Daniel Oran - Oran's Dictionary of the Law

318 Mortality tables

Mortality tables Actuarial tables (or mathematical formulas) that predict how many persons from a group of a certain age, sex, and other characteristics will die in each succeeding year.

Mortgage 1. One person putting up land or buildings (or, in the case of a chattel mortgage, personal property) as security for a loan. The property is collateral for repayment of the loan. A mortgage usually takes one of three forms: A. The ownership of the property actually transfers in whole or in part to the lender. B. The ownership does not change at all, and the mortgage has the same effect as a lien (see that word). C. The property is put into trust with an independent person until the debt is paid off. 2. For various types of mortgages, such as closed-end, conventional, first, purchase money, wraparound, etc., see those words. 3. Some “mortgage words” include the following: A mortgage banker makes mortgage loans with its own or others’ money, usually on a short-term basis. A mortgage bond is a bond with property put up for security. A mortgage certificate is a document showing a share owned in a mortgage. A mortgage commitment is a letter agreeing to a specific loan on specific terms. A mortgage company makes mortgage loans, then sells them to others. A mortgage contingency clause makes a sale depend on finding mortgage money. A mortgagee is a lender who takes a mortgage. Mortgaging out is 100 percent financing, or buying property without using any of your own money. A mortgagor is a borrower who gives a mortgage in return for the loan. [pronounce: mor-gidj]

Mortgage market The granting of real estate mortgages to individuals and businesses by banks and other financial institutions, the resale of these mortgages to investors, and the packaging of these mortgages into groups to back bond-like securities. The federal government oversees the process through its banking regulators and supports both the granting and resale markets through organizations such as the F.H.A., V.A., Ginnie Mae, and Fannie Mae.

Mortis causa See causa mortis.

Mortmain (French) 1. “Dead hand.” Describes property controlled “by the hand” of a dead person, especially when the property is transferred with resale restrictions to a corporation. Mortmain acts in England restricted the church practice of controlling land indefinitely by transferring the land to a corporation. 2. Mortmain statutes, in those states that still have them, invalidate some deathbed gifts to charity.

Most favored nation 1. An agreement between two countries that says that each will treat the other as well as it treats the country it treats best. The main effect of “most favored nation” status is lowered im-

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port taxes. 2. A most favored nation clause in a labor contract is a company’s promise to give union members any benefits later given to any union’s members. Compare with a more favorable terms clause.

Most suitable use Highest and best use.

Mother Hubbard clause 1. A dragnet clause. 2. The name for many types of statements in a document that other things not specifically described in the document are included in its effect or excluded from its effect.

Motion 1. A request that a judge make a ruling or take some other action. For example, a motion to dismiss is a request that the court throw the case out; a motion for more definite statement is a request that the judge require an opponent in a lawsuit to file a less vague or ambiguous pleading; a motion to strike is a request that immaterial statements or other things be removed from an opponent’s pleading; and a motion to suppress is a request that illegally gathered evidence be prohibited. Motions are either granted or denied by the judge. 2. The formal way something is proposed in a meeting.

Motive The reason why a person does something. Not intent (see that word for the difference).

Mousemilking Great effort to trivial effect. Wasting a court’s time with massive amounts of evidence or a long-winded argument to prove a trivial point.

Mouthpiece Slang for “lawyer.” Movables Personal property.

Movant Person who makes a motion (see that word). [pronounce: move-ant]

Move Make a motion (see that word).

Moving cause See proximate cause.

Moving papers Court papers to make or support a motion or a lawsuit. Mugging A street robbery, particularly one using or threatening physi-

cal violence.

Mugshot A picture taken for an official police record during a booking. These pictures are collected in mugbooks to help identify criminals in the future.

Mulct 1. A fine or penalty, or to fine someone. 2. A fraud, or to commit a fraud.

Mulier An old word for a legitimate child.

Multidistrict litigation Lawsuits involving the same facts that come up in several different federal district courts may all be transferred to one

320 Multifariousness

court by a special federal panel according to special rules. The types of complex cases that get transferred this way include antitrust cases, airplane crash suits, patent, trademark, and securities cases, etc.

Multifariousness Several unconnected claims combined in one lawsuit or several unconnected subjects in one legislative bill (sometimes called an omnibus bill).

Multilateral agreement An agreement among several persons, companies, or governments.

Multinational 1. A company with major centers of operation or subsidiaries in several countries. 2. A company that merely does business in several countries.

Multiple access The defense to a paternity suit that the woman had several lovers. DNA fingerprinting has reduced the usefulness of this defense.

Multiple evidence Facts that may be used in a trial to prove only certain things and no others.

Multiple listing See listing.

Multiple offense An act that violates more than one law and in ways that do not totally overlap.

Multiple party account A joint bank account or a trust account, but not an account for an organization.

