Terms Used In California Codes > Corporations Code > Title 1 > Division 3 > Part 13 - BENEFIT CORPORATIONS

• 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.
• Acquisition: means the acquisition from a willing seller of a fee interest or any other interest, including easements and development rights, in real property from a willing seller. See California Public Resources Code 5096.308
• Agency: means any city, county, district, commission, the state, or any department, agency, or political subdivision thereof, that has jurisdiction under a state or local law, ordinance, or regulation to supervise, oversee, or approve a site investigation and a remedial action at a hazardous materials release site. See California Health and Safety Code 25260
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• 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.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Benefit corporation: means a corporation organized under the General Corporation Law that has elected to become subject to this part and whose status as a benefit corporation has not been terminated as provided in this part. See California Corporations Code 14601
• Benefit enforcement proceeding: means a claim or action relating to any of the following:

  California Corporations Code 14601

• Board: means the Secretary of the Resources Agency designated in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 5096. See California Public Resources Code 5096.308
• board: means the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 20
• bookkeeping services: means keeping books, making trial balances, preparing statements, making audits, or preparing reports, all as a part of bookkeeping operations, provided that such trial balances, statements, or reports are not issued over the name of such person as having been prepared or examined by a certified public accountant or public accountant. See California Civil Code 1799
• business entity: means a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association or other group, however organized and whether or not organized to operate at a profit, but does not mean a financial institution organized, chartered, or holding a license or authorization certificate under a law of this state or the United States to make loans or extend credit and subject to supervision by an official or agency of this state or the United States, nor the parent of any such financial institution, nor any subsidiary of any such financial institution or parent. See California Civil Code 1799
• City: includes "city and county" and "incorporated town" but does not include "unincorporated town" or "village. See California Government Code 20
• City: includes incorporated city, city and county, municipal corporation, municipality, town, and incorporated town. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 14
• Committee: means the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection (Villaraigosa-Keeley Act) Finance Committee created pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 5096. See California Public Resources Code 5096.308
• Committee: means the Site Designation Committee created by Section 25261. See California Health and Safety Code 25260
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• consumer: means a natural individual who has made application to a person for employment purposes, for insurance for personal, family, or household purposes, or the hiring of a dwelling unit, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 1940. See California Civil Code 1786.2
• Controller: means the State Controller. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 21
• County: includes city and county. See California Government Code 19
• County: includes city and county. See California Health and Safety Code 14
• County: includes "city and county. See California Public Resources Code 14
• County: includes city and county. See California Family Code 67
• County: includes city and county. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 15
• County: includes city and county. See California Food and Agricultural Code 29
• Creditor: means either of the following:

  California Government Code 53760.1

• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Debtor: means a local public entity that may file for bankruptcy under Chapter 9. See California Government Code 53760.1
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• department: means the Department of Parks and Recreation and "director" means the Director of Parks and Recreation. See California Public Resources Code 5001.1
• department: means State Department of Health Services. See California Health and Safety Code 20
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Deposit holder: as used in this chapter means the district attorney, county officer, or trustee designated by the court to receive assets deposited pursuant to this chapter to secure future support payments. See California Family Code 4601
• Director: means "State Director of Health Services. See California Health and Safety Code 21
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• District: means any regional park district, regional park and open-space district, or regional open-space district formed pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 5500) of Chapter 3, any recreation and park district formed pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 5780), or an authority formed pursuant to Division 26 (commencing with Section 35100). See California Public Resources Code 5096.308
• employment purposes: when used in connection with an investigative consumer report, means a report used for the purpose of evaluating a consumer for employment, promotion, reassignment, or retention as an employee. See California Civil Code 1786.2
• 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}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a set of United States statutes added as Title VIII of the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Its purpose is to ensure ethical practices in the collection of consumer debts and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information's accuracy. It is often used in conjunction with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. ^{Source: OCC}
• 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.
• Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• file: when used in connection with information on any consumer, means all of the information on that consumer recorded and retained by an investigative consumer reporting agency regardless of how the information is stored. See California Civil Code 1786.2
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Fund: means the Parklands Fund of 1984. See California Public Resources Code 5096.228
• Fund: means the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection (Villaraigosa-Keeley Act) Bond Fund created pursuant to Section 5096. See California Public Resources Code 5096.308
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• General public benefit: means a material positive impact on society and the environment, taken as a whole, as assessed against a third-party standard, from the business and operations of a benefit corporation. See California Corporations Code 14601
• Good faith: means participation by a party in the neutral evaluation process with the intent to negotiate toward a resolution of the issues that are the subject of the neutral evaluation process, including the timely provision of complete and accurate information to provide the relevant parties through the neutral evaluation process with sufficient information, in a confidential manner, to negotiate the readjustment of the municipality's debt. See California Government Code 53760.1
• 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 , but is not limited to, all of the following:

  California Health and Safety Code 25260

• Historical resource: includes , but is not limited to, any building, structure, site area, place, artifact, or collection of artifacts that is historically or archaeologically significant in the cultural annals of California. See California Public Resources Code 5096.308
• In the business of shopping cart or laundry cart retrieval: means to search for, gather, and restore possession to the owner, or an agent thereof, for compensation or in expectation of compensation, of shopping carts or laundry carts located outside the premises or parking area of a retail establishment. See California Business and Professions Code 22435.10
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• individual: means a natural person. See California Civil Code 1799
• Interested party: means a trustee, a committee of creditors, an affected creditor, an indenture trustee, a pension fund, a bondholder, a union that, under its collective bargaining agreements, has standing to initiate contract or debt restructuring negotiations with the municipality, or a representative selected by an association of retired employees of the public entity who receive income from the public entity convening the neutral evaluation. See California Government Code 53760.1
• investigative consumer report: means a consumer report in which information on a consumer's character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living is obtained through any means. See California Civil Code 1786.2
• investigative consumer reporting agency: means any person who, for monetary fees or dues, engages in whole or in part in the practice of collecting, assembling, evaluating, compiling, reporting, transmitting, transferring, or communicating information concerning consumers for the purposes of furnishing investigative consumer reports to third parties, but does not include any governmental agency whose records are maintained primarily for traffic safety, law enforcement, or licensing purposes, or any licensed insurance agent, insurance broker, or solicitor, insurer, or life insurance agent. See California Civil Code 1786.2
• Laundry cart: means a basket which is mounted on wheels and used in a coin-operated laundry or drycleaning retail establishment by a customer or an attendant for the purpose of transporting fabrics and the supplies necessary to process them. See California Business and Professions Code 22435.10
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• 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}
• Legacy: A gift of property made by will.
• 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.
• Local public entity: means any county, city, district, public authority, public agency, or other entity, without limitation, that is a municipality as defined in Section 101(40) of Title 11 of the United States Code (bankruptcy), or that qualifies as a debtor under any other federal bankruptcy law applicable to local public entities, and also includes a successor agency to a redevelopment agency created pursuant to Part 1. See California Government Code 53760.1
• Minimum status vote: means that:

  California Corporations Code 14601

• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Neutral evaluation: is a form of alternative dispute resolution that may be known as mandatory mediation. See California Government Code 53760.1
• newspaper: means a newspaper of general circulation. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 36.5
• 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.
• order: include a decree, as appropriate under the circumstances. See California Family Code 100
• Parking area: means a parking lot or other property provided by a retailer for use by a customer for parking an automobile or other vehicle. See California Business and Professions Code 22435.10
• 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.
• partnership: shall include limited liability company, registered limited liability partnership, and foreign limited liability partnership, except where the context or the specific provisions of this division otherwise require. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 28.5
• Person: includes any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation, or company. See California Government Code 17
• Person: means any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation, or company. See California Harbors and Navigation Code 19
• Person: means any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or company. See California Health and Safety Code 19
• person: as used in this title shall not be construed to require duplicative reporting by any individual, corporation, trust, estate, cooperative, association, government, or governmental subdivision or agency, or other entity involved in the same transaction. See California Civil Code 1786.2
• person: means any natural person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, firm, association, or governmental entity. See California Civil Code 1799
• Person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See California Corporations Code 18
• Person: includes a natural person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or public entity. See California Family Code 105
• Person: includes any person, firm, partnership, general partner of a partnership, limited liability company, registered limited liability partnership, foreign limited liability partnership, association, corporation, company, syndicate, estate, trust, business trust, or organization of any kind. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 19
• 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.
• Proceeding: includes an action. See California Family Code 110
• 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
• Program: means the Parklands Acquisition and Development Program of 1984 established by this chapter. See California Public Resources Code 5096.228
• Program: means the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection (Villaraigosa-Keeley Act) Program established pursuant to this chapter. See California Public Resources Code 5096.308
• property: includes property real and personal. See California Civil Code 14
• Property: includes real and personal property and any interest therein. See California Family Code 113
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
• record: means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual or business entity. See California Civil Code 1799
• 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.
• Remedial action: includes , but is not limited to, the cleanup or removal of released hazardous materials from the environment, monitoring, testing and analysis of the site, site operation and maintenance, and the placing of conditions, limitations, or restrictions on the uses of the site after remedial action has been completed. See California Health and Safety Code 25260
• Revolving credit: A credit agreement (typically a credit card) that allows a customer to borrow against a preapproved credit line when purchasing goods and services. The borrower is only billed for the amount that is actually borrowed plus any interest due. (Also called a charge account or open-end credit.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the Resources Agency. See California Public Resources Code 5096.308
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Shopping cart: means a basket which is mounted on wheels or a similar device generally used in a retail establishment by a customer for the purpose of transporting goods of any kind. See California Business and Professions Code 22435.10
• site: means any area, location, or facility where a hazardous material has been released or threatens to be released into the environment. See California Health and Safety Code 25260
• Site investigation: means those actions that are necessary to determine the full extent of a release or threatened release of a hazardous material at a hazardous materials release site, identify the public health and safety or environmental threat posed by the release or threatened release, collect data on possible remedies, and otherwise evaluate the hazardous materials release site for the purpose of implementing remedial action. See California Health and Safety Code 25260
• Specific public benefit: includes all of the following:

  California Corporations Code 14601

• spouse: includes a registered domestic partner, as required by §. See California Civil Code 14
• Spouse: includes "registered domestic partner" as required by §. See California Revenue and Taxation Code 12.2
• 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 Harbors and Navigation Code 20
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Health and Safety Code 23
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Education Code 77
• 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.
• Stewardship: means the development and implementation of major programs for the protection, rehabilitation, restoration, and enhancement of the basic natural systems and outstanding scenic features of the state park system. See California Public Resources Code 5096.228
• Stewardship: means the development and implementation of projects for the protection, preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and improvement of natural systems and outstanding features of the state park system and historical and cultural resources. See California Public Resources Code 5096.308
• Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Support: refers to a support obligation owing on behalf of a child, spouse, or family, or an amount owing pursuant to Section 17402. See California Family Code 150
• Third-party standard: means a standard for defining, reporting, and assessing overall corporate social and environmental performance to which all of the following apply:

  California Corporations Code 14601

• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Vessel: includes ships of all kinds, steamboats, steamships, canal boats, barges, sailing vessels, and every structure adapted to be navigated from place to place for the transportation of merchandise or persons. See California Harbors and Navigation Code 21
• will: includes codicil. See California Civil Code 14
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.