Terms beginning with U
439 headwords
- U.BThe Upper Bench, the name given to the King's Bench during the Commonwealth, when there was no king.
- U.KThe country in Europe made up of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but not the Isle of Man or the Chann…
- U.NThe international organization formed in 1945 to keep the peace between nations and to promote justice, human rights,…
- U.SThe abbreviation for the United States, and for the United States Reports, in which the decisions of the Supreme Cour…
- U.S.D.CA federal trial court, with jurisdiction over cases arising within its judicial district.
- uberrimae fideiOf the utmost good faith: the standard required in contracts such as insurance, where one party must disclose everyth…
- UCCThe uniform law governing commercial dealings - sales of goods, secured transactions, and negotiable instruments - wh…
- UCC battle of the formsThe clash between the standard forms a buyer and seller exchange while negotiating. The Uniform Commercial Code aband…
- UCCCA uniform law meant to simplify the law of consumer credit and usury, make the terms of credit clearer to consumers,…
- UCCUJAAn act, in force in every state, fixing which state's courts may decide a child-custody question, by reference to the…
- UCMJThe body of substantive and procedural rules governing discipline in the armed forces.
- UCPThe set of rules, published by the International Chamber of Commerce, that banks and traders adopt to govern document…
- UCRThe annual criminological reports the Federal Bureau of Investigation prepares, giving data on major offenses, arrest…
- UDITPAThe uniform act laying down how a business's income is to be divided among the states for tax purposes.
- UFCAA model act adopted in 1918 dealing with conveyances made by insolvent debtors, distinguishing conduct presumed to be…
- UFTAA model act adopted in 1984, replacing the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyances Act, to bring uniformity to the states' def…
- UGMAA uniform law, adopted in most states, allowing property to be transferred to a minor and held by a custodian, who ma…
- ukaseA decree, above all a final or arbitrary one. The word originally named a decree of the Russian czar.
- ullageThe amount by which a cask falls short of being full.
- ulnageThe measuring of woolen cloth by the ell, and the duty once charged for it.
- ulterior intentThe intent lying beyond the wrongful act itself, aimed at the object for which the act is done: the motive. A thief's…
- ultimate factA fact essential to the claim or the defense.
- ultimate issueA question still undecided which, alone or with others, would settle the whole case.
- ultimatumThe final proposal in negotiating a treaty or contract, carrying the implication that rejection may break off the neg…
- ultimus heresThe last heir: the state or the Crown, which takes a dead person's property when no one else is entitled.
- ultra viresBeyond the powers a corporate charter or the law allows.
- ultrahazardous activityAn activity that cannot be made safe however much care is taken, so that the person carrying it on answers for any ha…
- umbrella insuranceInsurance that sits on top of other cover, paying what runs beyond the ordinary limits of liability.
- umbrella limited partnershipA limited partnership a real-estate investment trust uses to acquire properties in exchange for interests in the part…
- umbrella policyA policy covering losses beyond the basic or usual limits of liability that other policies provide.
- umpirageThe office of an umpire, and the decision an umpire gives.
- umpireA person chosen to decide a matter when arbitrators are equally divided, whose decision settles it.
- unaccruedNot yet due, as rent under a lease.
- unalienableNot capable of being transferred or given away.
- unanimousAgreed to by everyone concerned.
- unanimous-consent calendarA list of bills that, no objection being expected, may be passed without a vote.
- unascertained dutyA preliminary, estimated payment to a customs collector of the duty that will finally be due. An importer pays it to…
- unauthorizedDone without authority; of a signature, made without actual, implied, or apparent authority.
- unauthorized completionThe filling in of missing details on a negotiable instrument without authority, or beyond the authority given. It is…
- unauthorized indorsementAn indorsement made without authority, such as a forged one.
- unauthorized practice of lawThe practice of law by someone, usually not a lawyer, who has not been licensed or admitted to practice in the jurisd…
- unauthorized signatureA signature made without actual, implied, or apparent authority, including a forgery.
- unauthorized use of a vehicleThe driving of another's vehicle without permission, but without meaning to deprive the owner of it for good.
- unavailabilityThe condition of a witness who cannot be produced, whether through death, illness, privilege, or the like, which open…
- unavoidable accidentAn accident that could not be avoided because it was caused by an irresistible physical force beyond human skill or r…
- unavoidable casualtyAn accident that could not be avoided, being caused by some irresistible force that no skill or foresight could guard…
- unavoidable causeA cause that a reasonably careful person would neither foresee nor be expected to guard against.
- unavoidable dangerA danger that cannot be escaped, or that could not have been prevented, especially by someone handling a vessel.
- unavoidable-accident doctrineIn tort law, the rule that no one is liable for an accident that could not have been foreseen or prevented by reasona…
- unborn beneficiarySomeone described in general terms as sharing in an estate or gift although not yet born.
- unborn childA child not yet born, especially at the moment some event occurs.
- unborn-widow ruleUnder the rule against perpetuities, the assumption that a beneficiary's widow may be someone not yet born at the tes…
- unbrokenContinuous; not interrupted.
