Incur, vb. (15c) To suffer or bring on oneself (a liability or expense). — incurrence, n. — incurrable, adj.

fail, vb. (13c) 1. To be deficient or unsuccessful; to fall short <they failed to settle the dispute>. 2. To become insolvent or bankrupt <two banks failed last week>. 3. To lapse <the bequest failed as a result of ademption>.

relief. (14c) 1. A payment made by an heir of a feudal tenant to the feudal lord for the privilege of succeeding to the ancestor's tenancy.

"A mesne lord could, upon the death of his tenant, accept the tenant's heir as tenant; but he was not required to do so. When he did accept his deceased tenant's heir as tenant, it was typically because the heir had paid the mesne lord a substantial sum (known as a relief) for the re-grant of the tenancy." Thomas F. Bergin & Paul G. Haskell, Preface to Estates in Land and Future Interests 8 (2d ed. 1984).

2. Aid or assistance given to those in need, esp., financial aid provided by the state. [Cases: Social Security and Public Welfare 4.] 3. The redress or benefit, esp. equitable in nature (such as an injunction or specific performance), that a party asks of a court. — Also termed remedy. Cf. REMEDY.

breach of contract. (17c) Violation of a contractual obligation by failing to perform one's own promise, by repudiating it, or by interfering with another party's performance.

appointee. (18c) 1. One who is appointed. 2. One who receives the benefit of a power of appointment.

vacancy, n. 1. The state or fact of a lack of occupancy in an office, post, or piece of property. [Cases: Officers and Public Employees 55.] 2. The time during which an office, post, or piece of property is not occupied. 3. An unoccupied office, post, or piece of property; an empty place. ● Although the term sometimes refers to an office or post that is temporarily filled, the more usual reference is to an office or post that is unfilled even temporarily. An officer's misconduct does not create a vacancy even if a suspension occurs; a vacancy, properly speaking, does not occur until the officer is officially removed.

extent. Hist. 1. A seizure of property in execution of a writ. 2. A writ issued by the Exchequer to recover a debt owed to the Crown, under which the debtor's lands, goods, or body could all be seized to secure payment. — Also termed writ of extent; extent in chief. 3. A writ giving a creditor temporary possession of the debtor's property (esp. land). — Also termed extendi facias.

proceeding. (16c) 1. The regular and orderly progression of a lawsuit, including all acts and events between the time of commencement and the entry of judgment. 2. Any procedural means for seeking redress from a tribunal or agency. 3. An act or step that is part of a larger action. 4. The business conducted by a court or other official body; a hearing. 5. Bankruptcy. A particular dispute or matter arising within a pending case — as opposed to the case as a whole.

loss. (bef. 12c) 1. An undesirable outcome of a risk; the disappearance or diminution of value, usu. in an unexpected or relatively unpredictable way. ● When the loss is a decrease in value, the usual method of calculating the loss is to ascertain the amount by which a thing's original cost exceeds its later selling price. 2. Tax. The excess of a property's adjusted value over the amount realized from its sale or other disposition. IRC (26 USCA) § 1001. — Also termed realized loss. [Cases: Internal Revenue 3178.] 3. Insurance. The amount of financial detriment caused by an insured person's death or an insured property's damage, for which the insurer becomes liable. 4. The failure to maintain possession of a thing.

office. (13c) 1. A position of duty, trust, or authority, esp. one conferred by a governmental authority for a public purpose <the office of attorney general>. [Cases: Officers and Public Employees 1.] 2. (often cap.) A division of the U.S. government ranking immediately below a department <the Patent and Trademark Office>. [Cases: United States 29.] 3. A place where business is conducted or services are performed <a law office>.

serve, vb. (15c) 1. To make legal delivery of (a notice or process) <a copy of the pleading was served on all interested parties>. 2. To present (a person) with a notice or process as required by law <the defendant was served with process>.