Multiple sentences See cumulative sentence.

Multiplicity of actions Two or more lawsuits against the same defendant about the same issues. The suits should usually be combined into one.

Multiplicity of charges Charging the same offense in more than one count of an indictment. This violates the constitutional provision against double jeopardy.

Mun. Municipal.

Muni A municipal bond.

Municipal Having to do with a local government. For example, municipal bonds are bonds issued by a local government to raise money, and a municipal ordinance is a local law or regulation. [pronounce: mu-niss-eh-pul]

Municipal corporation A city or other local government unit that has been set up according to state requirements.

Municipality A municipal corporation.

Muniments Documents such as deeds that are evidence of title.

Mutuality of contract 321

Murder The unlawful killing of another human being that is premeditated (planned in advance) or is with malice aforethought (see that word). Most states divide murder into first and second degrees. First degree murder usually involves a willful and deliberate killing, such as by torture or lying in wait, or killing during the commission of another felony such as arson, rape, robbery, and kidnapping. Second degree murder is less serious, but still worse than manslaughter.

Mutatis mutandis (Latin) With necessary changes in detail. Mutilation 1. Cutting, tearing, erasing, or otherwise changing a docu-

ment in a way that changes or destroys its legal effect. 2. Mayhem. Mutiny 1. A revolt in the armed services. 2. A revolt of sailors aboard

any ship.

Mutual Done together or reciprocal. See that word for further definition and examples of such things as mutual (reciprocal) wills.

Mutual assent An offer and acceptance or other definite intention of both parties to make a valid contract. Compare meeting of minds.

Mutual benefit association (or company, corporation, or society)

See nonprofit organization.

Mutual company 1. A company in which the customers are also the owners, with profits often passed on in proportion to the dollar value of each customer’s business. 2. A company in which the employees are the owners, with profits often passed on in proportion to each employee’s job level or work. 3. See also nonprofit organization.

Mutual fund An investment company that pools investors’ money and buys securities (often shares of stock in many companies). It does this by selling its own shares to the public. Mutual funds are openend (the number of shares held by investors changes), but there are also investment companies like mutual funds that are closed-end (the number of shares issued is fixed).

Mutual mistake A mistake, by both parties to a contract, about a subject that was important to both in their decisions to enter into the contract. It is a mutual mistake if both make the same mistake or if each makes a different mistake about the same important thing. A contract may be voidable if there was mutual mistake.

Mutual strike aid Financial help given by a group of companies in an industry to those companies in the group that are struck by a union.

Mutuality of contract (or obligation) Describes the principle that, for a binding contract to exist, each side must have some obligation or duty to perform under the contract.

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324 N.O.V.

N.O.V. See non obstante veredicto.

N.O.W. Negotiable order of withdrawal. A negotiable instrument, such as a check, that is payable on demand from funds in a financial institution, such as a bank. A N.O.W. account is a type of checking account that pays interest.

N.P. Notary public.

N.R. New reports; not reported; nonresident. N.R.C. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

N.S. New series.

N.S.A. National Security Agency. It conducts communications security and intelligence gathering.

N.S.F. 1. National Science Foundation. 2. Not sufficient funds. N.Y.S.E. New York Stock Exchange.

Naked Incomplete; without force; unjustified. See also bare and nude.

Napoleonic Code Code Civil.

Narcotic 1. Any substance that dulls senses, induces sleep, or becomes addictive. 2. A substance, like those in no. 1, that either federal or state law prohibits or regulates as possibly harmful to public health or safety. However, substances such as caffeine and nicotine are not defined as narcotics.

Narr Abbreviation for the Latin “narratio” (a declaration in a lawsuit) and used in the phrase “narr and cognovit,” which means confession of judgment (see that word).

Narrative evidence A witness’s testimony that is given without interruption or the usual questions by a lawyer.

Narrow interpretation Giving a law or constitutional provision a meaning that restricts it to a literal reading, rather than “broadly” expanding its application. See strict construction.

secretaries through its P.L.S. exam and provides continuing legal education and other services.

National bank A bank incorporated under the laws of the U.S., rather than under state laws. A bank can be a national bank even if it has branches in only one state. National banks are usually members of the

Federal Reserve System and are insured by the F.D.I.C.

Nationality 325

National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws

See Commission on Uniform State Laws.

National consultation right The right of certain large unions of federal employees to be consulted with by the government concerning changes in federal personnel policies.

National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley (524 U.S. 569) The 1998 U.S. Supreme Court decision that a federal agency’s refusal to make a grant because a performance does not conform to “general standards of decency” does not violate the performer’s First Amendment freedom of speech rights and is not void for vagueness under the Fifth

Amendment.

National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321) The 1969 federal law requiring Environmental Impact Statements (see that word) on major building and development projects and setting out the major environmental goals of the United States.