- unbundling rulesRules the Federal Communications Commission made to carry out the local-competition provisions of the Telecommunicati…
- uncertain damagesDamages that are not clearly the result of the wrong complained of. The rule against recovering uncertain damages ref…
- uncertificated securityA share or other interest in an enterprise, or an obligation of the issuer, which no certificate represents and which…
- uncertified securityA security that no certificate represents and which exists only as an entry on the issuer's books.
- unciaIn Roman law, one-twelfth of the as, and hence a twelfth part of an estate. The English word ounce comes from it.
- unciae were used to denote interest ratesIn Roman and civil law, a whole inheritance, or an asset taken as a whole.
- unciarius heresIn Roman law, an heir to one-twelfth of an estate.
- unclean-hands doctrineThe rule that a party who has themselves acted unfairly in the matter cannot ask for equitable relief or set up an eq…
- uncollected fundsA credit given in a bank account on the strength of a check or other right to payment that has not yet been collected…
- unconditionalNot subject to any condition; not depending on some uncertain event.
- unconditional deliveryA delivery that passes both possession and title at once and takes effect immediately.
- unconditional dischargeA release from an obligation with no conditions attached; also, a release from confinement with no parole requirement…
- unconditional heirA person entitled to take a dead person's property, whether under a will or by the rules of intestacy.
- unconditional pardonA pardon that frees the offender from punishment and restores their civil rights without qualification.
- unconditional promiseA promise that is either unqualified or needs nothing but the passing of time to become enforceable. The promisor mus…
- unconscionabilityThe quality of a bargain so one-sided, or so unfairly obtained, that a court will refuse to enforce it, whether becau…
- unconscionableOf a person, without conscience or scruple; of a bargain, so unfair or oppressive as to affront any sense of justice…
- unconscionable agreementAn agreement so one-sided that no sensible person in their right mind would offer it and no honest, fair person would…
- unconscionable contractAn agreement so one-sided that no promisor in their right mind would make it and no honest promisee would accept it.
- unconsciousWithout awareness. A person who does something while unconscious may be excused from criminal liability for it.
- unconstitutionalContrary to a constitution, above all to the Constitution of the United States.
- unconstitutional-conditions doctrineThe rule that a government may not make the receipt of a benefit conditional on giving up a constitutional right. A b…
- uncontrollable impulseAn impulse so overwhelming that it cannot be resisted. In some places it serves as a defense to a crime committed whi…
- uncounseledWithout the help of a lawyer.
- uncovered optionA call option sold by someone who does not own the underlying stock, and so has nothing in hand to meet the obligatio…
- under protestA statement or act expressing dissent; also a notary's written statement that a negotiable instrument was presented a…
- under submissionOf a case, taken by the court for consideration and awaiting decision.
- under-tutorA person the court appoints to represent a minor whenever the minor's interests conflict with those of the tutor.
- undercapitalizationThe position of a business without enough capital to carry on what it is doing.
- undercover agentAn agent who does not reveal that they are acting as an agent; also, a police officer who gathers evidence of crime w…
- undercurrent of surface streamWater moving slowly through the bed of a stream, or through land immediately beside it, which counts as part of the s…
- underdeveloped countryA country less developed economically or politically than the main industrial powers.
- underflow of surface streamWater moving slowly through the bed of a stream, or through land immediately beside it, which counts as part of the s…
- underinsuranceCover for property damage up to a stated amount that falls short of the property's full value.
- underinsured-motorist coverageInsurance covering the insured's losses where the driver at fault carries too little liability cover to meet them.
- underleaseA lease by a tenant to a third party of part or all of the premises for a shorter term than the tenant's own, the ten…
- underlessorA tenant who leases part or all of the premises on to a third party.
- undersheriffAn officer who, under the sheriff's direction, may do most of what the sheriff does, holding the post permanently rat…
- undersignedThe person whose name is signed at the foot of a document.
- understandTo grasp the meaning of something.
- understandingThe grasping of a meaning; also one's own interpretation of an event, or an agreement, above all a tacit one.
- undertakeTo take on an obligation; also to give a formal promise, or to stand as surety for another.
- undertakingA promise or pledge; also a bail bond.
- undertenantA tenant holding under another tenant rather than directly from the landlord.
- Undertreasurer of EnglandAn officer immediately below the Lord High Treasurer.
- underwriteTo assume a risk by insuring it; also to agree to buy all or part of a new issue of securities for resale to the public.
- underwriterA person who agrees to bear another's risk of loss and to make it good; also one who buys securities from the issuer…
- underwritingThe assuming of a risk by insuring it; also the agreeing to buy all or part of a new issue of securities offered to t…
- underwriting agreementAn agreement between a company and an underwriter setting out the terms on which a new issue of securities will be ha…
- underwriting spreadIn investment banking, the difference between what the underwriter pays the issuer for the securities and what the pu…
- undesirable dischargeOne of the administrative discharges given to a service member who does not qualify for an honorable discharge.
- undigested offeringA public offering whose securities remain unsold because there is not enough demand at the price asked.