notice, n. (16c) 1. Legal notification required by law or agreement, or imparted by operation of law as a result of some fact (such as the recording of an instrument); definite legal cognizance, actual or constructive, of an existing right or title <under the lease, the tenant must give the landlord written notice 30 days before vacating the premises>. ● A person has notice of a fact or condition if that person (1) has actual knowledge of it; (2) has received information about it; (3) has reason to know about it; (4) knows about a related fact; or (5) is considered as having been able to ascertain it by checking an official filing or recording. [Cases: Constitutional Law 251.6, 309; Notice 1.] 2. The condition of being so notified, whether or not actual awareness exists <all prospective buyers were on notice of the judgment lien>. Cf. KNOWLEDGE. [Cases: Sales 235; Vendor and Purchaser 225.] 3. A written or printed announcement <the notice of sale was posted on the courthouse bulletin board>. 4. Intellectual property. A formal sign attached to items that embody or reproduce an intellectual property right. ● Notice of patent is made by placing the word "patent" (or its abbreviation, "pat.") and the item's patent number on an item made by a patentee or licensee. There are three statutory notice forms for U.S. trademark and servicemark registration. The most common is the symbol with the letter R (®) but "Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off." or "Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office" affords the same legal protection. A copyright notice also takes several forms. The first part may be the symbol with the letter C in a circle (©), or the word "Copr." or "Copyright." It must be followed by the copyright owner's name and the year that the work was first published. Informal signs, such as "Brand," "TM," "Trademark," "SM," and "Service Mark," adjacent to words or other symbols considered to be protectable marks are not legal notices of exclusive rights. [Cases: Patents 222; Trademarks 1250.] 5. Parliamentary law. A meeting's published call. See call of a meeting under CALL (1). 6. Parliamentary law. A formal statement that certain business may come before a meeting, usu. made at an earlier meeting or published with the call of the meeting that will consider the business, and made as a prerequisite to the business's consideration. See call of a meeting under CALL (1). — Also termed previous notice.

adjust, vb. 1. To determine the amount that an insurer will pay an insured to cover a loss. [Cases: Insurance 3234.] 2. To arrive at a new agreement with a creditor for the payment of a debt.

cost, n. (13c) 1. The amount paid or charged for something; price or expenditure. 2. (pl.) The charges or fees taxed by the court, such as filing fees, jury fees, courthouse fees, and reporter fees. — Also termed court costs. 3. (pl.) The expenses of litigation, prosecution, or other legal transaction, esp. those allowed in favor of one party against the other. ● Some but not all states allow parties to claim attorney's fees as a litigation cost. — Also termed (in sense 3) litigation costs.

omission, n. (14c) 1. A failure to do something; esp., a neglect of duty <the complaint alleged that the driver had committed various negligent acts and omissions>. 2. The act of leaving something out <the contractor's omission of the sales price rendered the contract void>. 3. The state of having been left out or of not having been done <his omission from the roster caused no harm>. 4. Something that is left out, left undone, or otherwise neglected <the many omissions from the list were unintentional>. — Formerly also termed omittance. — omit, vb. — omissive, omissible, adj.

discharge (dis-chahrj), n. (15c) 1. Any method by which a legal duty is extinguished; esp., the payment of a debt or satisfaction of some other obligation. 2. Bankruptcy. The release of a debtor from monetary obligations upon adjudication of bankruptcy; DISCHARGE IN BANKRUPTCY. Cf. RELEASE (1). [Cases: Bankruptcy 3251.] 3. The dismissal of a case. 4. The canceling or vacating of a court order. 5. The release of a prisoner from confinement. 6. The relieving of a witness, juror, or jury from further responsibilities in a case. 7. The firing of an employee. 8. The dismissal of a member of the armed services from military service <the sergeant was honorably discharged>. 9. Parliamentary law. A motion by which a deliberative assembly, having referred a matter to a committee, takes the matter's further consideration out of the committee and back into its own hands. — Also termed discharge a committee; withdrawal. — discharge (dis-chahrj), vb.

bad faith, n. (17c) 1. Dishonesty of belief or purpose <the lawyer filed the pleading in bad faith>. — Also termed mala fides (mal-ə-fI-deez). 2. Insurance. An insurance company's unreasonable and unfounded (though not necessarily fraudulent) refusal to provide coverage in violation of the duties of good faith and fair dealing owed to an insured. ● Bad faith often involves an insurer's failure to pay the insured's claim or a claim brought by a third party. 3. Insurance. An insured's claim against an insurance company for an unreasonable and unfounded refusal to provide coverage. Cf. GOOD FAITH. [Cases: Insurance 3335, 3336.] — bad-faith, adj.