National Federation of Paralegal Associations A group of organizations that offers professional responsibility standards for legal assistants and provides continuing legal education and other services. It publishes the National Paralegal Reporter.

National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151) The federal law that set up the National Labor Relations Board (N.L.R.B.) and established rules for all types of employer-employee contact (union recognition, strikes, secret ballots for selection of a union, union elections, unfair labor practices, etc.). It is a combination of the Wagner, Taft-Hartley and Landrum-Griffin Acts.

National Reporter System A system of sets of books that collect all cases from state supreme courts by region. (For example, the North Eastern Reporter has Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio. It is abbreviated “N.E.” and its more recent books are N.E.2d or North East Reporter, Second Series.) The Reporter System also has sets for all federal cases, some lower court cases state-by-state, and a digest for each region. It has become the official place for some states to publish the decisions of their courts. The system is published by West Publishing Company.

Nationality The country of which a person is a citizen. (In some cases, a person could be a “U.S. national ” without being a citizen as are, for example, the residents of a U.S. territory.) Nationality gives a person a political base, while domicile gives a person a civil base (a place to sue and be sued, pay taxes, claim benefits, etc.). A person gains nationality by birth or naturalization. The U.S. Nationality Act is the

326 Nationalization

shortened name for the U.S. law dealing with immigration, naturalization, and entry of foreigners to the country.

Nationalization A country taking over a private industry, owning, and running it, with or without payment to the ex-owners.

Native A citizen by birth (including persons born overseas to parents who are citizens).

Native American Inhabitants of the U.S. since before the voyage of Columbus. This term generally replaced the term Indian about 1975, but earlier laws and court decisions retain the prior term.

Natural affection Love or family ties between persons directly related (parent-child, husband-wife, sister-brother). Natural affection alone may be enough consideration for a contract.

Natural born citizen A person born in the United States or, perhaps, a person born to U.S. citizens.

Natural death acts State laws that allow a person to give binding written instructions that doctors should not prolong the person’s life by artificial means if he or she is near death from a terminal condition. See also mercy killing and living will.

Natural heir (or object) 1. A child. 2. A close relative. 3. Anyone who would inherit if there were no will.

Natural law 1. Rules of conduct that are thought to be the same everywhere because they are basic to human behavior. 2. Basic moral law.

Natural monument See monument.

Natural object (of bounty) Natural heir.

Natural person A human being, as opposed to a corporation (see artificial person).

Natural resources 1. Materials, still in their original state, that would have economic value if extracted (timber, oil, minerals, etc.). 2. Any natural place or product that is of benefit to people (those things in no. 1 plus lakes, parkland, etc.).

Naturalization The formal process of becoming a citizen of a country.

Navigable waters Water in or adjacent to the U.S. that forms a continuous passage for commercial ships from the sea.

Ne exeat (Latin) A court paper forbidding a person from leaving the area. [pronounce: ne ex-ee-at]

Ne varietur (Latin) “Do not alter it.” Words sometimes written by a notary public after authenticating a document.

Near v. Minnesota (382 U.S. 679) The 1931 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down as prior restraint (see that word) a state law

Negative option 327

that prohibited publication by a newspaper that prints malicious defamation.

Near-money Quick assets.

Necessaries doctrine The rule that a seller may collect from a parent (or a spouse) the price of goods sold for the basic support of the parent’s child (or the other spouse).

Necessarily included offense Lesser included offense.

Necessary Physically or logically required. For example, a necessary cause is an event or action without which something would not have happened. 2. Legally required. For example, a necessary party is a person without whom a lawsuit cannot proceed or cannot proceed with complete fairness. 3. Appropriate or helpful, whether or not absolutely required. For example, the necessary and proper clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18) of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to pass all laws appropriate to carry out its functions. See also penumbra doctrine.

Necessity Anything from an irresistible force or compulsion to an important, but not required action. Necessity often refers to a situation that requires an action that would otherwise be illegal or expose a person to tort liability. A public necessity that triggers a person’s actions required for the public good provides more protection than a private necessity that triggers actions required for the person’s own good. See also necessary, necessaries doctrine, and legal necessity.

Negative averment Something stated in the negative form that is really a positive statement to be proved, rather than a denial of someone else’s positive statement. For example, “he was not old enough to make a valid contract when he signed the papers” is a negative averment (because it’s something he must prove), while “the signature is not his” is a simple denial (because the other side must prove the signature is his).

Negative covenant A promise, in a contract, to refrain from doing something; for example, a promise by the seller of a business, in the sale contract, to refrain from competing with the business sold.

Negative easement See easement.

Negative enforcement Using a court order to restrain a person who has breached an exclusive employment contract from performing for others services like those required under the contract.

Negative option An option that takes effect if you fail to do something; for example, a book club selection you buy if you fail to send back a rejection card.