- undisclosed agencyAn agency in which the agent deals with an outsider who does not know they are acting for a principal. That the agenc…
- undisclosed principalA principal whose existence the agent conceals from the third party, and who may nevertheless be sued on the contract…
- undisputedNot questioned or challenged.
- undisputed factA fact nobody contests or that a party has admitted, especially one the court has seen no need to include in its find…
- undistributed profitA company's accumulated income after dividends have been paid out.
- undistributed-earnings taxA penalty tax on a company that hoards its earnings instead of paying them out, so as to spare its shareholders the t…
- undivided interestAn interest held under the same title by two or more people, whether their shares are equal or not.
- undivided profitProfit that has built up but not yet been paid out: earned surplus.
- undivided rightAn interest held under the same title by two or more people, whether their shares are equal or not.
- undivided titleAn interest held under the same title by two or more people, whether their shares are equal or not.
- undocumented alienSomeone who enters a country at the wrong time or place, avoids inspection by officials, gains entry by fraud, or goe…
- undueExcessive or unwarranted; in older usage, not yet owed.
- undue influenceThe improper use of power or trust to override another's free will and put one's own purpose in its place. Consent gi…
- undue prejudiceThe harm done by putting before a factfinder evidence that is persuasive but inadmissible, such as evidence of past c…
- undue-burden testThe Supreme Court's test for laws regulating abortion, under which a law was invalid if it placed a substantial obsta…
- unearned incomeMoney earned from investments rather than from work.
- unearned incrementA rise in the value of land that comes from population growth rather than from anything the owner has done.
- unearned interestInterest a financial institution has received before it has been earned.
- unearned premiumThe part of an insurance premium covering the period of cover that has not yet run. On a $1,200 policy for a year, $9…
- unearned surplusSurplus that does not come from earnings: the amount paid for shares above their stated capital, surplus from writing…
- unearned-premium reserveThe fund an insurer holds representing premiums paid in advance for cover not yet given. If a policyholder cancels pa…
- unemploymentThe state of being without work.
- unemployment compensationPayments made at regular intervals by a state agency to someone out of work, especially a person who has been laid off.
- unemployment insuranceSocial insurance paying money to workers who lose their jobs for reasons unconnected with their performance. The stat…
- unemployment taxA tax on employers, under state or federal law, to fund unemployment insurance. The federal tax is a percentage of wa…
- unenacted lawLaw that no legislature has enacted, such as judge-made law and custom.
- unencumberedFree of any burden or charge.
- unenforceableOf a contract, valid but incapable of being enforced.
- unenforceable contractA valid contract that some technical defect keeps the courts from enforcing, such as one caught by the statute of fra…
- unequalNot equal in some respect.
- unequivocalClear and free from doubt.
- unessential mistakeIn contract law, a mistake that touches nothing in the agreement itself but only some outside circumstance, and so le…
- unethicalNot in keeping with moral standards or the rules of professional conduct.
- unexpectedHappening without warning.
- unexpired termWhat is left of a period fixed by law or by a lease.
- unfair competitionDishonest rivalry in trade, above all the passing off of one's own goods as another's by imitating their name, brand,…
- unfair hearingA hearing conducted so as to deny a party a fair chance to be heard, as by refusing them notice, the right to present…
- unfair labor practiceConduct that the labor laws forbid in dealings between employers, employees, and unions. On the employer's side it in…
- unfair persuasionA form of undue influence in which the stronger party gets their way by means that seriously impair the weaker party'…
- unfair surpriseA situation in which a party, having had no notice of some step or piece of evidence, is unprepared to answer it.
- unfair tradeAn unfair business practice, above all the copying of another's words in a way that misleads and injures the trader w…
- unfitUnsuitable for a particular use; in family law, morally or practically unfit to have the care of a child.
- unforeseenNot foreseen.
- unfriendly suitorA person or business that seeks to take control of a company against its wishes, by buying its shares and replacing i…
- unhandsome dealingUnethical trickery, above all by a lawyer.
- unica taxatioA single assessment of damages, made once for the whole rather than separately for each part of a claim.
- unifactoral obligationAn obligation binding one party only, so that just one of them owes a duty under it.
- unified barA bar association that a lawyer must belong to by statute in order to practice in the state.
- unified creditA credit set against the federal unified transfer tax, which lets an estate of up to the exempt amount pass free of f…
- unified estate-and-gift taxA tax on the passing of property, above all by will, inheritance, or gift, so called because gifts in life and at dea…
- unified estate-and-gift tax creditA credit set against the federal unified transfer tax, which lets an estate of up to the exempt amount pass free of f…
- unified transfer taxA tax on the passing of property, whether by will, inheritance, or gift, gifts in life and at death being taxed alike…
- uniformNot varying; consistent throughout.
- uniform actA law drafted so that every state may adopt it in the same terms, in the hope of making the law consistent across the…
- Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction ActAn act, in force in every state, fixing which state's courts may decide a child-custody question and when a court mus…
- Uniform Code of Military JusticeThe body of substantive and procedural rules governing discipline in the armed forces.
