the general community for religious, educational, economic, public-safety, or medical purposes. 3. Goodwill.

charlatan (shahr-la-tan), A person who pretends to have more knowledge or skill than he or she actually has; a quack or faker. charlatanism, charlatanry, n.

charta (kahr-ta). [Law Latin]. 1. A charter or deed. 2. A token by which an estate is held. 3. A royal grant of privileges or liberties.

charta de foresta A charter that defined the extent of the crown's rights and privileges in the royal forests, granted the common people some rights to use the forests, and reduced the penalties for crimes such as poaching. The charter was first promulgated in 1217 and revised in 1225. Also termed Carta de Foresta; Carta Forestae.

chartae libertatum (kahr-tee lib-ar-tay-tam). [Latin] Charters of liberties. This term refers to the two great sources of English liberties: Magna Carta and the Charta de Foresta.

chartel See CARTEL.

charter 1. An instrument that establishes a body politic or other organization, or that grants rights, liberties, or powers to its citizens or members <Charter of the United Nations>. 2. An instrument by which a municipality is incorporated, specifying its organizational structure and its highest laws; specif., a written document making the persons residing within a fixed boundary, along with their successors, a corporation and body politic for and within that boundary, and prescribing the powers, privileges, and duties of the corporation. A city charter trumps all conflicting ordinances. Also termed municipal charter. "Municipal Charters. The charter issued to a municipality is in the nature of a constitution to it, being superior to all ordinances enacted by that municipality, though inferior in rank to all State laws of every kind." Frank Hall Childs, Where and How to Find the Law 8 (1922).

charter- 1. To establish or grant by charter <charter a bank>. 2. To hire or rent for temporary use <charter a boat>.

charter agreement See CHARTERPARTY.

charter member See MEMBER.

charter of affreightment See AFFREIGHTMENT.

chartered life underwriter See UNDERWRITER.

chartered ship 1. A ship specially hired to transport the goods of only one person or company. 2. A ship on which a shipper has chartered space for a cargo.

chartered ship See SHIP.

charter-land See BOOKLAND

charterparty A contract by which a ship, or a principal part ofit, is leased by the owner, esp. to a merchant for the conveyance ofgoods on a predetermined voyage to one or more places or for a specified period of time; a special contract between the shipowner and charterer, esp. for the carriage of goods by sea. Also written charter-party; charter party. Often shortened to charter. Also termed charter agreement. "Charter partie (charta partita) is nothing but that which we call a paire of indentures, conteining the covenants and agreements made betweene merchants, or sea faring men touching their marine affaires." John Cowell, The Interpreter (1607). 'The instrument by which a vessel is leased is a charter party. The term is derived from charta partita, Le., a deed of writing divided; in earlier times the charta partita, like the indenture agreement, was prepared in two parts, the ship owner retaining one part and the charterer the other.... While a charter party need not be in writing, most charters today are detailed written documents drawn to accommodate the particular needs of shipper and carrier in a certain type of trade or commerce." Frank L Maraist, Admiralty in a Nutshe//44-45 (3d ed. 1996).

chartis reddendis (kahr-tis ri-den-dis). [Latin "for returning charters"]. A writ seeking the return of a charter of feoffment from a person who has been entrusted with the charter but who has refused to deliver it as instructed. See FEOFFMENT.

chartophylax (kahr-tof-a-Iaks). A keeper of records or public instruments; a registrar.

chase A franchise granted by the Crown empowering the grantee to keep, within a certain district, animals for hunting, i.e., the objects of the chase. This franchise was also known as a free chase to contrast it with a chase royal a chase held by the Crown.

chattel (chat-al). (usu. pI.). Movable or transferable property; personal property; esp., a physical object capable of manual delivery and not the subject matter of real property. "That Money is not to be accounted Goods or Chattels, because it is not of it self valuable .... Chattels are either personal or real. Personal, may be so called in two respects' One, because they belong immediately to the person of a Man, as a Bow, Horse, etc. The other, for that being any way injuriously withheld from us, we have no means to recover them, but Personal Actions. Chattels real, are such as either appertain not immediately to the person, but to some other thing, by way of dependency, as a Box with Charters of Land, Apples upon a Tree, or a Tree it self growing on the Ground .... [O]r else such as are issuing out of some immoveable thing to a person, as a Lease or Rent for the term of years." Thomas Blount, Nomo-Lexicon: A Law-Dictionary (1670).

chattel lien See mechanic's lien under LIEN.

chattel mortgage See MORTGAGE.

chattel paper A writing that shows both a monetary obligation and a security interest in or a lease of specific goods. UCC § 9-102(1)(11). Chattel paper is generally used in a consumer transaction when the consumer buys goods on credit The consumer typically promises to pay for the goods by executing a promissory note, and the seller retains a security interest in the goods. See SECURITY AGREEMENT. "'Chattel paper' means a record or records that evidence both a monetary obligation and a security interest in or a lease of specific goods or of speCific goods and software used in the goods. The term does not include a charter or other contract involving the use or hire of a vessel. If a transaction is evidenced both by a security agreement or lease and by an instrument or series of instruments, the group of records taken together constitutes chattel paper." UCC § 9-102(a)(8).

chattel paper (chat-al). See CHATTEL PAPER.

chattel personal A tangible good or an intangible right (such as a patent). Also termed personal chattel.

chattel personal- See CHATTEL.

chattel real A real-property interest that is less than a freehold or fee, such as a leasehold estate. The most important chattel real is an estate for years in land, which is considered a chattel because it lacks the indefiniteness oftime essential to real property. Also termed real chattel.

chattel real- See CHATTEL.

chattel vegetable A movable article of a vegetable origin, such as timber, undergrowth, corn, or fruit

chattel vegetable, See CHATTEL.

chattel-mortgage bond A bond secured by a mortgage on personal property.

chattel-mortgage bond- See BOND (3).

chaud-medley (showd-med-lee). See CHANCE-MEDLEY.

chauntry (chon-tree), See CHANTRY.

cheap stock Stock or stock options issued to the issuers directors, employees, consultants, promoters, and the like at a price lower than the public-offering price up to 12 months before the offering.

cheap stock See STOCK.

cheapgild See ORFGILD (1). Also spelled cheapegild.

cheat 1. CHEATING. 2. A person who habitually cheats; a swindler.

cheat- To defraud; to practice deception.

cheater 1. A person who cheats. 2. ESCHEATOR.

cheating The fraudulent obtaining of another's property by means of a false symbol or token, or by other illegal practices. Also termed cheating at common law; common-law cheat; cheat. See FRAUD.

cheating by false pretenses The intentional obtaining of both the possession and ownership of money, goods, wares, or merchandise by means of misrepresentations, with the intent to defraud. See PALSE PRETENSES. Cf. larceny by trick under LARCENY.

check A draft signed by the maker or drawer, drawn on a bank, payable on demand, and unlimited in negotiability. Under UCC § 3-104(f), an instrument may be a check even though it is described on its face by another term, such as "money order." Also spelled cheque. See DRAFT.