immunity. (14c) 1. Any exemption from a duty, liability, or service of process; esp., such an exemption granted to a public official or governmental unit. 2. Torts. A doctrine providing a complete defense to a tort action. ● Unlike a privilege, immunity does not negate the tort, and it must be raised affirmatively or it will be waived. 3. Criminal law. Freedom from prosecution granted by the government in exchange for the person's testimony. ● By granting immunity, the government can compel testimony — despite the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination — because that testimony can no longer incriminate the witness. 4. Freedom of a person against having a given legal relation altered by someone else's act or omission.

institution. (14c) 1. The commencement of something, such as a civil or criminal action. 2. An elementary rule, principle, or practice. 3. An established organization, esp. one of a public character, such as a facility for the treatment of mentally disabled persons. — Also termed public institution. [Cases: Mental Health 31–37.] 4. Civil law. A testator's appointment of an heir; the designation of an institute. See INSTITUTE (5). 5. Eccles. law. The investiture of a cleric with a benefice, by which the cleric becomes responsible for the spiritual needs of the members of a parish. Cf. PRESENTATION (2); ADVOWSON.

responsibility, n. (18c) 1. LIABILITY (1). 2. Criminal law. A person's mental fitness to answer in court for his or her actions. See COMPETENCY. [Cases: Mental Health 432.] 3. Criminal law. Guilt. — Also termed (in senses 2 & 3) criminal responsibility. — responsible, adj.

nomination.(15c) 1. The act of proposing a person for election or appointment. [Cases: Elections 122–140.] 2. The act of naming or designating a person for an office, membership, award, or like title or status. ● Under parliamentary law, each nomination is effectively a proposal for filling the blank in the question, "Resolved, That ——— is elected." See BLANK (2). See CLOSE NOMINATIONS; OPEN NOMINATIONS.

evidential, adj. Of, relating to, relying on, or constituting evidence; EVIDENTIARY (1).

lawyer, n. (14c) One who is licensed to practice law. Cf. ATTORNEY. [Cases: Attorney and Client 9.] — lawyerly, lawyerlike, adj. — lawyerdom, n.

privilege. (bef. 12c) 1. A special legal right, exemption, or immunity granted to a person or class of persons; an exception to a duty. ● A privilege grants someone the legal freedom to do or not to do a given act. It immunizes conduct that, under ordinary circumstances, would subject the actor to liability. 2. An affirmative defense by which a defendant acknowledges at least part of the conduct complained of but asserts that the defendant's conduct was authorized or sanctioned by law; esp., in tort law, a circumstance justifying or excusing an intentional tort. See JUSTIFICATION (2). Cf. IMMUNITY (2). [Cases: Torts 121.] 3. An evidentiary rule that gives a witness the option to not disclose the fact asked for, even though it might be relevant; the right to prevent disclosure of certain information in court, esp. when the information was originally communicated in a professional or confidential relationship. ● Assertion of an evidentiary privilege can be overcome by proof that an otherwise privileged communication was made in the presence of a third party to whom the privilege would not apply. 4. Civil law. A creditor's right, arising from the nature of the debt, to priority over the debtor's other creditors. 5. Parliamentary law. The status of a motion as outranking other business because of its relationship to the meeting's or a member's rights. — Also termed parliamentary privilege. See question of privilege under QUESTION (3).

Arbitration Act 1996. An Act of Parliament which regulates arbitration proceedings within the jurisdiction of England and Wales and Northern Ireland.

The 1996 Act only applies to parts of the United Kingdom. In Scotland the rules governing arbitrations are found in schedule 7 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 and are based upon the UNCITRAL Model Law.

The Act mandates that the general duty of the arbitral tribunal is to:

-act fairly and impartially as between the parties, giving each party a reasonable opportunity of putting his case and dealing with that of his opponent, and

-adopt procedures suitable to the circumstances of the particular case, avoiding unnecessary delay or expense, so as to provide a fair means for the resolution of the matters falling to be determined.

The various subsequent provisions relating to the conduct of arbitrations are largely pinned upon this overriding duty. The legislation specifies that "The tribunal shall comply with that general duty in conducting the arbitral proceedings, in its decisions on matters of procedure and evidence and in the exercise of all other powers conferred on it."

Subject to that overriding duty, the tribunal has broad discretion in relation to matters of procedure and evidence. The legislation provides that "It shall be for the tribunal to decide all procedural and evidential matters, subject to the right of the parties to agree any matter."