- Uniform Commercial CodeThe uniform law governing commercial dealings - sales of goods, secured transactions, and negotiable instruments - wh…
- Uniform Consumer Credit CodeA uniform law meant to simplify the law of consumer credit and usury, make the terms of credit clearer, and protect c…
- Uniform Controlled Substances ActA uniform act, adopted by many states and by Congress, governing the sale, use, and distribution of controlled drugs.
- Uniform Crime ReportsThe annual criminological reports the Federal Bureau of Investigation prepares, giving data on major offenses, arrest…
- Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices ActA uniform act giving damages and injunctions against a range of unfair and deceptive practices, such as false adverti…
- Uniform Divorce Recognition ActA uniform code adopted in some states dealing with the recognition of out-of-state divorces.
- Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments ActA uniform state law allowing the holder of a judgment from another state to enforce it as though it had been given at…
- Uniform Fraudulent Conveyances ActA model act of 1918 dealing with conveyances by insolvent debtors, distinguishing conduct presumed fraudulent from co…
- Uniform Fraudulent Transfer ActA model act of 1984, replacing the Uniform Fraudulent Conveyances Act, bringing uniformity to the states' law on frau…
- Uniform Gifts to Minors ActA uniform law, adopted in most states, allowing property to be transferred to a minor and held by a custodian who man…
- Uniform LawA law drafted unofficially and proposed for adoption by every state in identical terms, so as to make the law more co…
- Uniform Law CommissionersThe body of lawyers, judges, and academics appointed by the states to draft uniform laws and recommend them for adopt…
- Uniform Partnership ActA model code of 1914 bringing uniformity to state law on partnerships, adopted by almost every state and since replac…
- Uniform Principal and Income ActA uniform code, adopted in some states, governing how receipts and outgoings are divided between capital and income i…
- Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support ActA uniform law giving a procedure by which an order for alimony or child support made in one state can be enforced aga…
- Uniform Transfers to Minors ActA uniform law, adopted in most states, allowing property to be transferred to a minor and held by a custodian who man…
- Uniformity ClauseThe clause of the Constitution requiring that duties, imposts, and excises be uniform throughout the United States.
- unifyTo make into one.
- unilateralOne-sided; concerning only one of two or more people or things.
- unilateral actAn act in which only one person's will operates, such as making a will, exercising a power of appointment, or avoidin…
- unilateral contractA contract in which only one party makes a promise or renders a performance, the other's acceptance coming through do…
- unilateral mistakeA mistake made by only one party to a contract. It is usually no ground for rescinding it.
- unimproved landLand never built on, or land once built on and since cleared of everything.
- unincorporated associationA business organization that is not a legal person separate from its members. If it has enough corporate features - c…
- unindicted coconspiratorSomeone the prosecution identifies as part of a conspiracy but does not charge.
- unindicted conspiratorSomeone the authorities have identified as part of a conspiracy but who is not named in the indictment charging the o…
- uninsured-motorist coverageInsurance covering the insured's injuries and losses caused by a driver who carries no liability insurance at all.
- unintentional actAn act whose actual result the doer did not will.
- uninterrupted-adverse-use principleThe rule that continuous use of land, together with the other elements of adverse possession, will support a claim to…
- unioThe joining of two churches into one.
- unionAn organization that bargains with employers on behalf of workers collectively over pay, benefits, hours, and conditi…
- union contractAn agreement between an employer and a union governing conditions, wages, benefits, and the handling of grievances.
- union givebacksBargaining in which employees give up gains they had already won in pay, benefits, or conditions in return for some s…
- Union JackThe national flag of the United Kingdom, combining the flags of England, Scotland, and Ireland. It was originally a s…
- union mortgage clauseA mortgage clause protecting the lender's interest even if the borrower does something that would void the policy, so…
- union rateThe wage a union sets as the minimum to be paid, usually by the hour or by the piece.
- union shopA workplace where the employer may hire non-union workers on condition that they join the union within a set time, us…
- union stewardA union officer who represents the workers on the shop floor and sees that the union contract is kept.
- union-security clauseA clause in a union contract meant to protect the union against the employer, against non-union employees, and agains…
- unissued stockStock the charter authorizes but the company has not yet issued.
- unitThe standard quantity in which a stock normally trades, often a hundred shares.
- unit costWhat a single unit of a product or service costs; the total cost of manufacture divided by the number of units.
- unit depreciation methodA depreciation method tied to how much the asset produces: the asset's value is divided by the total number of units…
- unit priceThe price of a product expressed in a common measure, such as by the ounce or pound, so that buyers can compare packa…
- unit pricingA system under which each item in a contract is priced separately rather than covered by one flat price.
- unit ruleA way of valuing shares by multiplying the number held by the price of a single share on an exchange, without regard…
- unit-investment trustA trust in which money is pooled and invested in income-producing securities, units in the trust being sold to invest…
- unit-ownership actA state statute governing the ownership of condominiums.
- unitalOf a legal relation, existing between two people only.
- unitaryForming a single whole; treating separate parts as one.
