Terms Used In California Codes > Civil Code > Division 4 > Part 1 > Title 2 > Chapter 1 - Damages in General

• Abstract of judgment: In a federal criminal proceeding, A certification from a U.S. District Court clerk that a judgment of restitution was entered against the defendant owing to the victim. If the defendant inherits, owns, or sells real property or holdings, these assets can then be attached at the state and local levels as well.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Authority: means the California Educational Facilities Authority created by this chapter or any board, body, commission, department, or officer succeeding to the principal functions of the authority or to whom the power conferred upon the authority by this chapter is given by law. See California Education Code 94110
• axle: is a structure or portion of a structure consisting of one or more shafts, spindles, or bearings in the same vertical transverse plane by means of which, in conjunction with wheels mounted on said shafts, spindles, or bearings, a portion of the weight of a vehicle and its load, if any, is continuously transmitted to the roadway when the vehicle is in motion. See California Vehicle Code 230
• Bond: means bonds, notes, debentures, securities, or other evidences of indebtedness of the authority issued pursuant to this chapter. See California Education Code 94110
• bus: is a ny vehicle, including a trailer bus, designed, used, or maintained for carrying more than 15 persons including the driver. See California Vehicle Code 233
• business: includes a proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and any other form of commercial enterprise. See California Vehicle Code 234
• City: includes every city and city and county within this State. See California Vehicle Code 255
• commercial vehicle: is a motor vehicle of a type required to be registered under this code used or maintained for the transportation of persons for hire, compensation, or profit or designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property. See California Vehicle Code 260
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• costs: includes only the following:

  California Code of Civil Procedure 1297.411

• County: includes every county and city and county within this State. See California Vehicle Code 270
• County: includes "city and county. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Motor Vehicles except, when used in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 2100) of Division 2 and in Divisions 11 (commencing with Section 21000), 12 (commencing with Section 24000), 13 (commencing with Section 29000), 14 (commencing with Section 31600), 14. See California Vehicle Code 290
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• distributor: is a ny person other than a manufacturer who sells or distributes new vehicles subject to registration under this code, new trailers subject to identification pursuant to Section 5014. See California Vehicle Code 296
• Dormitory: means a housing unit with necessary and usual attendant and related facilities and equipment. See California Education Code 94110
• driver: is a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 305
• drug: means any substance or combination of substances, other than alcohol, which could so affect the nervous system, brain, or muscles of a person as to impair, to an appreciable degree, his ability to drive a vehicle in the manner that an ordinarily prudent and cautious man, in full possession of his faculties, using reasonable care, would drive a similar vehicle under like conditions. See California Vehicle Code 312
• Educational facility: means a dormitory, dining hall, student union, administration building, academic building, library, laboratory, research facility, classroom, health care facility (including for an institution of higher education that maintains and operates a school of medicine, structures or facilities designed to provide services as a hospital or clinic, whether the hospital or clinic is operated directly by the institution of higher education or by a separate nonprofit corporation, the members of which consist of the educational institution or the members of its governing body), faculty and staff housing, parking, maintenance, storage, or utility facilities, and other related structures or facilities used for student instruction, conducting research, or operating an institution for higher education, and related facilities and equipment. See California Education Code 94110
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Executive director: means the Executive Director of the California Educational Facilities Authority. See California Education Code 94157
• Faculty and staff housing: means a residential unit owned by a participating college or participating nonprofit entity for use by an individual holding a faculty appointment or a staff position at a public university, public college, or participating college. See California Education Code 94110
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• farm labor vehicle: is a ny motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained for the transportation of nine or more farmworkers, in addition to the driver, to or from a place of employment or employment-related activities. See California Vehicle Code 322
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Finance charge: The total cost of credit a customer must pay on a consumer loan, including interest. The Truth in Lending Act requires disclosure of the finance charge. ^{Source: OCC}
• Financial institution: means a bank as defined under paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) of §. See California Education Code 94157
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• General public paratransit vehicle: means any motor vehicle designed for carrying no more than 24 persons and the driver, that provides local transportation to the general public, including transportation of pupils at or below the 12th-grade level to or from a public or private school or school activity, under the exclusive jurisdiction of a publicly owned and operated transit system through one of the following modes: dial-a-ride, subscription service, or route-deviated bus service. See California Vehicle Code 336
• grey market goods: means consumer goods bearing a trademark and normally accompanied by an express written warranty valid in the United States of America which are imported into the United States through channels other than the manufacturer's authorized United States distributor and which are not accompanied by the manufacturer's express written warranty valid in the United States. See California Civil Code 1797.8
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Hazardous material: includes explosives and hazardous wastes or substances as defined by regulations adopted pursuant to §. See California Vehicle Code 353
• Highway: is a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. See California Vehicle Code 360
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• legal owner: is a person holding a security interest in a vehicle which is subject to the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code, or the lessor of a vehicle to the State or to any county, city, district, or political subdivision of the State, or to the United States, under a lease, lease-sale, or rental-purchase agreement which grants possession of the vehicle to the lessee for a period of 30 consecutive days or more. See California Vehicle Code 370
• Lessor: includes "bailor" and "lease" includes "bailment. See California Vehicle Code 372
• Limousine: means any sedan or sport utility vehicle, of either standard or extended length, with a seating capacity of not more than 10 passengers including the driver, used in the transportation of passengers for hire on a prearranged basis within this state. See California Vehicle Code 378
• Loss reserve account: means an account in the State Treasury or in any financial institution that is established and maintained by the authority for the benefit of a financial institution participating in the program for the purposes of any of the following:

  California Education Code 94157

• Maintenance facility or terminal: includes a private business or residence. See California Vehicle Code 34515
• Modified limousine: means any vehicle that has been modified, altered, or extended in a manner that increases the overall wheelbase of the vehicle, exceeding the original equipment manufacturer's published wheelbase dimension for the base model and year of the vehicle, in any amount sufficient to accommodate additional passengers with a seating capacity of not more than 10 passengers including the driver, and is used in the transportation of passengers for hire. See California Vehicle Code 378
• motor vehicle: includes a recreational vehicle as that term is defined in subdivision (a) of §. See California Vehicle Code 415
• motortruck: is a motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property. See California Vehicle Code 410
• National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. ^{Source: OCC}
• Operative date: means July 1, 1983. See California Code of Civil Procedure 694.010
• owner: is a person having all the incidents of ownership, including the legal title of a vehicle whether or not such person lends, rents, or creates a security interest in the vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 460
• paratransit vehicle: is a passenger vehicle, other than a bus, schoolbus, school pupil activity bus, youth bus, general public paratransit vehicle, or taxicab that is both of the following:

  California Vehicle Code 462

• participating college: means a private college that participates with the authority in undertaking the financing of working capital or the financing and construction or acquisition of a project and does not restrict the admission of a student based on the student's race or ethnicity, provided that the financing does not violate §. See California Education Code 94110
• Participating nonprofit entity: means an entity within the meaning of paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of Section 501 of Title 26 of the United States Code that, pursuant to this chapter for the purpose of owning student, faculty, or staff housing, as approved by, and for participation with, the authority, undertakes the financing and construction or acquisition of student, faculty, or staff housing, on real property owned or leased by the entity, for the benefit of a public college, public university, or participating private college. See California Education Code 94110
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: includes a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Vehicle Code 470
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• pickup truck: is a motor truck with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of less than 11,500 pounds, an unladen weight of less than 8,001 pounds, and which is equipped with an open box-type bed not exceeding 9 feet in length. See California Vehicle Code 471
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Prior law: means the applicable law in effect on June 30, 1983. See California Code of Civil Procedure 694.010
• Private college: means an institution for higher education other than a public college, situated within the state and that, by virtue of law or charter, is a nonprofit private or independent degree-granting educational institution that is regionally accredited and empowered to provide a program of education beyond the high school level. See California Education Code 94110
• Private student loan: means a loan issued by a private lending institution for the costs of attendance at any public or private nonprofit college or university in the United States, notwithstanding the definitions in subdivisions (i), (k), and (l) of Section 94110. See California Education Code 94157
• Program: means the California Student Loan Refinancing Program created pursuant to this article. See California Education Code 94157
• Project: means a dormitory or an educational facility, faculty or staff housing, or any combination thereof, or any function concerning student loans, or interests in student loans, as determined by the authority. See California Education Code 94110
• property: includes property real and personal. See California Civil Code 14
• Public college: means a community college. See California Education Code 94110
• Public university: means any campus of the University of California, the California State University, or the Hastings College of the Law. See California Education Code 94110
• Qualified borrower: means an individual meeting all of the following requirements:

  California Education Code 94157

• Qualified loan: means a loan or a portion of a loan made by a financial institution to a qualified borrower to refinance a private student loan under the program. See California Education Code 94157
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• registered owner: is a person registered by the department as the owner of a vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 505
• representative: is a ny person regularly employed by a manufacturer or distributor for the purpose of negotiating or promoting the sale of the manufacturer's or distributer's vehicles to their franchisees or for regularly supervising or contacting franchisees or prospective franchisees in this state for any purpose. See California Vehicle Code 512
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• sale: includes a lease of more than four months. See California Civil Code 1797.8
• school pupil activity bus: is a ny motor vehicle, other than a schoolbus, operated by a common carrier, or by and under the exclusive jurisdiction of a publicly owned or operated transit system, or by a passenger charter-party carrier, used under a contractual agreement between a school and carrier to transport school pupils at or below the 12th-grade level to or from a public or private school activity, or used to transport pupils to or from residential schools, when the pupils are received and discharged at off-highway locations where a parent or adult designated by the parent is present to accept the pupil or place the pupil on the bus. See California Vehicle Code 546
• schoolbus: is a motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained for the transportation of any school pupil at or below the 12th grade level to or from a public or private school or to or from public or private school activities, except the following:

  California Vehicle Code 545

• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Sheriff: includes marshal. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• Spouse: includes "registered domestic partner" as required by §. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• State: includes the District of Columbia and the territories when applied to the different parts of the United States, and the words "United States" may include the district and territories. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• Student loan: means a loan having terms and conditions acceptable to the authority that is made to finance or refinance the costs of attendance at a private college or a public college and that is approved by the authority, if the loan is originated pursuant to a program that is approved by the authority. See California Education Code 94110
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• terminal: means the location or locations in this state that are designated by a motor carrier, where subject vehicles may be inspected by the department and where vehicle maintenance and inspection records and drivers' records will be made available for inspection. See California Vehicle Code 34515
• Terminal: is a place where a vehicle of a type listed in Section 34500 is regularly garaged or maintained, or from which the vehicle is operated or dispatched. See California Vehicle Code 595
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Top administrative official: means the chancellor in the case of a campus of the University of California, the dean in the case of the Hastings College of the Law, the president in the case of a campus of the California State University, the president in the case of a campus of the California Community Colleges, or the president or highest ranking official in the case of a participating private college. See California Education Code 94110
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Tour bus: includes a bus described in subdivision (a) that has had its roof substantially structurally modified or removed. See California Vehicle Code 612
• traffic: includes pedestrians, ridden animals, vehicles, street cars, and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using any highway for purposes of travel. See California Vehicle Code 620
• trailer: includes a semitrailer when used in conjunction with an auxiliary dolly, if the auxiliary dolly is of a type constructed to replace the function of the drawbar and the front axle or axles of a trailer. See California Vehicle Code 630
• transporter: is a person engaged in the business of moving any owned or lawfully possessed vehicle by lawful methods over the highways for the purpose of delivery of such vehicles to dealers, sales agents of a manufacturer, purchasers, or to a new location as requested by the owner. See California Vehicle Code 645
• truck tractor: is a motor vehicle designed and used primarily for drawing other vehicles and not so constructed as to carry a load, other than a part of the weight of the vehicle and the load so drawn. See California Vehicle Code 655
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• vanpool vehicle: is a ny motor vehicle, other than a motortruck or truck tractor, designed for carrying more than 10 but not more than 15 persons including the driver, which is maintained and used primarily for the nonprofit work-related transportation of adults for the purposes of ridesharing. See California Vehicle Code 668
• vehicle: is a device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway, excepting a device moved exclusively by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. See California Vehicle Code 670
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• will: includes codicil. See California Civil Code 14
• Will: includes codicil. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• Working capital: means maintenance or operation expenses or any other costs that would be treated as an expense item, under generally accepted accounting principles, in connection with the ownership or operation of an educational facility, faculty or staff housing, student housing, or any combination thereof, including, but not limited to, reserves for maintenance or operation expenses, interest on any loan for working capital made pursuant to this part, and reserves for debt service with respect to, and any costs necessary or incidental to, that financing. See California Education Code 94110
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• Writ: means an order or precept in writing, issued in the name of the people, or of a court or judicial officer. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• Writing: includes printing and typewriting. See California Code of Civil Procedure 17
• youth bus: is a ny bus, other than a schoolbus, designed for and when actually carrying not more than 16 persons and the driver, used to transport children at or below the 12th-grade level directly from a public or private school to an organized nonschool-related youth activity within 25 miles of the school or directly from a location which provides the organized nonschool-related youth activity to a public or private school within 25 miles of that location. See California Vehicle Code 680