Terms Used In California Codes > Corporations Code > Title 1 > Division 2 > Part 4 > Chapter 1 > Article 5 - Bylaws

• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• agreement: means the total legal obligation that results from the parties' agreement as determined by this code and as supplemented by any other applicable laws. See California Commercial Code 1201
• Allocation: means a loan of funds by the commission pursuant to the procedures specified in this chapter. See California Public Resources Code 25411
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• 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.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Bill of lading: means a document evidencing the receipt of goods for shipment issued by a person engaged in the business of transporting or forwarding goods. See California Commercial Code 1201
• Building: includes a tribal building. See California Public Resources Code 25411
• City: includes "city and county" and "incorporated town" but does not include "unincorporated town" or "village. See California Government Code 20
• Committee: means the Pooled Money Investment Board. See California Government Code 17220
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• contract: means the bargain of the parties in fact, as found in their language or inferred from other circumstances, including course of performance, course of dealing, or usage of trade as provided in Section 1303. See California Commercial Code 1201
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• County: includes city and county. See California Government Code 19
• County: includes "city and county. See California Corporations Code 14
• County: includes "city and county. See California Public Resources Code 14
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• directors: means natural persons, designated in the articles or bylaws or elected by the incorporators, and their successors and natural persons designated, elected, or appointed by any other name or title to act as members of the governing body of the corporation. See California Corporations Code 5047
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Eligible institution: means a school, hospital, public care institution, unit of local government, or tribe. See California Public Resources Code 25411
• Energy audit: means a determination of the energy consumption characteristics of a building or facility that does all of the following:

  California Public Resources Code 25411

• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• executed: when used with respect to the documents filed pursuant to this code or pursuant to regulations adopted under this code, and presented to the Secretary of State, include a document bearing a signature under subdivision (a). See California Corporations Code 17.1
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• Facility: means any major energy using system of an eligible institution whether or not housed in a building. See California Public Resources Code 25411
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• 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.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Goods: means all things that are movable at the time of identification to the lease contract, or are fixtures (Section 10309), but the term does not include money, documents, instruments, accounts, chattel paper, general intangibles, or minerals or the like, including oil and gas, before extraction. See California Commercial Code 10103
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• 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.
• Hospital: means a public or nonprofit institution that is both of the following:

  California Public Resources Code 25411

• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Insolvent: means :

  California Commercial Code 1201

• 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}
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: means a transfer of the right to possession and use of goods for a term in return for consideration, but a sale, including a sale on approval or a sale or return, or retention or creation of a security interest is not a lease. See California Commercial Code 10103
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Lease agreement: means the bargain, with respect to the lease, of the lessor and the lessee in fact as found in their language or by implication from other circumstances including course of dealing or usage of trade or course of performance as provided in this division. See California Commercial Code 10103
• Lease contract: means the total legal obligation that results from the lease agreement as affected by this division and any other applicable rules of law. See California Commercial Code 10103
• Legal tender: coins, dollar bills, or other currency issued by a government as official money. ^{Source: U.S. Mint}
• Lessee: means a person who acquires the right to possession and use of goods under a lease. See California Commercial Code 10103
• Lessor: means a person who transfers the right to possession and use of goods under a lease. See California Commercial Code 10103
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Notice: includes all papers and orders required to be served in any proceedings before any court, board, or officer, or when required by law to be served independently of such proceeding. See California Government Code 26660
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• 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 any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation, or company. See California Government Code 17
• Person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity. See California Commercial Code 1201
• Person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See California Corporations Code 18
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• 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.
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Present value: means the amount as of a date certain of one or more sums payable in the future, discounted to the date certain. See California Commercial Code 10103
• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Process: includes a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings of either a civil or criminal nature. See California Government Code 22
• Project: means a purpose for which an allocation may be requested and made under this chapter. See California Public Resources Code 25411
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public care institution: means a public or nonprofit institution that owns:

  California Public Resources Code 25411

• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• Public or nonprofit institution: means an institution owned and operated by:

  California Public Resources Code 25411

• Purchase: includes taking by sale, lease, mortgage, security interest, pledge, gift, or any other voluntary transaction creating an interest in goods. See California Commercial Code 10103
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Refunding warrants: refers to warrants drawn by the Controller on the General Fund pursuant to this article to provide funds for the payment of reimbursement warrants bearing a fixed maturity date or warrants issued pursuant to Section 17211. See California Government Code 17240
• Reimbursement warrants: refers to warrants drawn by the Controller on the General Fund pursuant to this article to reimburse the General Cash Revolving Fund for demands against the General Fund for which warrants were drawn against the General Cash Revolving Fund. See California Government Code 17240
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Remedy: means any remedial right to which an aggrieved party is entitled with or without resort to a tribunal. See California Commercial Code 1201
• Right: includes remedy. See California Commercial Code 1201
• Right of offset: Banks' legal right to seize funds that a guarantor or debtor may have on deposit to cover a loan in default. It is also known as the right of set-off. ^{Source: OCC}
• School: means a public or nonprofit institution, including a local educational agency, which:

  California Public Resources Code 25411

• Security interest: includes any interest of a consignor and a buyer of accounts, chattel paper, a payment intangible, or a promissory note in a transaction that is subject to Division 9 (commencing with Section 9101). See California Commercial Code 1201
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• 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.
• Signature: includes mark when the signer cannot write, such signer's name being written near the mark by a witness who writes his own name near the signer's name. See California Corporations Code 17
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Government Code 18
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Education Code 77
• state agency: includes every state office, officer, department, division, bureau, board, and commission. See California Government Code 11000
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10
• Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term appears unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Corporations Code 10
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Supplier: means a person from whom a lessor buys or leases goods to be leased under a finance lease. See California Commercial Code 10103
• Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
• Term: means a portion of an agreement that relates to a particular matter. See California Commercial Code 1201
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• third party: means a person that has engaged in a transaction or made an agreement subject to this code. See California Commercial Code 1201
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Tribal building: means a building that is owned, or primarily used, by a tribe located within or outside of Indian country, located in California, and primarily occupied by any of the following:

  California Public Resources Code 25411

• Tribe: means a California Native American tribe located in California that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission for purposes of Chapter 905 of the Statutes of 2004. See California Public Resources Code 25411
• Unapplied money: means money in the General Fund in the treasury for which outstanding warrants have not already been drawn and which would remain in the General Fund if all outstanding warrants theretofore drawn were paid. See California Government Code 17220
• Unit of local government: means a unit of general purpose government below the state, a special district, or any combination of that unit and special district formed for the joint exercise of power. See California Public Resources Code 25411
• Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.