- unitary businessIn tax law, a business with operations in several states or countries that works out its state tax by attributing to…
- unitary stateA state not made up of territorial divisions that are themselves states.
- unitary taxA tax on the income a business earns locally where it trades through an affiliated company outside the state.
- uniteTo join into a whole, or to act in common.
- United KingdomThe country in Europe made up of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, but not the Isle of Man or the Chann…
- United NationsThe international organization formed in 1945 to keep the peace between nations and to promote justice, human rights,…
- United States AttorneyA lawyer the President appoints to represent the federal government, under the Attorney General's direction, in the c…
- United States Claims CourtThe federal court, created in 1982 as successor to the Court of Claims and renamed the Court of Federal Claims in 199…
- United States CodeThe published codification of federal statute law.
- United States Code AnnotatedA publication of the full text of the United States Code with historical notes, cross-references, and notes of the fe…
- United States CommissionerA judicial officer a U.S. district court appointed to handle a range of pretrial matters in criminal cases. The dutie…
- United States ConstitutionThe United States Constitution, the fundamental law of the nation, adopted in 1787 and in force since 1789.
- United States courtA court exercising federal jurisdiction, including the U.S. Supreme Court, the courts of appeals, the district courts…
- United States Court of AppealsA federal appellate court hearing appeals from one of the thirteen circuits - the First through the Eleventh, the Dis…
- United States Court of Federal ClaimsThe federal court with nationwide jurisdiction to award money against the United States on claims founded on the Cons…
- United States Court of International TradeThe federal court with jurisdiction over civil actions against the United States arising out of the laws governing im…
- United States Court of Veterans AppealsThe federal court with exclusive jurisdiction to review decisions of the Board of Veterans' Appeals. Created in 1988,…
- United States currencyCurrency issued under the authority of the federal government.
- United States Customs CourtThe court that formerly heard customs and duties cases. It was abolished in 1980 and its work passed to the Court of…
- United States District AttorneyA lawyer the President appoints to represent the federal government in the civil and criminal cases of a judicial dis…
- United States District CourtA federal trial court, with jurisdiction over cases arising within its judicial district.
- United States Magistrate JudgeA federal judicial officer who deals with civil and criminal pretrial matters and may try civil cases and criminal mi…
- United States MarshalA federal officer who carries out the orders of a federal court. Marshals belong to the executive branch.
- United States of AmericaThe federal republic formed after the War of Independence, made up of forty-eight contiguous states together with Ala…
- United States officerAn officer appointed under federal authority, above all one appointed in the manner Article II of the Constitution pr…
- United States personA resident or national of the United States, a domestic business concern, and any foreign subsidiary or affiliate tha…
- United States ReportsThe official printed reports of the decisions of the Supreme Court, cited as U.S.
- United States Supreme CourtThe court of last resort in the federal system, whose members the President appoints and the Senate confirms, establi…
- United States Tax CourtThe federal court that hears disputes over federal tax, in which a taxpayer may challenge a deficiency without first…
- United States trusteeA federal official the Attorney General appoints to carry out the administrative side of bankruptcy, including appoin…
- unitizationIn oil-and-gas law, the joining of two or more separately owned producing properties into one, worked as a single uni…
- unitizeIn oil-and-gas law, to combine small tracts into a holding large enough to obtain a well permit under the spacing rules.
- unitrustA trust that pays the beneficiary each year a fixed percentage of the value of its assets, revalued annually.
- units-of-output depreciation methodA method by which the cost of an asset, less its salvage value, is spread over accounting periods according to output…
- units-of-production methodAn accounting method that charges depreciation at a fixed rate for each unit produced, based on an estimate of the to…
- unityOneness. At common law, the four unities - of interest, possession, time, and title - were required for a joint tenancy.
- unity of interestThe requirement that the interests of all joint tenants be identical in nature, extent, and duration.
- unity of possessionThe requirement that each joint tenant be entitled to possession of the whole property.
- unity of seisinThe coming together of seisin in one person, as where someone becomes seised of land over which they already hold an…
- unity of timeThe requirement that the interests of all joint tenants vest at the same moment.
- unity of titleThe requirement that all joint tenants take their interests under the same instrument.
- universal agencyAn agency in which the agent may do anything the principal could lawfully do personally.
- universal agentAn agent authorized to do anything the principal could lawfully do personally.
- Universal Copyright ConventionAn international convention, which the United States joined in 1955, by which the signatory countries give the publis…
- Universal Declaration of Human RightsThe bill of rights the United Nations approved in December 1948, its first statement of human rights and fundamental…
- universal defenseA defense good against anyone, including a holder in due course. The real defenses are fraud in the execution, forger…
- universal life insuranceA flexible form of permanent life insurance in which premiums go into a cash-value account that earns interest, out o…
- universal maliceThe state of mind of someone ready to take a life on slight provocation, neither knowing nor caring who the victim wi…
- universal partnershipA partnership formed by people who agree to put in all the property they own and to devote all their skill and labor…
- universal successionSuccession to the whole of another's estate, usually on death, which carries the predecessor's liabilities as well as…
- universal successorA person who succeeds to all of a former owner's rights and powers, as with an intestate estate or an estate in bankr…
- universal synodA synod made up of bishops from all nations.
- universal titleA title acquired by a gift made in contemplation of death of a stated share of everything the giver owns, so that the…
- universitasIn Roman law, a body of people treated as a single whole: a corporation.
- universitas factiA number of things of the same kind treated as a whole, such as a herd of cattle.
- universitas jurisIn Roman and civil law, the whole of a person's rights and liabilities taken together.
- universitas personarumIn Roman and civil law, a group of people treated in law as a single entity, such as a college or corporation.
- universitas rerumIn Roman and civil law, a collection of separate things which the law regards as one whole.
- unjudicialNot becoming a judge.
- unjust enrichmentThe keeping of a benefit received from another, without paying for it, where payment was reasonably to be expected. T…
- unlawA breach of law; also lawlessness.
- unlawfulNot permitted by law; also criminally punishable, or involving moral turpitude.
- unlawful actConduct the law does not permit: a breach of civil or criminal law.
- unlawful assemblyA gathering of three or more people who mean either to commit a violent crime or to do something, lawful or not, that…
- unlawful conditionA condition that cannot be met without breaking the law.
- unlawful detainerThe unjustified keeping of possession of land by someone whose original entry was lawful, as where a tenant stays on…
- unlawful entryThe offense of entering another's property by fraud or other unlawful means without the owner's consent; also a forei…
- unlawful forceConduct amounting to a crime or an actionable tort aimed at a person who has not consented to it.
- unlawful picketingPicketing carried on unlawfully, as where the pickets use threats or violence to keep other employees from returning…
- unlawful sexual intercourseSexual intercourse that the law forbids, whether because it is without the other person's consent or because that per…
- unlawful-detainer proceedingAn action to recover a tenancy that is being wrongfully held, as by a tenant staying on after the lease has ended.
- unlawfullyIn a manner the law does not permit.
- unless leaseIn oil-and-gas law, a lease that ends automatically unless the tenant either starts drilling or keeps paying delay re…
- unliquidatedNot yet fixed at a definite amount.
- unliquidated claimA claim where either the liability or the amount is in dispute.
- unliquidated damagesDamages established by a verdict or award but not calculable by any fixed formula, so that the amount is left to the…
- unliquidated debtA debt not yet reduced to a definite figure, and which may be disputed.
- unlisted securityA security traded over the counter and not listed on any stock exchange.
- unlisted stockStock traded over the counter and not listed on any stock exchange.
- unliveryThe unloading of cargo at the place it was bound for.
- unmarketable titleA title a reasonable buyer would refuse because of possible competing interests or the prospect of litigation over th…
- unmerchantable titleA title a reasonable buyer would refuse because of possible competing interests or the prospect of litigation over th…
- unnatural offenseOral or anal intercourse between people, above all of the same sex, or between a person and an animal. Statutes forbi…
- unnatural willA will that leaves the estate to strangers rather than to the testator's family, with no apparent reason.
- unnavigableOf water, not fit for navigation; in marine insurance, of a vessel, unfit for service.
- unnecessaryNot required in the circumstances.
- unnecessary hardshipIn zoning law, a ground for granting a variance, where bringing the property or its use into line with the zoning rul…
- uno actuIn a single act; by one and the same act.
- uno flatuIn one breath: at one and the same time.
- unoccupiedOf a building, empty; of a person, not busy, above all out of work.
- unofficious willA will that fails to provide for those the law says the testator ought to have provided for, such as a spouse or chil…
- unpaid dividendA dividend the company has declared but not yet paid to the shareholders.
- unperfected security interestA security interest whose holder has taken none of the steps that would give it priority over other creditors, so tha…
- unprecedentedNever known before.
- unprofessional conductBehavior that is immoral, unethical, or dishonorable, whether generally or by the standards of the person's own profe…
- unpublished opinionAn opinion the court has marked as not for publication. Court rules usually forbid citing one as authority, and it bi…
- unqualified indorsementAn indorsement that leaves the indorser's liability on the paper intact, carrying no words such as without recourse.
- unqualified opinionAn audit opinion given where the accountant is satisfied that the financial statements are fairly presented, consiste…
- unquesEver, or always.
- unques pristAlways ready: a plea that the defendant has at all times been willing to perform.
- unrealized lossA drop in the market value of something the owner still holds, which becomes a real loss only on sale.
- unrealized profitA gain that exists only on paper, because the asset has risen in value but has not been sold.
- unrealized receivableAn amount earned but not yet received. For a taxpayer on the cash basis such receivables have no tax basis.
- unreasonableNot guided by reason; also, of a search or seizure, not justified by a warrant or by any recognized exception to the…
- unreasonable compensationUnder the Internal Revenue Code, pay so far out of proportion to the work actually done that the company cannot deduc…
- unreasonable decisionAn agency decision so plainly wrong that no reasonable mind could differ about it.
- unreasonable refusal to submit to operationIn workers’ compensation law, an injured worker’s refusal of a needed operation, which may be ground for ending their…
- unreasonable restraint of tradeA restraint of trade that significantly harms competition and so breaks the antitrust laws.
- unreasonable restraint on alienationA restriction, usually in a deed, on the owner's power to sell or transfer land, preventing disposal altogether or di…
- unreasonable searchA search made without probable cause or any other ground that would make it lawful, which the Fourth Amendment forbids.
- unrebuttableNot open to rebuttal.
- unrecordedNot entered on the public record.
- unregistered securityA security that has never been registered with the SEC and therefore cannot be offered to the public, though it may b…
- unrelated business incomeTaxable income a tax-exempt organization earns from a trade or business unrelated to the purpose for which it is exempt.
- unrelated offenseA crime independent of the one charged.
- unrelated-business-income taxA tax on the taxable income a nonprofit body earns from activities outside its exempt purpose, such as advertising re…
- unresponsive answerA witness's answer that does not address the question asked.
- unrestricted indorsementAn indorsement carrying no condition and no words limiting further negotiation of the instrument.
- unrestrictive indorsementAn indorsement carrying no condition and no words restricting further negotiation.
- unrestrictive interpretationReading a text in good faith, without tying oneself to any particular principle of construction.
- unreviewableNot open to review by a court.
- unsatisfied-judgment fundA fund a state sets up to compensate people for losses from a car accident caused by a driver with no insurance or to…
- unseaworthyOf a vessel, unfit to meet the ordinary perils of the voyage.
- unsecured bail bondA bond making a defendant liable if the conditions are broken, such as by failing to appear, but not backed by any de…
- unsecured bondA bond backed by nothing but the issuer's general credit, with no security over any particular asset.
- unsecured claimA claim by a creditor with no lien on the debtor's property and no right of setoff; also, a claim by a creditor whose…
- unsecured creditorA creditor who, in giving credit, takes no rights over any particular property of the debtor.
- unsecured debtA debt with no collateral or other security behind it.
- unsecured noteA promise to pay backed by nothing but the maker's own credit, with no collateral behind it.
- unskilled workWork needing little or no judgment, made up of simple tasks that can be learned quickly on the job.
- unsolemn willA will made without the formalities the law usually requires, such as an oral or holographic will.
- unsoundNot healthy, above all not of sound mind; also not soundly made, or not well founded.
- unspeakable crimeOral or anal copulation between people, or between a person and an animal, as the older statutes described it.
- unswornNot sworn.
- untenantableNot fit to be lived in.
- untrueNot correct; of a person, not faithful.
- unvalued policyA policy that puts no value on the insured property, so that its worth must be proved when a loss occurs.
- unworthyOf an heir, barred from inheriting because of some serious failure of duty toward the deceased, such as killing them.
- unwritten constitutionThe customs and values, some of them written into statutes, that make up the basic law of a country with no single wr…
- unwritten evidenceEvidence given by word of mouth, whether in court or on deposition.
- unwritten lawLaw that has never been enacted as a statute but has the force of custom. The phrase traditionally takes in case law…
- unwritten willAn oral will made in the expectation of imminent death from an injury just suffered. Most states no longer allow them…
- up-front performance bondA performance bond given before the buyer's letter of credit or other financing is issued.
- UPAA model code of 1914 bringing uniformity to state law on partnerships, adopted by almost every state and since replac…
- UPLThe practice of law by someone who has not been licensed to practice in that jurisdiction.
- Upper BenchThe name given to the King's Bench during the Protectorate, when there was no king.
- upper chamberIn a two-chamber legislature, the smaller of the two houses, such as the Senate or the House of Lords.
- upper courtThe court a case is appealed to.
- upper estateAn estate that has the benefit of an easement over another's land.
- upper managementThe highest level of a company's management, where major policy and long-term plans are settled.
- UPREITA structure in which a real-estate investment trust holds its properties through an operating partnership, contributo…
- upset bidA bid at a judicial sale higher than the purchaser's, made so that the sale will be set aside.
- upset priceThe lowest price a seller will accept for property offered at auction.
- upstream mergerA merger of a subsidiary into its parent company.
- upstreamingA parent company's use of a subsidiary's cash or assets for purposes that have nothing to do with the subsidiary.
- upward departureUnder the federal sentencing guidelines, a sentence heavier than the guidelines would ordinarily call for, as where t…
- urbanOf or relating to a city or town.
- urban planningThe deliberate development of land through zoning, environmental studies, and similar means.
- urban renewalThe redevelopment of urban areas by repairing or demolishing existing buildings and putting up new ones on the cleare…
- urban servitudeA servitude concerning buildings in a town, such as a right to light and air or a right to rest a beam on a neighbor'…
- urbsA city or town; in Roman usage, the city of Rome.
- ureCustom, practice, or use.
- URESAA uniform law giving a procedure by which an order for alimony or child support made in one state can be enforced aga…
- usageA settled and uniform practice, usually within a particular trade or profession.
- usanceThe time allowed for paying a foreign bill of exchange, once fixed by custom and now usually by law.
- usance creditA letter of credit honored by the issuer's accepting drafts drawn under it, payable at a later date.
- USCThe published codification of federal statute law.
- USCAA publication of the full text of the United States Code with historical notes, cross-references, and notes of the de…
- useThe employing of something, above all the long-continued enjoyment of a thing for the purpose it is fitted for, as op…
- use immunityImmunity barring the use of a witness's compelled testimony, or anything derived from it, in a later prosecution of t…
- use in commerceIn trademark law, real use of a mark in selling goods or services, which must be shown before the mark can be registe…
- use plaintiffIn common-law pleading, the person for whose benefit an action is brought in another's name, as where an assignee sue…
- use taxA tax on the use of goods bought outside the taxing state, imposed so that buyers gain nothing by purchasing where no…
- use valueThe value a thing has from its usefulness to the owner, rather than from what it would fetch on sale.
- use varianceA variance allowing a use of land that the zoning rules would otherwise forbid.
- useeThe person for whose benefit an action is brought in another's name.
- usefulIn patent law, of an invention, having a practical use.
- useful lifeThe period over which depreciable property is expected to go on producing income, used in working out depreciation an…
- useless-gesture exceptionIn criminal procedure, an exception to the knock-and-announce rule, excusing the police from announcing themselves wh…
- userThe exercising of a right, or the enjoyment of property.
- user feeA charge for the use of a particular thing or facility.
- Uses, Statute ofThe English statute of 1535 that turned the beneficiary's equitable interest in land into a legal one, so that the be…
- usherA doorkeeper responsible for keeping silence and order in certain English courts.
- usualOrdinary or customary.
- usuaryA person who has the use of a thing to meet their own and their family's needs.
- usucapionThe acquiring of ownership by long possession, under Roman law.
- usucaptionThe acquiring of ownership by long possession.
- usufructIn Roman and civil law, the right to use another's property for a time and take its fruits, without wasting or dimini…
- usufructuaryOf or in the nature of a usufruct.
- usuriousPracticing usury, or marked by it.
- usurpatioIn Roman law, the interruption of usucaption, whether by loss of possession or by suit brought by the true owner.
- usurpationThe unlawful seizing of another's position, office, or authority.
- usurpation of advowsonThe wrongful ousting of a patron from an advowson, as where a stranger with no right presents a clerk who is then ins…
- usuryHistorically, the lending of money at interest; today, the charging of interest above the rate the law allows, and su…
- usury lawA statute forbidding lenders to charge more than a stated rate of interest.
- ususIn Roman law, the right to use another's property without taking its produce. It was a personal servitude giving a ri…
- ut currere solebatAs it was wont to run: words used of the former course of a stream.
- ut infraAs below.
- uterineBorn of the same mother but a different father.
- uterine brotherA brother by the same mother but a different father.
- uterqueEach of two, taken separately.
- uterque nostrumEach of us: words commonly used in bonds to bind two obligors severally as well as jointly.
- utfangthiefA lord's right to pursue a thief beyond the manor's bounds and bring them back for trial and punishment.
- uti possidetisIn international law, the rule that when a political subdivision becomes independent its old administrative boundarie…
- uti rogasIn Roman law, as you propose: words written on a ballot to signify a vote in favor of a bill or candidate.
- utilisUseful or equitable, as in the phrase actio utilis, an action allowed by analogy where the strict law gave none.
- utilitarian-deterrence theoryThe theory that punishment is justified only where it serves the good of society by preventing future harm.
- utilitarianismThe view that public action should aim at the greatest happiness of the greatest number.
- utilityUsefulness. In patent law it is one of the three requirements of patentability, along with novelty and non-obviousnes…
- utility fundA mutual fund that invests only in the securities of public utilities.
- utility patentA patent for a process, a machine, an article of manufacture, or a composition of matter such as a new chemical. Most…
- utlagareTo put an offender outside the protection of the law.
- utlagationThe putting of an offender outside the protection of the law.
- utlagatusA person who has been outlawed.
- utlaghA person outside the protection of the law.
- utlandFormerly, the outer part of a lord's demesne, used to support the lord's tenants.
- UTMAA uniform law, adopted in most states, allowing property to be transferred to a minor and held by a custodian who man…
- utmost careThe high degree of care proportionate to the danger involved, such as those who make a business of handling the thing…
- utrubiIn Roman law, an order preserving possession of movable property as it stands until the question of ownership is deci…
- utrumque nostrumEach of us: words commonly used in bonds to bind two obligors severally as well as jointly.
- utterTo say or publish something; also to put a document into circulation, above all to pass off a forged instrument as ge…
- utter barThe junior barristers who sit outside the bar of the court, ranking below King's Counsel.
- utter barristerA barrister called to the bar but not entitled to plead from within it, as King's Counsel may: a member of the outer…
- utteringThe offense of passing off a false or worthless instrument as genuine, meaning to defraud.
- uxorWife.
- uxore rapta et abductaA writ for a husband whose wife had been carried off, to recover her and her goods.
- uxorialOf or relating to a wife.
- uxoricideThe murder of one's wife, and the man who commits it.